Nathaniel Kurtzberg-Anciel immediately knew something was wrong with his daughter.
Michaela Marix Julerose Kurtzberg-Anciel has to be the most rambunctious, eccentric little ball of sunshine he's ever seen. She took after her aunts in many different ways. Similar to Marinette, she loved fashion and can be a bit clumsy, she can skate very well thanks to Alix teaching her a few moves she picked up at the X-Games, Juleka gave her a love for the horror genre and Rose gave her a love for fairytales. Overall, Michaela was a happy girl with many different interests that keep her so upbeat and happy. So when Nathaniel picked her up from school today, he could tell something happened
The eight-year-old quickly waved goodbye to her friends and ran to Nathaniel's car. She opened the back passenger door and tossed her purple backpack in first before climbing in after and shutting the door without so much as a word... This is usually the time where she'd go on about her day at school.
Something is definitely wrong, no child is this quiet... Except maybe Nathaniel, Juleka, and Nino when they were around five years old, but Michaela is different.
"... So, sweetie," Nathaniel started as he drove away from the school. "How was your day?"
She glanced forward and mumbled, "Fine," before looking back out the window.
"Okay," he replied, not sounding the least bit convinced. "... Michaela, you know you can talk to dad and me about anything that's upsetting you, right?"
Michaela nodded. "I know. But it's gonna make you and daddy sad."
Nathaniel frowned. What on earth happened at school that would upset him and Marc? He didn't get a call from a teacher, so Michaela didn't get into trouble... He hoped. "Honey, whatever happened at school, I'm sure it isn't enough to upset me or your dad, okay?" Michaela didn't respond. "... What if you told us what happened during dinner? Will that work?"
She shrugged. "I guess."
It was something. As he drove back home, Nathaniel couldn't get what Michaela told him out of his head. If something happened at school and made his daughter upset and would possibly make him and Marc upset, shouldn't one of the teachers have called them? Maybe he's just being a little overprotective, something he needed to work on a bit, but this concerned his baby girl! He took a quick look at Michaela with the rearview mirror and checked for any scratches or bruises. None, thank God, so there wasn't a fight.
'Must've been some bratty kids making fun of her,' he bitterly thought to himself. Who knows what it'll be like for her when she's in lycée? It was only his and Marc's number one fear. They often consider sending her to DuPont when the time comes, but after remembering what they had gone through there during their teenage years, they weren't so sure. Bullies got away with everything because they were rich, and the lockers had no locks. It's a mess in summary.
When they got home, instead of running to the backyard to practice her rollerskating around the expansive patio for about an hour with the skates Alix got her for her seventh birthday, Michaela ran upstairs without even so much as giving Marc a hug when she saw him.
The noirette called after her, "Sweetie?" But all he got in response was the sound of her bedroom door closing. "What happened?"
"That's what I'm trying to figure out, Rainbow," he sighed. "She barely spoke on the ride home, and it's got me worried. She said she'd talk about it over dinner, though."
"Well, I'm almost done," Marc said. "Help me out, and we can talk about Michaela."
Nathaniel smiled and pulled his husband in for a kiss. "Sounds good, Rainbow."
