"Well, I'm off the team for good anyway," Elsie sighed as she sat with her friend group in the canteen and banged her lunchbox off the table.
"That's so unfair. It was that bitch who decided to open her trap. What's her punishment?", her friend Bobby protested, waving his spoon from his yoghurt in the air.
"Lunchtime detention for a week, and her parents have taken lessons from her for a week. But because I got violent, I'll obviously get the worse end of the stick."
"Nah, fuck that. I don't think you hit her hard enough, El," Nick commented through a bite of his apple.
Elsie laughed, trying to hide a bit of blush. Nick was the cutest guy in her year, and one of her best friends. Nearly everyone in their year fancied him, except for the friend group. Elsie didn't particularly see him that way either, or what the hype was considering he'd look like a normal dude without his hair tools and vintage varsity jacket, but a cute person is a cute person. And liking people that way is normal, and that's all she wanted.
"He's right, El, it's bullshit. You made that team and you deserve to be on it. I'll quit too," Bella protested and placed her hand on Elsie's arm.
Elsie scoffed and pulled her arm away. "Don't be stupid, Bella."
Bella's face fell, and the table went silent for a few moments before Bella grabbed her bag and walked out.
Another friend, Millie, turned to Elsie. "What the hell was that, kid? She was just trying to support you."
"Yeah, El. Not cool," Nick muttered.
Elsie rolled her eyes. "If she hadn't done that shit in badminton, those bitches never would've said anything. This is all her fault."
Bobby scoffed. "They weren't just talking about you, Elsie. They were talking about your mothers too. What, you going to say they shouldn't have adopted you either, or they shouldn't have met? Guess what, Elsie, they would've found some other way to get under your skin regardless. So don't blame anyone but those bitches for opening their mouths and yourself for losing your head."
"Oh, shut up, Bobby."
The group went silent yet again, before they all looked at each other and stood up.
Nick sighed as he left, staying back a bit to pat Elsie's shoulder and whisper, "Come looking for us when you have your head screwed on a bit more, El."
She grunted once all her friends had left, resting her forehead in her hands.
💛
"So, you're afraid to return home because you know your mum won't be there when you go back?"
"Yes. My dad, he's usually great, but I've seen the crate of beer bottles in the boot for the bottle bank. I don't want to lose one parent and then lose the other one right after."
Zoë sighed as she adjusted herself in her seat, looking back at the young boy ahead of her. "It's awful, Peter. It really is, no other way of putting it. And at your age too, it's a lot to put on your shoulders. There's no easy way of going about it, and you're always safe and welcome here, no matter what. You'll always have a place here. But at the same time, I think you'd really regret it if you weren't there to say goodbye to your mother, and be there for your father. After all the horrible months of seeing your mother sick at home, nurses and doctors doing their thing and basically living there the past few weeks, as overwhelming as it's been for you, it also means that both you and your parents have earned a fulfilling send off for your mother. I know if it was me, as hard as it would be for them, I'd want my final moments to be surrounded by my family. But at the same time, I know that that's also really upsetting to face, and for what you fear will happen with your dad. Support is available for him here in the grief therapy and alcoholism units if he ever seeks help, but that's the thing. If it gets to that level, he'll have to seek help himself."
