Penelope's Revenge

Sensitive Content Warning: Contains violence among minors and a brief mention of drug abuse.

I was between courses when I began participating in an after-school program at a middle school near where I lived. My bachelor’s in creative writing promoted the position of an English Language Arts tutor, however the School Counselor who reviewed my application seemed more impressed by the fact that I am Ordained. 

I'm not a pastor, although there are those who refer to me despite this technicality, purely on the fact that I am Ordained. The reason I am Ordained, however, is simply a result of a scholarship that was funded by the Megachurch down on Walton Lane. I attended the required theological courses and passed their various exams and in return I was able to attend any course that the Church approved of, free of charge.

The minute I registered for Gender Theory; however, they revoked my scholarship. So, I sought out a job that could carry me through grad school. I was referred to the After-school program under the impression of higher pay, but I stayed despite the minimum wage. The Student Counselor, of whom I answered too, was adamant that I host a "Cultural Studies" after school course as part of the program. 

The curriculum was not scheduled into the program, and its contents seemed to have been written by the formal presidential nominee DeSantis! I instead decided that I would alter the course to better expose the children to a diverse collection of cultures, not just Christian doctrine. The children all grew up in inner city neighborhoods and responded very well to my Curriculum.

I knew I could lose my job if I were discovered altering the approved curriculum, but to be honest, I wouldn't miss the sixty dollars a day, especially since McDonalds now pays double. The one thing I cared the most about was the children in my care, and the people they would grow up to be. I was a part of the program for two years and they are the reason why. They were all well behaved and were very pleasant to be around! However, there were two friends who caused all sorts of trouble. 

They were just like any of the many duos of best friends that I've met at first. They were beyond inseparable, the shorter of the two, Penelope, became very distressed and anxious any time she was separated from her Susie. Of the two, Susie appeared to be the more mature and decisive. During my lessons and when I was giving instructions, they would often whisper to one another and giggle at a magazine of certain popular K-pop groups. I often overlooked their distractions, for they always followed the instructions I was almost certain they missed. I kept my eye on them, but they were self-reserved. 

However, after the winter break, they behaved like cats and dogs around each other. They would often argue and scream at each other over the smallest of infractions and disrupt not only my group, but several others as well. I quickly created a sitting chart to ensure that they were separated. Susie seemed to benefit the most from this division, as she soon became the most popular kid in my group. She often cracked jokes and giggled in a circle of seven other girls during our breaks. 

Penelope, however, was left out of this group and none of the other boys dared to be associated with a girl. The year was 2032 and young boys still believed in cooties! I felt sorry for Penelope, so I often spent as much time with her as I could while still keeping an eye on the group. One day, I asked her why she and Suzie weren't friends anymore.

"We're still friends. She just says that she can't handle being around me," she confided in me. 

"Why's that?"

"Susie thinks I'm a psycho."

"You're not crazy, Penelope, Ms. Bennie," the school counselor and my boss, "would have told me so."

"That doesn't change the fact that I have hallucinations all the time."

"Did Susie tell you that you hallucinate?"

"Yes. She says either I think I see fairies or I'm a liar."

"I see. You never struck me as a liar, and you're definitely not crazy. Between you and me, I believe in fairies too."

"Oh, ok!" She smiled in relief. She looked down at the picture she was coloring and decided to wad it up into a ball. "Hey, Mr. Quincy?" 

"What is it, Penelope?"

"What do you do when someone says that your family isn't your real family?"

"Did Susie say that to you?" I was able to consider the comments about fairies to equate to a brat telling other kids that Santa is not real, but this made me concerned that Penelope might be getting bullied.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore!" Penelope ran away crying and grabbed the bathroom pass before running out the classroom.

"What a baby!" Susie mocked above a sea of laughter.

"Susie, that's enough! For the rest of the day there is to be no talking!" I snapped! Susie's behavior began to remind me of myself when I was their age. Penelope also reminded me of all the kids I bullied. Many of them I never got the chance to tell how sorry I grew to be. I could not let Susie and Penelope go down the same path! 

After the group left for the buses, I unwadded Penelope's drawing and saw bubble figures representing the two ex-friends. The caption read; "I'm sorry I was being weird; do you want to be friends again?" I felt tears run down my cheeks that I quickly wiped away. I packed up my things and prepared to leave when I saw that I was missing a bathroom pass. 

I went to see if Penelope was still in the bathroom. I knocked on the entrance of the girl's bathroom but heard Penelope ask for me in a weak and broken voice. She locked herself in the Gender-Neutral bathroom and I asked her to unlock the door. She opened it and ran to hug me. I quickly knelt and held her close to me. She kept sniffling and sneezed into my shoulder. 

"I'm sorry Mr. Quincy!" The young girl sobbed. 

"Don't worry, Penelope, let's get ourselves washed up. I pulled off my sweatshirt and saw a solution of blood and mucus on my shirt's shoulder. I looked down at Penelope and saw her nose bleeding, and her cheeks deep red with a bruise forming. "Who did this to you?!" I yelled at her. 

"No one, I just fell…"

"Who did this to you?!" I repeated, "Was it Susie?"

"No, she didn't do it! I don't want her to get in trouble!" She begged me.

"Susan, someone hurt you, and if we don't do anything about it, they'll do it again!"

"I want my mommy!" She began to cry. She was twelve years old, but she fell to her knees and began bawling as if she were a toddler.

"What is going on here?" I heard a deep voice thunder down the hall. I turned around to see Ms. Bennie and Penelope's father storming towards us. 

"Someone hit Penelope and she locked herself in the bathroom afterwards. She won't tell me who did it, but I have my suspicions." I informed.

"I have my suspicions too!" Mr. Daniels yelled at me.

"Stop it daddy! Mr. Quincy is my friend!" Penelope cried out.

"If you want your dad to stop being angry with me, you need to tell us who hit you."

"I don't want her to get in trouble. If she thinks I'm a tattletale, she'll never want to be friends with me!"

"Oh, I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions."

"It's alright, I would've done the same."

"I'm taking my daughter home; I can come in for a meeting to discuss how long my daughter has been bullied under your supervision!" Mr. Daniels growled at Bennie. 

After the father and daughter left the building, Bennie coldly informed me "You're so fired!" And left towards the school office. Despite her comment, she did not fire me. It was a few days until I saw both Susie and Penelope in my group. 

They glared at each other, but never spoke a word. Susie quickly put on a happy face to greet her girl group. I decided not to sit with Penelope during the breaks but behind Susie to eavesdrop on what she was saying. 

"She didn't even defend herself; she was so pathetic!" Susie giggled.

"You'd think those foster kids would at least know how to fight!" Another kid imputed. 

"The saddest part is she thinks that we can still be friends! Honestly, what a creep! She literally stalked me our entire Christmas break!"

"How does she even know where you live?" A skeptical boy inquired. Turns out, I wasn't the only eavesdropper.

"I've invited her to my birthdays, but she never shows up!"

"Honestly, she'd just be a party killer. She's so childish!" Another girl insulted. 

"You know what she probably thought was more important than my birthday? Hanging around with her methhead mother!" Susie exclaimed loud enough for Penelope to hear. I was flabbergasted. Before I could yell at Susie to shut her mouth, Penelope socked it to her right in the jaw.

I lunged forward to separate the two, only for Susie to catch me in my right cheek. Her weak fist stung like a slap, and to my shock Penelope went in for a second strike. This time, Penelope fell back from her chair and onto the floor. Penelope jumped on top of her and began pounding on her, punch after punch after punch, until I pulled her off. She was kicking and struggling to get free from my arm when Susie spat blood on her face and kicked her in her pelvic region. I felt Penelope wither to the floor, and I slapped Susie across the face. The children formed a circle around us picking sides at the epic showdown.

Susie stood shocked and ran away and I ordered the nosy boy to find her and take her to the nurse. I then ordered the head student to get the group instructor next door to watch over the class as I carried Penelope to the Nurse's office. 

Penelope was crying nonstop and clung to my suit, refusing to be laid down on the medical bed. The nurse was busy treating Susie who was whining about me slapping her. I needed Penelope to let go of me before this situation got even more out of hand!

"Penelope, if you don't let go of my shirt, I'm going to have to call your dad." She let go of my shirt and curled over in the bed, pulling the thin blanket over her.

"He's not my real dad. Everyone knows it."

"Listen, Penelope, you don't have to share the same blood to be family."

"That's what my dad says."

"He loves you; you know."

"I know."

I stepped away and let the nurse examine Penelope after she finished bandaging up Susie. I walked over to Susie and told her "You need to apologize. I don't care if you're friends or not, you started this."

After the fight, Susie never came back to school. Penelope told Ms. Bennie and the Principal everything that happened. Apparently, Penelope and Susie had a Christmas related argument shortly before break started during their recess. Penelope tried to visit Susie several times during the break to apologize. Mr. Daniels informed us that Penelope was diagnosed in November with the Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Penelope didn't recognize that she was visiting Susie at inappropriate times to apologize. 

Susie's parents fought the claims against their daughter, but Susie was expelled after she began exploding with a rant of profane hate towards Penelope and myself and claimed that I was abusing the children and that I slapped her. The principal dismissed the allegations and expelled her on the spot. Penelope was suspended as well for a few days, and Ms. Bennie expelled her from the After-school program. This expulsion would later be revoked when Penelope's father made a sizable donation towards the program. 

When Penelope returned, she was different. She was still her reserved and quiet self, but she was still overly aggressive towards other students. She would continue to start fights and was suspended several times before she was eventually expelled. Susie still caused havoc on a Twitter-like website called Cosmos. 

I was eventually let go for altering the curriculum, which honestly, was way overdue. I moved on with my life and finished college. Shortly after I graduated, Mr. Daniels reached out to me and asked me to be part of a local television program. I agreed without thought, and now you can tune into me on Channel 5 from nine to ten A.M. I've been called by entertainment critics as the next Mr. Rogers but it's all hogwash in my opinion. I was able to visit with Penelope and see how much happier she is now. She was able to receive therapy to help her regulate her emotions and she joined the Youth Scouts where she made some real friends. I wish Susie would know a similar fate, but Mr. Daniel's team of lawyers saw to it that she stopped cyber bullying me. 

For all the trouble the two caused me, I truly wish they could have stopped and talked to each other. At least given each other a chance before they resorted to bullying and violence. However, the past is in the past and all we can do is move on from where we are now. Penelope is happy, and that makes me happy. Especially since Mr. Daniels named me her Godfather!