Gravity Don't Mean Too Much to Me

Lindsey sat outside the principle’s office feeling a strange sense of déjà vu as she remembered back when she had been at high school. She had been quite the trouble maker when she had been Bandit’s age, and she couldn’t help but feel a little nervous as she sat on the small green chair.

Frank had told her all about this Vicky character, about how she had picked on her daughter. Her fists had clenched in anger as he told her everything he had heard the girl say to Bandit, and she wished she could personally deal with the girl herself. Not only had the girl insulted Bandit, but also Frank and her husband. Yes, Lindsey was going to make sure that this girl never went near Bandit again.

A tall man with dark hair and glasses peered around the corner, signalling for Lindsey to enter the room. He looked quite old, with wrinkles on his forehead, and he looked exhausted.

Lindsey smiled at his as she took a seat in front of his small wooden desk, which had a sign that read ‘Mr Grady’. Lindsey had never met this man before; Gerard was usually the one to talk to the teachers if any problems occurred.

“Coffee?” He asked, gesturing towards a small mug that was steaming hot. Lindsey nodded and thanked him, savouring the flavour. Like her husband, she had a small obsession for the delicious substance.

Mr Grady pushed his glasses to the tip of his nose, taking a seat. Lindsey smiled, the way he wore his glasses reminded her of Mikey when she had first met him. “I believe you wish to speak to me due to personal matters?” He asked, looking slightly bored.

Lindsey cleared her throat and placed her mug back onto his desk. “Yes, but I would also like to have a word about a student here that has been... rather unpleasant to my daughter.” Lindsey often tried to keep her tone formal when speaking to people of importance; she wanted to make a good impression.

“I see.” There was a few seconds silence as he added more sugar to his coffee. “Shall we begin by discussing that of which brought you here first?”

Lindsey sat up in her seat, trying to decide where to begin. She had decided to tell the school about her pregnancy, although she would have them not tell anyone of course. Not only had she decided to tell them that she was pregnant, but also how it had affected Bandit. She wouldn’t tell them anything too personal, she would just explain why Bandit may lack paying attention in class.

"Well, you see...” She hesitated, seeing Mr Grady’s stern look made her feel under pressure. “My husband and I have recently discovered that I am pregnant.” Lindsey waited for him to reply, but he just nodded his head. She had expected a big reaction, but this was his job, he was probably used to this. “I just thought that I should inform the school. However, I wish for this to be kept in complete confidentiality.”

“Of course, we would expect nothing less.” She relaxed in her seat. For some reason she had expected him to tell her that he would have to tell people, but again, this was his job. He had to keep ‘personal matters’ to himself.

“This news has affected Bandit quite a bit, so she may seem a little off when studying. I apologise if she seems a little on edge, it’s a lot for a girl her age to take in.” She decided she wouldn’t tell him anything else, that’s all the school would need to know.

“Of course, it’s only natural for her to feel a little off for a while, as you said; it is a lot to take in.” His eyes bored into hers and she felt herself blush a little. It felt as though he could read every thought in her mind, and it scared her. “Thank you for taking the time to discuss this with me, it is very important we maintain a teacher parent relationship, for the sake of Bandit.”

“I agree. That’s why I thought you should know, just in case any of the teachers are wondering why she may be playing up in class, or maybe not paying as much attention in class as she should.” Lindsey knew that Bandit hadn’t been playing up in class lately; her latest report had been perfectly fine. “She may be completely fine now, but later on this could affect her school work.”

Mr Grady nodded. He seemed to understand, and he seemed to be a decent man to talk to. “Bandit is one of our finest students here. She gets outstanding grades, is polite to teachers, and she is always the first person to greet me in the mornings.” Lindsey smiled, proud of her daughter. She and Gerard had raised Bandit to always be polite, and she was pleased to know that their hard work had paid off. “If Bandit ever does show signs of distress or is a little unfocused, I will inform the teachers that they are to be patient with her. Pregnancy is a hard time for us all, not only for the mother.”

“Thank you.” Mr Grady smiled for the first time and she couldn’t help but smile back.

“Now, what else was it that you wanted to speak to me about?”

Lindsey’s smile dropped as she remembered the Vicky girl, and she sat up in her seat, ready to defend her daughter should she need to. “A close friend of mine has told me that a young girl in Bandit’s class has been calling my daughter names behind teacher’s backs.” Lindsey’s jaw tightened in anger and she tried to calm herself. Mr Grady now had a very serious expression on his face.

“I’m extremely sorry to hear that. We try to keep an eye on all the students, but unfortunately bullying happens all around the world on a day to day basis.”

“Her name is Vicky. I’m not sure of her last name, but she is in one of Bandit’s classes.” Lindsey tried to hide the anger in her voice, but she could see that Mr Grady had noticed how angry she was. She wanted to make the girl pay for insulting her daughter, she wanted to hunt her down herself and punish her for what she had done. Even though Frank had defended her, she had a feeling that Vicky wouldn’t leave her daughter alone. It’s what bullies did. They didn’t like to loose.

Mr Grady pulled out a clipboard from his desk and began quickly flicking through the pages. His eyes widened slightly when he landed on a page, and Lindsey was curious to know why he had looked so shocked. “Vicky Warner. Yes, Vicky has been in trouble quite a bit recently. I’m surprised to hear that she is picking on Bandit. Vicky seemed quite fond of Bandit the last time I had spoken to her.”

“Well, she obviously lying then, isn’t she?” Snapped Lindsey. “She’s been picking on my daughter, and I want the school to take immediate action-”

“Yes, yes. We will of course be taking action. We will call her mother and discuss why she is behaving this way. We will also insure Bandit and Vicky never be left alone.” The tall man shook his Head in confusion. “I spoke to Vicky only last week, and she told me that she wanted to be friends with Bandit. She said she looked up to her.”

Lindsey blinked. “She’s obviously jealous. After all, my husband and I are well known.” Lindsey could never bring herself to say that she was ‘famous’. It sounded as though she were bragging if she used that word. “I hope the school will punish her, I don’t wish for my daughter to ever hear from her again. Understand?”

Mr Grady nodded and mumbled something inaudible as Lindsey stood up and pulled the door open. She was about to leave when she heard him speaking once more; “Oh, and Lindsey? Congratulations.”

Bandit sat at her desk with her face in her hands. She hated algebra; she always got her worst grades in maths.

Today had been rough for Bandit. She had been expecting Vicky to say something to her, and had been looking over her shoulder all day. Whenever Sam had caught her off guard she had jumped half a mile, expecting it to be Vicky. The ginger girl hadn’t approached her all day however, and it unsettled Bandit. What was she waiting for? Maybe Uncle Frank had scared her off.

Mr Ellis instructed the class to get up and help themselves to any equipment they may need for this week’s mental test, leaving them alone in the room for a few minuets. Bandit stood up anxiously, making sure Vicky was no where to be seen. She exhaled in relief when she found no sight of her. Turning around, she gasped and held back a scream as she came face to face with the ginger girl.

She looked amused at Bandit’s reaction, and she could hear Gwen and Jen snickering. “Look what we have here. You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”

Bandit made to turn around and ignore her, but decided against it. She stood straight and held her shoulders high. No. Vicky would not defeat her today. She was a Killjoy, she was Lady Sunshine, and she wasn’t afraid of anyone.

“What do you want?” Bandit spat at her, refusing to break eye contact.

“I was just wondering why you’ve looked like you were going to wet yourself all day.” Vicky laughed, signally her sidekicks to laugh too. Bandit rolled her eyes. Vicky wasn’t as tough as she made herself out to be; just yesterday she had run home crying her eyes out because Frank had told her off. Bandit laughed.

“And I was just wondering why you looked like you were going to wet yourself yesterday when you ran home crying.” Vicky’s face fell and Bandit swore she could see tears in her eyes. Gwen and Jen had stopped laughing, and were looking at each other, as if wondering what they were supposed to do.

“Vicky has no idea what you’re talking about. You were the one crying yesterday, not her.” Gwen replied quickly. Vicky appeared to be frozen to the spot. Her mouth was wide open and her eyes were focused straight on Bandit. Bandit never understood why Gwen and Jen would sometimes speak for Vicky, it was like that in the movies. They were the typical sidekicks, talking when Vicky couldn't, laughing when Vicky laughed.

“Yeah, but what I remember is that my Uncle Frank made Vicky run home, crying her eyes out.”

Vicky had looked like she was about to start crying, and Gwen had looked like she was about to hit Bandit, but then Mr Ellis had walked back into the room, and the three girls had scattered. Bandit smiled widely. She had beaten them. She had stood up to her enemies and hadn’t let them walk all over her. She felt invincible.

“Bandit, your mother is here.” Bandit literally ran from the room and jumped into her arms, grateful for her early pick up. Lindsey smiled down at her, but Bandit couldn’t help but notice that she seemed a little tense.

“Bandit” Her mother smiled, hugging her back. “Ray’s waiting for you at home. He wanted to get an early start on your guitar lessons today, I hope you don’t mind.”

Bandit squealed excitedly. “Will Ross be there?” She hadn’t meant to ask that, and she blushed. Her mother didn’t seem to notice however.

“No” Her mother seemed to be looking into the classroom window with a frown on her face. “Bandit honey, who is that girl?”

Bandit peered over her shoulder and gasped. There stood Vicky at the front of the class. She seemed to have been collecting equipment, but she now looked up at her mother with wide eyes. Bandit gulped. “That’s...That’s Vicky.”