The greatest love

ELEVEN

Allison

Allison finished reading her daughter's diary. It was almost morning, the early morning light seeps through the blinds. She felt deeply saddened. For more than a year, Maddie has been living through hell and she had never told her parents. Allison had failed her daughter, the school had failed to protect her. It took her daughter almost dying for her parents to notice her. How would Maddie begin to recover from this? How can Allison help her?

Later that morning, after the nurses had reassured her that Maddie would not wake up until afternoon at the earliest, Allison drove to Maddie's school. She had missed the principal's calls yesterday amidst the emergency. The principal sent a text requesting that Allison come to the school to meet with the principal.

When she arrived, Ms. Monroe explained to Allison about the altercation the day before between Maddie and Phoebe, and that the principal had persuaded Phoebe's parents not to press charges against Maddie provided that Maddie be suspended for the rest of the semester. They had also asked for an apology from Maddie. In fact, Phoebe's parents were right outside the principal's office at that moment. Ms. Monroe had orchestrated a meeting between Phoebe's parents and Maddie's parents. Allison tried to keep her anger and restrain herself from shouting in the principal's office.

“Did you know that girl, Phoebe, has been bullying my daughter, physically and emotionally, for more than a year?,” Allison asked the principal. She then told Ms. Monroe about Maddie's suicide attempt the day before.

The principal was visibly shocked. “I am really sorry to hear that, Mrs. Thomson. I wish Maddie a speedy recovery. And of course there is counselling services in the school too when Maddie comes back to school. As for the bullying allegations, the school, specifically her teacher Mr. James and I, are not aware of any bullying that happened to Maddie. However I assure you that such allegations would be investigated thoroughly. We do not tolerate any bullying in this school.”

Allison could not contain herself any longer. “How can you say that you do not tolerate bullying when it happened to Maddie all year long? Or are you saying you don’t believe Maddie? That girl deserve to be expelled for what she did. You can tell her parents we are definitely not going to apologize. Forget the suspension, I am withdrawing Maddie from this school immediately. Please prepare the papers now and I will sign it.” She then stood up and walked out of the principal's office. She will stand up for her daughter, if no one else will.

Outside the principal's office, she met Phoebe's parents. The mother was slim and wearing heavy makeup. The father was tall and bespectacled. Beside them, sitting quietly, was a girl with very short hair cut close to the head. She looked like a boy but not for the skirt she was wearing. Allison assumed this was Phoebe. Phoebe's parents immediately got angry upon seeing Allison.

“Your daughter violently attacked our daughter! Look at Phoebe, she will be traumatized forever. And where is your daughter? We want an apology from her. What kind of a mother are you, raising a violent child like her!” shouted the mother.

“Maddie was provoked, and you know it,” replied Allison, turning to Phoebe with a snarl. “Your daughter has been bullying my daughter for more than a year. Don’t play the victim! You should be apologizing to Maddie for her suffering. And what kind of a mother are you, raising a bully?”

“You will not talk to out daughter like that! And she is not a bully! That is all lies! Your daughter is a liar and a violent kid!” shouted back the mother.

The principal came out of her office then, panicked that a fight had ensued in her office. She imagined apologies and reconciliation would happen between the girls and their parents. With the help of the school staff, they managed to stop the fight from progressing further. Allison left the school quickly with her anger still boiling.

Allison tried to calm herself down on the drive back to the hospital. Maddie needed her to be strong and to help her recover. Both her children need her very much right now. She would not waste another minute with the people who caused her daughter such pain and suffering.