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771 Words
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Caden
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ON THE WAY home from the school, I asked Phalen about the pictures.
“She told you about those?” Phalen said, looking guilty.
“Yeah. Were those boys picking on you?”
She nodded.
I slapped the dashboard. “I knew it. What did those little shits do to you?”
“They were fighting over...” She stopped talking.
“Fighting over what?”
She looked embarrassed. “Which one of them was going to be my boyfriend.”
“Hold up. Your boyfriend? You guys are only in second grade. That’s ridiculous.”
“It’s not like a real boyfriend,” she said shyly. “We just say that we’re dating.”
Dating.
“Dating is a verb. It usually means someone takes you somewhere. They buy you dinner. Take you to the movies. These boys ever do that for you?
“No.”
“Then none of you are ‘dating’.”
“That’s just what we call it.”
Obviously, I wasn’t going to change the minds of today’s “youth”, even at that age. “Fine. Just don’t let them take you on a date to the supply closet or behind the bushes.” Hell, even I was starting to get curious about the opposite s*x at eight.
“Okay.”
“What about your friends? They ‘dating’ too?”
She nodded. “Abby and Tessa both have boyfriends too.”
I knew that those two girls were her friends. As innocent as this was supposed to be, I needed to understand what was really going on. Especially, now that I was her guardian. “So, let me just get this straight—it’s more of a game? Nobody is kissing anyone or any weird s**t like that?”
She looked horrified. “No, Uncle Caden. Yuck. Anyway, I told them that I didn’t want to be either of their girlfriends.”
I nodded in approval. Good girl. “Okay.”
“I like Taylor. I want him to be my boyfriend.”
For the love of God. “Taylor? Taylor who?”
“You don’t know him.”
Maybe not but he was a boy. I knew boys in general. Most of them. “He older?”
“No.”
I relaxed. “Good. Stay away from the older boys. Hell, stay away from all boys while you’re at it. They smell and are always picking their noses.”
She laughed. “Not Taylor.”
I rolled my eyes. “So, tell me more about this kid.”
Her smile fell. “He’s Raina’s boyfriend. Because of those stupid jerks. They told him I was weird and now he doesn’t like me.”
“Weird? You?” I snorted. “That’s only because they’re jealous, chiquita.”
She didn’t look so convinced.
“Listen, I’m a guy. I know that when you get jealous, you say and do stupid things sometimes. That’s why they did that. Because they were mad you didn’t like either of them.”
She sighed.
“I’m serious. You’re the prettiest girl in class.”
“No, every girl is pretty in my class.”
I bit back a smile. Phalen didn’t like to be above anyone else. She was a sweet kid who didn’t want anyone’s feelings hurt, even when they weren’t around to hear the conversation. “Yes, I’m sure that’s true. What I’m saying is that those boys were probably being little shits because you hurt their feelings.”
She looked surprised. “I hurt their feelings?”
“Probably. But, that’s okay. You don’t have to be someone’s girlfriend just to make them feel better.”
Phalen still looked upset.
“Don’t feel bad. You’re going to run into this a lot growing up. You have to be true to yourself and not give in to anyone just to make them happy. Understand?”
She nodded.
I pulled the drawings she’d made out of my jacket and handed them to her. “Okay, now tell me about these.”
She opened the first one up but remained silent.
I smirked. “Nothing to say, huh?”
She looked away.
“You’re not in trouble. Not with me, anyway.”
Phalen looked up at me again.
“Come on, kiddo. Tell me about the drawings.”
“I was mad.”
“Is that why you threatened them? Because the boys were jerks?”
She nodded.
As much as I wanted to high-five her, I knew it probably wasn’t the right thing to teach the kid. “You know that I would give my life for you, right? If anyone ever threatens you, I would definitely run their a*s over.”
She smiled.
“But, you don’t want to scare the other kids either. Unless, they’re trying to hurt you.”
“Then it’s okay?”
I sat up straighter. “Hell, yeah, it’s okay. You tell them that your uncle will whip some butt if you have to. But, see, if nobody is threatening you, then it’s not fair to scare them like that.”
She chewed on her lip.
“Phalen?”
She nodded.
“I get it. Those boys deserved some retaliation. Believe me”—I laughed dryly—“if anyone knows about revenge it’s me. Just next time, don’t frighten them with violence. Unless, they deserve it. And I mean, really deserve it. Like are harassing you and being bullies. Okay?”
“Okay.”
I wasn’t sure if she totally understood but at least I knew she wasn’t a pushover. “Now, how about some ice cream?”
Her face lit up. “Okay!”
- Writer
