A Busy Day
Chapter 17
Addison’s POV
It has been a long day, as my aunt was right. We had a lot of stops to make. My aunt took me to school first to speak with Principal Carson. She didn’t get mad, but she left with a copy of
the video of my assault. Her lips were pursed like mom, but she didn’t lose her cool. I want to
be able to learn to control my temper like that. Principal Carson was gracious but had to call the school’s superintendent to authorize the copy.
It seems the school was worried about the fallout from what happened or a lawsuit against
them for not protecting me. I knew it was not the school’s fault, as did my aunt. As we waited
for the superintendent to arrive, my aunt gave Principal Carson her address so that he could
mail my diploma there instead of to my house. When the superintendent arrived, he came with
the school’s attorney.
They tried to bully her into leaving without a copy of the assault. I know they intimidated me.
But they didn’t realize who they were dealing with though. To be honest, I didn’t know either. I
just watched with interest as she quietly flexed in front of them. She was not intimidated by the attorney at all. That didn’t stop them from trying to pressure her. Not until she called her
attorney on the phone. She passed the phone over to the school district’s attorney for them to
talk to each other.
I don’t know what was said, but my aunt ended up signing a waiver absolving the school of
any wrongdoing before we left with a copy of the assault. The way their attorney’s face went
white after speaking to hers made me wonder what was up with that. The school district
bowed to no one. They had an army of attorneys at their disposal. The attorney was much more respectful to my aunt after the call ended. I saw him lean over and speak to the
superintendent as well. They were both much less vocal when dealing with her now.
When we left the office, a few students stopped to make comments towards me. My aunt just lifted her phone and demanded, “Say it again. I don’t mind suing you and your family for defamation.” You would be surprised how fast they got out of there after that.
“Would it be defamation?” Tammy’s father asked with a smile as he left his office and walked
towards us. I didn’t miss him running his eyes over me. I wished I had two hoodies on now.
“And you are?” my aunt asked.
“Vice Principal Gary Daniels,” he said as he held his hand out. My aunt stared at his hand like
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it was the most disgusting thing she had ever seen. As he spoke, we heard Principal Carson exiting with the superintendent and the school lawyer.
“What they said to her just now was defamation and can be proven in a court of law. Your daughter is Tammy Daniels, correct,” she stated. It was not a question.
“She is,” he said before letting his hand drop. He knew now that she would not shake his hand. He was flushed with embarrassment at her ignoring his outstretched hand.
“I don’t know how well you are versed with this state’s laws. I can assure you that my lawyer will be getting in touch with you this week. Your daughter messed with the wrong person, Vice Principal Daniels. I will deal with her from now on, and I promise you I won’t let her go despite her age,” my aunt told him.
I watched as his expression changed several times from shock to anger. He calmed himself as his bosses and the school’s attorney were present. “I don’t know what you are talking about, Mrs. ?” he replied.
“You don’t need to know who I am. You will find out soon enough. I won’t bring the school into this, but I said nothing about your daughter and her actions. I have the proof in hand that the IP address was traced to her phone as the originator of the video. I have proof that she was not only at the Pearson’s home that night but that she was the one who took the video. I have already spoken to both of them, and they will testify. I suggest you get a good lawyer for your daughter, Mr. Daniels. I am not going to stop until your daughter gets some jail time and a record to go along with it,” my aunt snapped at him.
I watched as his face paled. He had just been humiliated and threatened in front of them. I
saw the superintendent look at him before speaking with the attorney and then Principal Carson. I don’t think he will have his job for much longer.
“You must be mistaken, Ma’am. Tammy would never do such a thing to someone, let alone another girl. She mentioned this morning at breakfast that she couldn’t imagine who would do
such a thing to Addison. I, I, just don’t believe it,” he stammered out.
“I am dead serious. I have all the proof, and I am heading to the District Attorney’s office next to make sure they push this case through. My attorney is en route now to meet us there. My niece here is the victim of a malicious act. You may be blind to who your daughter is, but I am not. Don’t worry. I will make sure that you know my name and Addison’s family name before
this is over,” my aunt said as she put her hand on my back and went to escort me out. She
suddenly stopped.
“You should look into your vice principal’s culpability in this. My niece has been bullied here, and no one tried to stop it. This whole thing didn’t just start yesterday. The guys in the video
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were very large, intimidating men who attacked her. I just heard your vice principal throw
some shade at Addison himself. I may not come after the school legally. Those men were
disgusting in their actions. But his daughter’s actions were absolutely malicious. She
instigated this whole thing. I am sure that you saw it too. Tammy was in the background, but
she was mocking my niece. This girl has used her father’s position in the school to get away with many things. I am very disappointed with how this has played out. Principal Carson has been a glowing example of a wonderful Principal. He helped my niece as she experienced the
loss of her mother. His taking such good care of my niece at her darkest hour is the only
reason I spared this school a very embarrassing lawsuit,” my aunt advised the superintendent.
He nodded at her so she knew he understood what she was telling him. She then took my
hand, and we left the school. I could hear Vice Principal Daniels trying to clear Tammy’s name
before we took ten steps. I knew that if my aunt said she had proof, she had evidence in hand.
I may not have known her for very long, but she reminded me a great deal of my mother. My
mother was also an honest person. My mother was a softer, kinder version of my aunt. But
she would have defended me just as vigorously as my aunt just did.
I have to admit I enjoyed the show that I just watched. Knowing how many times he had protected Tammy over the last three years. He deserved everything about to happen to him- not just shielding Tammy but her friends as well. They ran the school as they were considered
untouchable. Even if they got reported, Vice Principal Daniels made it go away. He wasn’t
innocent in this at all. Unless someone notified Principal Carson directly of what had
happened. Just like my teacher, Mr. Cooper, had on Monday. Nothing would ever come of it.
Texas is an at–will state for work. I had seen the superintendent’s face. Vice Principal Daniels
could potentially be fired today, which would prevent him from getting an attorney to protect Tammy. I am now sure this was my aunt’s plan all along. She is really smart and clearly a force to be reckoned with. I didn’t even realize I was standing straighter as we left the school.
The next stop was more brutal for both of us. She stopped by a funeral home. She had my
mother’s wishes in her purse. This was the part that I didn’t want to deal with. I didn’t know
what my mother wanted. If I had an opportunity to think properly for a minute, I would have
figured it out. The one thing I did know was that my mother wanted to be buried next to my father. She owned the plot, and the headstone had been put into place. Her information had
long been on the headstone. I saw it every month when we took flowers to his grave.
The only thing missing on the headstone was the date she passed. She had already prepared everything other than the piece she didn’t know. The only input I had was her casket. It was a beautiful deep blue color. It was expensive, but my aunt didn’t bat an eye over it. I caught her crying while we were there. I was, too, so I couldn’t fault her for it. I was sent out of the room to
pick out her casket when they went to discuss the accident and what she needed them to do.
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My aunt had everything done very quickly. The service was to be tomorrow at noon. I was told
to pack tonight, and we would be leaving immediately after the service. I was okay with it; I had no reason to stay there anymore.
Our last stop was at the district attorney’s office. I sat on a bench in the hallway while she spoke to the district attorney. She was fired up and told me there would be three cases that she would make sure didn’t get pushed under the rug. She was out for blood, and afterward, she told me that Tripp, Alden, and Tammy were going to be picked up by the police after school dismissed that day. I was glad we were leaving tomorrow, as this was about to get pretty bad here. When we got home, I took a nap, still tired. When I awoke, it was time for dinner.
My aunt asked me if I wanted to rent the house out. Or if I wanted to sell it. I have so many memories here. I just couldn’t sell it. I didn’t want to make a hasty call when I was so overwhelmed. She smiled when I said I wanted to rent it out. I was glad that she didn’t make me decide to sell it. It was my last connection with my mother. She told me to go ahead and get packed tonight and to be sure to take everything I wanted from the house.
She said that everything left behind would be donated to charity unless it was something I wanted to have. She would have the house cleaned from top to bottom before it was rented out, with the dry and canned goods sent to the local food bank. Before we went to bed, she reminded me that we had an appointment with my mother’s attorney to read the will at nine tomorrow morning. After I entered my room, the first thing I did was close my blinds. I wasn’t planning on seeing Garrett again. It would hurt too much. I had accepted that he was never mine to begin with. I was ready to move on.
