[Theatrical Muse] Response
Apr. 1st, 2007 11:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
his_sarah_janeIf you could pick anyone in the world, alive or dead, to be your parents, who would it be and why?
“He hit me first!”
The nine year old girl slumped further down into her seat, giving her aunt a severe look from the back of the car. Her cheek was cut and arm bruised, and if Sarah Jane bothered to run a hand through her hair, she’d notice mud and twigs still stuck in there. Her uniform was covered in dirt, and the cuff of her left sleeve was ripped. She frowned, and pulled her legs up onto the seat to sit cross-legged and to purposely muddy the normally pristine coverings.
Aunt Lavinia deserved it because Aunt Lavinia didn’t believe her when she said that Thomas had started the fight. Aunt Lavinia only saw the evidence in front of her eyes: Thomas Jones with far more bruises and scrapes on his body, including a black eye. It wasn’t fair at all. While she might have lied about Thomas taking the first blow, she hadn’t liked about the fact that he had started the fight to begin with; him and his horrid accusations that girls weren’t good for anything but taking care of boys.
So she had punched him and had punched him hard enough to knock him down to the dirt in the school yard. That’s when the fight had properly begun. He had hit her and called her a stupid boy, and she had tackled him to the ground, where they had remained hitting, kicking, and scratching each other until the teachers had separated them.
Still, what remained worse in all of this was that her aunt, her very precious and normally trustworthy aunt, didn’t believe her. She knew it from the look that Aunt Lavinia was giving her that it was so. The words that followed didn’t help at all:
“I know you better than that, Sarah Jane Smith. This wouldn’t be the first time you’ve done something like this, but I’m hoping it will be the last. No telly for a week. Not even the news.”
It really wasn’t fair at all. She was being punished and it was all that stupid Thomas Jones’ fault. Him and his stupid big mouth and his stupid comment on girls and his stupid screaming that brought the teachers over.
Sarah met her aunt’s stern face and frowned even more. “I wish Mum and Father were still alive. You’re an awful parent.”
The minutes the words left her mouth, Sarah Jane looked away to avoid seeing the shocked and hurt expression that crossed the woman’s face. Thankfully, the sight in front of the girl only lasted for a second as Lavinia Smith turned back in her seat and pressed down on the gas pedal to drive them home in silence.
It took Sarah hours to finally apologise, late that night as she stared at the black screen of the television when, normally, the BBC World Report would be on in front of her. She still didn’t think she was wrong in giving Thomas that black eye; he had deserved it, as clear as day. And she’d punch him again, given the chance and all punishments aside. But maybe she shouldn’t have said what she had said to her aunt in the car. That wasn’t very fair of her, she knew because Aunt Lavinia really was a good parent. She let her stay up late and took her travelling to different places and let her always go to all the grown up parties and ask as many questions as she wanted. Sarah Jane had just been cross that afternoon, and said the wrong things. It wasn’t fair at all.
She found her aunt in her study, reading an article from some scientific journal or another. Quietly, Sarah crossed the room and climbed up the chair to settle in Aunt Lavinia’s lap. Her eyes closed and she buried her face into her aunt’s arm before whispering, “You’re a good parent, really. I wouldn’t want anyone else.”
“And I wouldn’t want anyone else as a surrogate daughter, Sarah,” Aunt Lavinia whispered back, kissing the girl’s head and hugging her close. “No one else ever would make me as proud.”
“He hit me first!”
The nine year old girl slumped further down into her seat, giving her aunt a severe look from the back of the car. Her cheek was cut and arm bruised, and if Sarah Jane bothered to run a hand through her hair, she’d notice mud and twigs still stuck in there. Her uniform was covered in dirt, and the cuff of her left sleeve was ripped. She frowned, and pulled her legs up onto the seat to sit cross-legged and to purposely muddy the normally pristine coverings.
Aunt Lavinia deserved it because Aunt Lavinia didn’t believe her when she said that Thomas had started the fight. Aunt Lavinia only saw the evidence in front of her eyes: Thomas Jones with far more bruises and scrapes on his body, including a black eye. It wasn’t fair at all. While she might have lied about Thomas taking the first blow, she hadn’t liked about the fact that he had started the fight to begin with; him and his horrid accusations that girls weren’t good for anything but taking care of boys.
So she had punched him and had punched him hard enough to knock him down to the dirt in the school yard. That’s when the fight had properly begun. He had hit her and called her a stupid boy, and she had tackled him to the ground, where they had remained hitting, kicking, and scratching each other until the teachers had separated them.
Still, what remained worse in all of this was that her aunt, her very precious and normally trustworthy aunt, didn’t believe her. She knew it from the look that Aunt Lavinia was giving her that it was so. The words that followed didn’t help at all:
“I know you better than that, Sarah Jane Smith. This wouldn’t be the first time you’ve done something like this, but I’m hoping it will be the last. No telly for a week. Not even the news.”
It really wasn’t fair at all. She was being punished and it was all that stupid Thomas Jones’ fault. Him and his stupid big mouth and his stupid comment on girls and his stupid screaming that brought the teachers over.
Sarah met her aunt’s stern face and frowned even more. “I wish Mum and Father were still alive. You’re an awful parent.”
The minutes the words left her mouth, Sarah Jane looked away to avoid seeing the shocked and hurt expression that crossed the woman’s face. Thankfully, the sight in front of the girl only lasted for a second as Lavinia Smith turned back in her seat and pressed down on the gas pedal to drive them home in silence.
It took Sarah hours to finally apologise, late that night as she stared at the black screen of the television when, normally, the BBC World Report would be on in front of her. She still didn’t think she was wrong in giving Thomas that black eye; he had deserved it, as clear as day. And she’d punch him again, given the chance and all punishments aside. But maybe she shouldn’t have said what she had said to her aunt in the car. That wasn’t very fair of her, she knew because Aunt Lavinia really was a good parent. She let her stay up late and took her travelling to different places and let her always go to all the grown up parties and ask as many questions as she wanted. Sarah Jane had just been cross that afternoon, and said the wrong things. It wasn’t fair at all.
She found her aunt in her study, reading an article from some scientific journal or another. Quietly, Sarah crossed the room and climbed up the chair to settle in Aunt Lavinia’s lap. Her eyes closed and she buried her face into her aunt’s arm before whispering, “You’re a good parent, really. I wouldn’t want anyone else.”
“And I wouldn’t want anyone else as a surrogate daughter, Sarah,” Aunt Lavinia whispered back, kissing the girl’s head and hugging her close. “No one else ever would make me as proud.”
