Chapter 2. Copper Harmony

Copper

There was no way they'd let me go free. I flipped my hair over my shoulder and folded my arms. The girl beside me wouldn't stop crying. She bawled so loudly with her face in her palms that if we weren't alone, I'm sure we would be the spectacle of anyone who passed by. All this over a slap to the face. I rolled my eyes.

The blue office door opened and we both looked up. The first person to step through was our principal, Mr. Hardley. As he turned to us he fixed his gaze on me, face riddled with disgust. I looked him in his stone cold blue eyes, making sure he knew the feeling was more than reciprocated.

My parents trailed behind him, heads lowered.

"You two, I spoke with both of your parents," Principal Hardley said. "Betty."

Betty sat up and wiped her eyes, her light brown swept her shoulders each time she moved.

"I called your parents. They said they would be back by Friday, at the latest. And as for you," he pointed at me. "I don't want to see you until then."

"What?!" I sat up immediately, heat spreading through my body to my head. "But I didn't do anything! It was her and her stupid group of--"

Suddenly Betty started crying again, as she was frightened. I turned to her and glared, making sure disgust covered showed on my face.

I wanted to rebut again but then I saw the looks on my parents' face. So I kept my mouth shut.

Even when Principal Hardley shoved his palm in my face. "No more excuses!" He said, using his hand to straighten his striped green jacket. "The next time I see you should be no later, and no sooner! Than Friday. What a shame that such a young student as yourself has such little respect for this prestigious institution."

Hundreds of students crowded the halls after the bell rang. However, only I was stuck between two parents, one of whom talked non-stop.

"Why couldn't you just keep your hands to yourself?!" Dad rattled on and on. "And talking back to the principal? Copper, are you actively trying to get into more trouble?"

While he ranted, I thought about the annoying look on Betty's face. Stupid Betty. I knew she would brag about it to my face the next time I saw her again. Just the imagination of her smug smile taunting me and my friends was enough to make me grit my teeth. I should have kneeled her in the gut as a warning. 

"Oh come on Daniel, you're acting like Copper starts fights without a reason," my mother said. As we approached the entrance of the school, Mom released her raven black hair from its bun and held them in place while she fastened her hair into a ponytail with the aid of a blue scrunchie.

Big black eyes kept focused on the ground as we descended the steps. Black pumps clicked upon each steps. "She tried to explain, what, several times now? And that man didn't even let her get a word in before he made her sit outside, claiming he saw everything. When we asked for clarification, he didn't even budge."

Dad sighed.He ran his hand over his face. "I get that, and I'm not saying I side with Hardley, but Copper has already been held back two years now. Any more trouble and she might not be able to graduate. Worst case scenario she'll be kicked out of the school, permanently. I'm not saying she can't defend herself when the time calls for it, but she has one hell of a temper. She needs to learn to fight smarter, not harder."

I held my head down as I listened to them talk. They were worried about me. I know that. I also know they would be even more disappointed if they knew the reason I was held back so many times.

I stole a glance towards my mother and the man she married when I was young. My mother's family was very religious. So much so that the moment they heard she wanted to get married to a man that was not a part of their religion, they gave her two choices.

Either break up with him and marry a man of their choosing or marry him and never talk to them again.

She chose the latter.

That man was my birth father, I believe Mom called him John. After their marriage they had me. According to her, I was as whiny as a baby as I was now. Their lives together didn't last. At the age of four, my mother brought me with her to the hospital, crying by my father's bed.

Suddenly, Daniel stopped walking. He turned to me and held my hand, his dark complexion contrasting with mine.

"Dear, I hope you realize I'm not doing this for fun or sport. I want you to have your education, to be successful in life, to go to a good college and get your degree." I couldn't resist gazing away from his face. College wasn't for me. I find myself to be more useful with an actually job than wasting time and money studying an extra 2-4 years for a degree I might not even get.

Daniel himself could only make enough money to cover the bills. Mom used her pay as a secretary of a small supermarket to maintain the house we lived in. They needed me, I know they did. But I could never tell them that when they had such high hopes for my future.

How was I supposed to tell them that every time Mom's heel detached itself and she had to hammer it back together with tiny nails and superglue that I felt ill? How was I to tell Dad that each time he came home and told us stories about the dangers of his work that I went to bed scared to death, praying every night that he didn't have to go to work the next day?

I couldn't, I could only let out my frustrations in school and hope for a better day. Yet, I also couldn't hold out forever.

"Thank you, Dad," I muttered. "I know what you're trying to say. It's just hard sometimes, you know?"

Dad nodded and pulled me into a hug. He gently kissed the top on my head which was covered in dyed, dirty blonde hair. "I love ya' kiddo and I'll always be looking out for you. But you've got to look out for yourself too. Promise me that?"

"I promise," I said, voice muffled by his work shirt. There still lingered the smell of today's fresh sweat in his clothing. My heart twinged with guilt at the realization that he had to leave work early for this.

After Dad let me go I faced Mom, who had a slight frown on her face, eyes half open and wet. She took a deep breath and rubbed my back.

The afternoon air smelled of lilacs and greasy food from the stalls outside the large, black metal gates of the school. Our school was a two storey building with a structure that very much needed a modern touch to it. There were more sickly yellow walls than there were windows, halls coated in white paint.

As with any public school we weren't required to wear uniforms, which is too bad because I would have loved a thick school jacket to keep me warm instead of my pink, short-sleeved shirt. I could feel the weight of my hair on my lower back. The sun shined on my face, helping to warm my cold flesh. Sure I was tense before, but a part of me was now relieved that I didn't have to attend school for the next few days.

Daniel was telling us about what we needed to buy before we head home when I heard Mom gasp. We looked at her, then followed her gaze to the gate. The gates were swung inside, allowing students to exit more freely. Standing on the sidewalk, in front of a parked silver vehicle, were two persons. A man dressed in all black casual wear. Next to him was a much older man all decked in a mauve suit, white dress shoes that shined brighter than the cover of my textbooks.

They looked like they were here to pick up some rich kid who attended dance classes before heading home to his million dollar mansion. 

I couldn't tell why Mom was surprised to see them, though. Was she awestruck? 

"Mister Harmony," she breathed out. I froze. Daniel stared at his wife with his mouth hanging open. He asked, "Do you know this man, Grace?"

As if he grew tired of waiting for us the man my mother called Mr. Harmony stepped forward. I watched as Grace did the same as well, stopping only when she stood directly between the iron gates. They faced one another as if they could read the other's mind.

Daniel might not know who he was, but I do. And there is no way I wanted anything to do with him.