MASK ON
— 23. Expelled
Alex was fourteen at the time, standing in a motel room with numerous boys much older than her. The boys sat at the table, playing a game of pokers. Some were in high schools while others were in college. However, Alex was not even in high school yet.
It was the summer before eighth grade and Alex was desperate for money. She stood off to the side, looking down at the wad of money she had collected from each of the boys as admission.
She stuffed it into her back pocket and turned, walking around the round table as she made sure everyone was set. She smiled slightly, moving toward the door when she heard a knock.
She opened the door, smiling at the sight of two more arrivals. "It's a five hundred dollar buy-in. It goes up every hour," She informed him and the boys nodded, not looking to be bothered by the price.
They were all rich kids, in the mood for some trouble that led them to gamble on Alex's side of town, which was known for its run-down motels and trashy people.
"You're looking about a hundred for the next deal and pot's at five-k." She explained, closing the door after she let them both in.
They immediately held out their money to each other, which they exchanged for game chips. "You live on this side of town, darlin'?" The boy asked, causing Alex's smile to fade, "You're way too pretty to be dealing with these lowlives."
"If only you knew," She muttered under her breath, trying to contain her smile. The poor fool didn't know that Alex was the one running the whole gambling ring in the first place.
"What's your name?" He replied as he moved closer to her, clearly interested in her.
"Mary," She answered, smiling politely despite it being a lie.
"Well, Mary, the name's Cole," He informed her, smiling back at her, "Maybe we could get to know each other after this game or somethin'."
"Where do you go to school?" She asked him curiously and the boy's smile became wider.
"Just graduated but I'll be going to UT Austin in the fall," He answered and Alex sighed in disapproval, "What about you, beautiful?"
Instead of answering, Alex backed away. She continued to smile and turned to walk away. "Have a nice night, Cal."
"It's Cole," He corrected her and Alex shrugged carelessly before walking away. He watched her walk away, an intrigued smile forming on her lips.
Alex smiled as well and walked over to where she had numerous bottles of alcohol laid out. She picked up a bottle of whiskey, about to pour a glass when she felt an arm snake itself around her waist.
She jumped in fright, only to playfully roll her eyes as she felt the person's lips press a kiss to the crook of her neck. "At first, I thought this idea was crazy, but now I regret ever doubting you," The boy whose name was Allen told her, causing Alex to smile in response.
Allen pulled away from her, allowing Alex to turn around. He wrapped his arm around her and they both looked at the group of boys playing poker at the two tables set up in the motel room.
"You're like some evil mastermind genius," He commented and Alex smirked mischievously, "A pretty one, at that."
"Tell me something I don't know," Alex replied before another knock was heard.
She sighed and walked over to the door, expecting it to be another person who wanted to take part. "Jesus, Al, how many people did you invite?" She complained, only to have her face pale when she opened the door to find her mother standing before her.
"Mom!" Alex exclaimed, her eyes widening in alarm.
____
Alex sat in the backseat impatiently, watching as her mother walked up to the car with Austin. He had just gotten in trouble for stabbing Cynthia Fuller's son in the hand with a pencil. It made Alex think back to eighth grade when she had something quite similar.
Ginny rolled her eyes and stepped out of the car. She pulled her seat up, allowing Austin to climb in. "Well?" She had asked as they all got into the car and closed the doors, "How'd it go?"
Georgia sighed, turning to glance at Ginny. "I'm not gonna lie. It was—"
"You're not gonna lie?" Ginny cut her mom off and let out a large scoff, "That's weird."
"Shut up, Ginny," Alex spoke up in an annoyed tone as she leaned forward in the back seat, "I want to hear what Mom has to say."
"Frankly, Alex, I'd like to hear from Austin," Ginny retorted before turning to glance at her brother, "How'd it go?"
"I'm suspended, and I have to do therapy. Mom said she was worried," Austin admitted, a disappointed look on his face.
"Baby, I'm not worried," Georgia argued, giving her son an assuring look, "There is nothing wrong with you, and you don't need to go therapy. That Zach kid had it coming."
"I'm sorry. Are you suggesting the nine-year-old deserved to be stabbed with a pencil?" Ginny asked, staring at her mother in disbelief.
"I'm sorry but you've got a lot of opinions today," Georgia retorted, beginning to glare at her daughter, "I don't remember anyone popping out of your birth canal! Can it."
"He needs to see someone, Mom!" Ginny demanded, a worried look on her face, "Clearly, he's not handling things well with your whole secret family surprise."
"I like Caleb!" Austin exclaimed in a defensive tone and Alex sighed as she listened to the conversation but didn't take part. It was the second time a child of Georgia's had done something like this. It was why Ginny was so upset.
"I didn't tell you about them for good reason," Georgia argued in a stern tone, "Maddie is trouble! You can't trust anything she says."
"Oh, that's rich," Ginny retorted in a sarcastic tone, "Please, lecture me more about who I can trust. I'm rapt."
"I don't wanna go to therapy," Austin spoke up, his eyes wide in fear.
"Don't worry," Georgia assured her son as she turned to glance at him, "You're not. I'm not paying for some twenty-nothing, latte-drinkin', tweed-wearing hypocrite who thinks they have any idea about my life."
"Austin's life!" Ginny complained, staring at her mother in disbelief, "You mean Austin's life!"
"Baby, listen to me," Georgia sighed, turning to glance at her son once more, "You're perfect."
"But I heard you," Austin complained, clearly not understanding Georgia had said whatever she did to protect him, "You said you were worried."
"Nothing I said was true! I was try—" Georgia began to say, but Ginny quick to cut her off.
"Lying!" Ginny shouted and Georgia sighed in defeat.
"Protecting you," Georgia corrected her, her eyes softening.
Unable to take it anymore, Alex sighed and placed her headphones in. She pressed play, wanting to block out any argument that was about to occur.
It was like history was repeating itself. The same occurred almost three years ago, but instead of Austin being the one stabbing some, it had been Alex.
It had occurred in eighth grade and Ginny was pissed when they had been forced to switch schools during the first week of their new school.
Alex believed that was when her relationship with her twin sister first truly began to become strained. It was only then Ginny truly realized how similar she and her sister were. They both lived in fight or flight, Georgia mostly in flight and Alex mainly in fight.
If it hadn't been Georgia messing something up, it was Alex. Either way, because of the two of them, the whole family had lived in over twelve different homes because if something went south, neither women let the dust settle.
Alex was thirteen at the time, her expression unreadable as she sat outside the principal's office. She had her head leaned against the wall, her eyes closed as she listened to her mother speak with the principal and the mother of the person Alex's 'incident' occurred with.
"What's to prevent that deranged girl from stabbing another student with a fork at lunch?" The woman had asked the principal in an angered tone.
"The school has very strict disciplinary guidelines when it comes to violence," The Principal reminded the woman in a calm tone.
"It wasn't just violence!" The woman exclaimed, staring at her in disbelief, "It was a premeditated attack by a child with severe aggression and mental health issues."
"We're taking it very seriously," He assured her, and Georgia sighed in frustration.
"I don't know where she learned this behavior," Georgia complained and shook her head, playing the innocent mother, "It is inexcusable. Clearly, she's struggling emotionally since the move."
"My son had to get stitches. If the wound had been an inch to the left, it would have hit a main artery. He could have died!" She complained and Georgia rolled her eyes, "Who's knows if he'll recover in time for football?"
"This is my fault," Georgia replied, turning to give the principal a guilty look. "I must have missed Alexandria's cries for help. I'm..." She trailed off, sighing as she lowered her head in shame, "I'm so sorry this happened."
"Alexandria shouldn't be allowed back into the classroom," The woman complained and Georgia nodded in agreement.
"I agree," Georgia replied and Alex frowned as she listened in to the conversation, "My daughter needs time away from school to process this."
"Process? What is there to process! She is old enough to know right from wrong. She knew what she did was wrong and she did it anyway!" The woman argued, turning to glare at Georgia.
"Given that this is her first offense and nothing in her files state her doing anything remotely like this in the past, I think a ten-day suspension and weekly visits with her guidance counselor is appropriate," The principal suggested, causing the woman to scoff and stare at him in disbelief.
"Suspension?!" She shouted as she stood up from her seat, "She should be expelled! My son is in the hospital because of that girl," She paused, turning to glare at Georgia, "She should be in therapy."
"Oh, absolutely," Georgia replied, nodding in agreement, "Therapy, most definitely. This aggression is unacceptable and must be dealt with."
A few moments passed before Georgia walked out of the principal's office. She walked over to Alex and stopped in front of the girl, who was staring down at the ground sadly. "Did I sound believable?" She suddenly asked, smiling down at her daughter without a care in the world.
Instead of finding what her mother said funny, Alex smiled sadly. She weakly nodded, continuing to stare down at the ground in shame.
Noticing something was up with her daughter, Georgia sighed and moved closer to her. "Why'd you do it?"
"I don't want to talk about it," Alex replied softly as she continued to stare down at the ground sadly.
"I just saved you from being expelled. The least you could do is tell me why you did it," Georgia demanded in a stern tone.
Slowly, Alex lifted her head, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. "He, uh, was trying to touch me at lunch."
The moment Georgia heard her daughter's words, her stern expression faded and her eyes softened. "What do you mean by touch?"
"He tried to put his hand in my pants. I told him not to and he didn't listen," Alex explained, looking to be on the verge of crying, "Something happened over the summer with this boy and I thought coming to a new school would mean I left that behind in the last town. It followed us and now, the boys think I'm easy and will do stuff with them. He tried it at lunch, even when I told him no. I tried to push him off and he tried again. So I stabbed him. To make him stop."
"Little shit had it coming, then," Georgia replied, causing Alex to stare at her mother in surprise, "Come on. We're going home."
Alex smiled sadly and nodded. Her mother wrapped an arm around her and they wasted no time walking out of school together.
"I shouldn't have stabbed him with the fork. I could've hit an artery and killed him," Alex reminded her mother, who sighed and turned to face her daughter.
She crouched down slightly, placing her hands on Alex's shoulders. "Alex, what's done is done. It don't do any good digging through mud. All you get is dirty. Best wash yourself clean and move on. You hear me?" She explained and Alex confidently nodded his head, "Good, now let's go. We're getting ice cream and then we're finding you a new school."
____
It was nighttime. Georgia was standing in her kitchen with sister, who was asking her numerous questions about what she had been up to over the years. "What about you?" Maddie asked her sister, smiling widely, "You datin'?"
"She's dating the mayor," Alex suddenly spoke up as she entered the room, "Keepin' a nice, low profile."
She scoffed, picking up an apple before she took a bite into it.
Georgia immediately turned to her daughter, shocked to find the girl wearing a hood and sweatpants. She had never seen the girl not dressed up before.
She wasn't wearing makeup and her eyes were glossy and red, which caused Georgia to sigh in disapproval. "Are you high?"
Maddie smiled slightly, glancing between the mother-daughter duo. "You bagged a mayor?!" She asked in disbelief, "Damn, sis, that's some high-class shit. So, when do I get to meet him?"
Georgia was about to answer when she turned, noticing Alex walking toward the door. She hadn't even told her she was planning to leave. "Excuse me? Where are you goin', especially in a state like this?"
"Out," Alex answered and opened the front door, not bothering to look in her mother's direction.
"Out doin' what?" Georgia asked her daughter, letting out a large scoff, "You're stoned out of your mind. You shouldn't be goin' anywhere."
Alex slowly turned to her mother, beginning to lazily smile. "I'm going to get pregnant, rob a bank, maybe do some cocaine," She explained and Georgia rolled her eyes since she didn't find Alex's comment funny, "Who knows what the night might bring? Night, Mom."
"And what got you in such a mood?" Georgia complained, watching Alex jokingly salute her before leaving the house.
Georgia huffed, turning to Maddie in shock. "That girl's mood changes faster than New England weather."
"Glad I have a son," Maddie muttered under her breath as she let out a large sigh.
"I don't know where she gets it," Georgia commented, looking aggravated.
"Are you kiddin'?" Maddie asked, beginning to laugh, "You. She gets it from you. Full you. All you. That's you walkin' the door," She paused, smiling as she leaned toward the door, "Let her go. She probably got plans with that cute boyfriend of hers. She don't seem to like him that much, though. Boy followed her around that Blue Farm Cafe for a good hour and a half before she finally gave in."
"How do you know about Kaden?" Georgia asked Maddie, eying her sister suspiciously.
"I met Alex earlier today at the cafe. She almost instantly recognized who I was, I don't know," Maddie admitted, causing Georgia to frown in concern.
"She didn't say anything to me," Georgia replied, looking confused.
"Guess she's a liar, just like her ma," Maddie commented, smiling at Georgia tauntingly.