Smooth Criminal

Later that night, after Alex dropped me off at home, I almost managed to get to my room without being noticed. Almost.
“Stella Lucille Underwood.”
I stopped dead in my tracks, the sound of my father’s voice cold enough to send a trail of shivers down my spine.
“Come here, please.”
My breath hitches in my throat and panic starts coursing through every vein in my body. There is no way this could possibly be good.
“Yes, Dad?” I peep my head through the doorway to my parent’s bedroom. My mother is tucked into the bed, book laid in her lap and exhaustion present in her drooping eyes, my father sitting beside her, glasses hanging off his nose while anger flares in every aspect of his face.
“It’s ten o’clock,” he says sharply. I stare at him, not quite sure what that’s supposed to mean. “On a school night,” he adds for emphasis. I continue to stare at him.
“I know,” I say dumbly.
“We have rules in this house.” My father’s voice booms and I jump at the loud, sudden volume.
“I was at Alex’s house doing homework, Dad,” I say defensively.
“Alex? As in Alex Gaskarth?”
Mom nods her head to answer his question.
“I don’t want you near that boy ever again, you understand me?”
“Dad, he’s my English partner for an assignment,” I cry loudly. “I can’t just not hang out with him. I will fail. And do you seriously want me to fail a major test grade all because you don’t like who I’m paired up with?”
Dad is silent for a moment, thinking over the options. “You are to do your assignment here and only here. I do not want you going anywhere near that kid when you’re outside of school or this house. That’s an order.”
“He’s not even a bad guy, Dad!”
“Stella, I have arrested him on many different occasions for many different things! He is not the kind of person you need to be associating yourself with!”
I feel my blood start to boil and I clench my fists tightly. “And who should I be associating myself with, Dad? Who? You? Mom? I already only have one friend and you barely even like her! I am almost eighteen years old and I don’t even have a job or a car! You can’t just expect me to stay here and be your pet for the rest of my life!”
“Stella-” Mom starts to say, but I cut her off.
“I know Rory has made trusting your other two children sort of difficult for you two, but I am not my sister. I am not going to go out every weekend and do drugs and sleep around with whoever makes an offer. I have never given you any reason not to trust me! I stay home every day, I clean the house, I do my homework, and I keep myself out of your way so that you don’t have to deal with me. I deserve to have friends. I deserve to have a life!” My body is trembling with anger at this point. Whatever perception my father has of me isn’t right and it’s not fair.
“Stella Lucille, if you EVER raise your voice at me and talk back to me again, you’re done!” Dad screams at me. I stare at him with wide eyes, knowing that he missed everything that just came out of my mouth. I wipe the the dumbfounded glare off my face and shake my head and retreat to my room, knowing that I couldn’t possibly get through to the man.
I closed my door behind me, quietly so that I cause any more disruption throughout the house, and walk over to my bed where my phone lit up with an unread text.
I had fun today. We should hang out more.
It was from Alex. My face morphed into a small smile as I quickly sent my reply, agreeing that we should hang out more outside of school.
But how would my father react to this new friendship of mine? He literally just told me that I’m not allowed to hang out with Alex. But then again, why should I let that stop me from doing what I want?
The bubble of anger returns to my chest as I think about how my father has manipulated me and talked down to me my entire life, causing me to think that my only true purpose was to be the quiet kid who always did as she was told. I was supposed to be the kid who never talked back, who always said her ‘please’ and ‘thank-you’s,’ ‘yes, sir’ and ‘no sir’s.’ I wasn’t supposed to question authority. I wasn’t supposed to have my own opinions. I certainly wasn’t supposed to have a mind of my own. The real Stella Underwood was supposed to be a perfect angel who never did anything wrong. But now that I think about it, the real Stella Underwood isn’t who everybody thinks she is. I’m a good person, yes. That much is true. But the person who I truly am isn’t anywhere close to who my father wants me to be. And I’m done compromising my happiness for his orderliness.

“We have a show on Friday,” Alex says smugly as he takes his seat next to me at lunch. Amanda smiles widely at the news and claps excitedly.
“I’m going!” She says loudly. All eyes fall to me and I shift awkwardly in my seat.
“I don’t know…”
“C’mon, Stells!” Alex begs. “You have to go!”
“Yeah,” Amanda chimes in. “Who else am I going to go with? You’re literally my only friend. Everyone else at this school thinks I’m a bitch.”
“You are a bitch,” I say dryly.
“But it’s why you love me.” My best friend winks at me and I laugh.
“I’ll think about it. But no promises, okay?”
Alex and Amanda whoop with glee while I mentally wrack my brain for some excuse to feed to my father as to why I’ll be gone again this weekend. After our fight last night, I doubt I’ll be able to go anywhere for the next few years. But at this point, I’m not too sure I even care. He can’t stop me from supporting my friends. I’m going to this concert whether he likes it or not.
The bell rang, signaling that lunch was over. Alex wrapped his arm around me as the two of us made our way to the science wing of the school building.
“So you’re coming over again today right?” Alex asks me as we stand in front of my classroom. I chew on my bottom lip and go over the outcome if I were to go home with Alex today instead of going home.
“Sure,” I find myself saying, despite the fact that I literally just gave myself every possible reason to say no. “I have to get to class though. I’ll see you later, Alex.” Alex gives me a tight hug and I awkwardly shuffle into the classroom, not sure how to feel about that boy. Everything about him is completely wrong for me. He’s in a rock band, he parties, he gets drunk every weekend, everyone knows him, and then there’s me. The goody two-shoe student who keeps her head low and her nose in her books. Always on time, always doing as she’s told, always doing the right thing. No one even knows my name at this school. They know me as ‘That cop’s kid’ and they’re too scared to get to know me. Alex and I are from two completely different worlds. Maybe my dad has a point… Maybe staying away from Alex is the smart thing to do.

Notes