“They said we were cult kids, that we were messed up!” She jumped up, hands clenched. “Those girls were mean.”
“Did they make fun of your haircuts?” Tess asked. “Because they were probably just jealous.”
Enola made a disgusted noise. “No,” she said, practically shaking she was so upset. “They said that Beck was…” She looked at me.
“Was what?” Tess prompted.
“Enola,” I said sharply.
“They said that you moved us in because you were going to marry us just like Dad,” she said, starting to cry. “But you’re not like that. They didn’t have any right to say that.”
“Yeah,” Annie said, holding aloft a ribbon still wrapped around a tuft of hair. “And we made sure she was sorry!”
“You let that kind of talk go on at your school?” I asked the headmistress, fury flowing through me.
“I had no idea,” she sputtered.
“Bullshit!” Tess said, jumping in. “Teachers always know who’s bullying who, and you all just expect the victim to be quiet and not defend themselves.” Tess held out her fist to Annie and Enola. “Nice going, girls.”
“You can’t congratulate them for fighting,” the headmistress argued.
“They were defending a family member,” Tess said stubbornly. “Of course they should be applauded.”
The headmistress’s nostrils flared. “If that’s the kind of attitude you have toward parenting, then I don’t think this school is the right place for Annie and Enola. They can go to public school.”
“Fine! Screw you and your hoity-toity expensive private school,” Tess said hotly. “They’re better than this place anyways.”
“You can consider Annie and Enola expelled!” the headmistress said shrilly.
“They’re not expelled because I’m pulling them out of school!” Tess shot back. “Er…” She looked at me. I was still in a bit of shock.
Little girls were saying things likethat?
I shook myself. “Tess is right. This isn’t working out. Girls, get your things.”
“I don’t have anything here I want to take back with me,” Annie declared, pushing herself off the chair.
I followed Tess and the girls to the car in a daze.
Tess patted me on the arm when we were back in the car. “Sorry,” she said. “I just got carried away.”
“Enola’s in fifth grade,” I said in shock. “There were fifth graders bullying her about her being forced to marry her own brother. That seems insane.”
“Ha! Tween school girls are the absolute worst. They’re all little sociopaths,” Tess said.
“I had no idea.”
“It’s not an anomaly, trust me,” Tess said, patting me on the shoulder. “Middle school was the worst time in my life.”
“You two need some sort of schooling,” I told the girls finally.
“They have CEO school, they have the apps that they have to work on, and I’ll sign them up for some homeschooling courses. Maybe we can rent you all some shared office space,” Tess suggested to them. “We can decorate it!”
“I’ll just tell Greg to give them a suite in the Svensson Investment tower,” I said, still feeling slightly sick.
Were people talking? Did people think that I had taken my sisters in to abuse them?
I was spiraling down. Clearly the bullying had been going on for a while. Those fifth-grade girls couldn’t have just made the rumors up themselves. Were their parents feeding them the lies? Were the teachers? What if someone called child protective services?
