The Cruelty and Fairness of
Fate
by Crawlspace
~ Chapter 23: Consequences, Part 1 ~
The monsignor’s office was best
described as dark and austere. Morning
light came in through the two windows behind the large oak desk that Rei and
her grandfather sat in front of, but the sunshine seemed to be swallowed up by
the polish of the wood paneling and the deep burgundy of the carpet. The bookshelves were a shade darker than the
walls and held books and trinkets that easily gave away the profession and
faith of their owner. A few plaques and
scholarly degrees decorated the walls, along with a too-lifelike-for-comfort
crucifix that hung squarely between the two windows.
At
Grandpa nodded in response. “That’s perfectly all right. We haven’t been waiting long.”
Reilly leaned forward in his chair
and folded his hands on top of the desk.
“Well, I suppose we should get right to business. The board met privately Wednesday night, and,
after several hours of discussion, we felt we’d reached a solution that will be
best for all concerned. Believe me when
I say this was not an easy matter for us.
There was no small amount of disagreement over how Rei should be
handled. She has been a student with us
for so long, it was felt by the majority that had this
incident not been so publicized, we might have been able to overlook it with
certain conditions imposed. However, the
publicity surrounding things has tied our hands. There isn’t a student, teacher, or parent who
doesn’t know what’s happened. Therefore,
this is what we propose.”
The monsignor’s face lost some of
its socially pleasant quality as his tone became more serious and
businesslike. “Rei will be withdrawn
from the school voluntarily. She won’t
return to class, however, she will be allowed to take finals separately from
the other students. We will provide her
with all the study materials necessary, as well as a schedule for the exams. After she’s completed testing, we will assist
you in whatever placement procedures necessary to enroll Rei in whatever school
she chooses to attend. We also ask that any
further issues involving the school and yourselves be handled civilly and
privately from this point on.”
As the man before her spoke, Rei’s
fingers dug harder and harder into the arms of her chair. In her chest she could feel the growing
weight of anger and dread. When he
finished speaking and sat with a calmness that matched her grandfather’s, Rei
asked harshly, “What if I refuse to leave voluntarily?”
Reilly frowned at her, whether it
was because she was challenging him or because she had spoken out of turn, Rei
wasn’t certain. However, he answered her
question, even if he didn’t like the tone it was delivered in. “Then you will be immediately expelled and an
incomplete will be placed on your record for the trimester.”
“Rei,” broke in her grandfather as
he sat expressionless beside her, his fingers steepled
against his lips. “Go light a candle for
your mother. I’d like to speak with the
monsignor privately. Go on,” he repeated
more forcefully when Rei did no more than stare at him.
Her jaw clenched tight to hold back
her argument as Rei rose from her seat and left the room.
After the door closed, Grandpa
looked up at the monsignor. The man
shifted uncomfortably under the direct gaze of his elder. While this person was never one he’d been
inclined to take seriously, the piercing stare he was being fixed with made
Reilly feel smaller and less sure, as if there was something he’d missed along
the way that this man already held within himself.
Grandpa took a slow breath, then began to speak in an even tone. “In the last years of her life, my daughter
found something in your beliefs that gave her comfort. She wanted Rei to know that part of her, to
understand it and respect it, even if she didn’t practice it. And she knew that part of her was something I
didn’t understand or approve of, so she came up with this school as her answer. I believe, however, that Rei has learned well
more than her mother ever intended, and I agree it would be best if she moved
on.”
Reilly cleared his throat and sat up
straighter in his chair. “It’s good to
have your cooperation in this. I’ll be
meeting with Rei’s teachers later this afternoon to work out the details of her
exam schedule. I would guess all the
information will be ready for her by Wednesday morning.”
Grandpa nodded and stood to
leave. “I’ll have someone come and pick
it up. If that’s all
we have to discuss, good day to you, Monsignor.”
After being shown to the door,
Grandpa walked slowly to the school’s chapel.
He stood at the entrance to the sanctuary for a moment and watched his
granddaughter as she sat alone in a middle pew.
Quietly, he walked up to her and stood in the aisle beside her.
“You’re going to let them expel me,”
said Rei softly. There was no accusation
in her voice, none of the anger her grandfather expected.
“Yes,” he answered, looking forward
at the alter rather than at Rei. His hand came to rest on her shoulder. “You have to choose your battles, Rei, and
you have more important ones ahead of you.”
*
* *
The breeze stirred up some leaves
and brushed them passed her legs as Minako sat on the swingset. The swing swayed gently as she watched three
children playing on the monkeybars on the other side
of the playground. She could hear their
laughter, and for a moment, she envied them the ability to just be happy and
enjoy a late Sunday afternoon.
She heard no footsteps behind her,
but she felt the presence of the person as she walked up behind her. Minako knew who it was, knew she didn’t have
to worry regardless, because Artemis was keeping watch over her from the picnic
tables under the trees. So, as Setsuna
sat in the swing beside her, Minako grinned.
She also committed the image to memory, because the sight of Setsuna
sitting casually on a playground swing wasn’t something she expected she’d see
again anytime soon.
“You’re by yourself today?” asked
Setsuna.
“Artemis is with me,” answered
Minako. “Rei’s at the shrine. We’re going back there for good tonight. Have you guys heard about what we’re trying
to do?”
“Yes.”
Minako pushed her foot against the
ground lightly to get some of her momentum back. “The same lawyer who handled everything for
Mako-chan is doing everything for me.
She asked to meet with me alone this afternoon, informally, before the
real meeting tomorrow morning. Right
before we finished the meeting, she asked me a question. Why am I doing this?”
“And what did you tell her?”
Her swing stopped abruptly as
Minako’s feet touched the dirt. She
leaned back, her hands high on the swing’s chains, and stared up at the
sky. “Rei,” said Minako as she watched
the clouds drift by. “She’s the first
thing I think of when I imagine having to leave, and she’s the thing that makes
it hurt the most. But there’s more to it
than that.”
Minako righted herself and looked
over to Setsuna. “I’m happy with my life
and my friends, and more comfortable with things than I ever have been
before. I don’t want to let go of that
now that I have it, not even for a little while. And Mako-chan’s
going to have the baby soon,” she added with a grin. “Miki is our first baby, and my first
nephew. I want to be here to spoil him
rotten from day one. Then, of course,
there’s Usagi. Not that I could even
begin to explain that to my lawyer.”
Setsuna smiled at the younger
girl. “I can understand how that part
might be a bit difficult.”
“Yeah,” replied Minako. “You know, Usagi was the only one of us
really surprised when Ami said she wasn’t applying to any colleges outside
Setsuna’s smile grew just a
fraction, and she tilted her head in a direction behind Minako. “Speaking of Usagi, it looks as though a few
of your friends decided you could use some company.”
Minako looked behind her in the
direction Setsuna was indicating. At the
picnic table where Artemis was, Ami and Usagi had just arrived and stood
waiting for Minako to finish her conversation.
Minako raised her hand to wave to them and got an enthusiastic wave back
from Usagi. Then she turned back to
Setsuna. “There are some things I want
to do, in case I don’t get the chance later.
I hate shopping alone, so I asked them to come with me, since Rei and
Mako-chan aren’t allowed on this trip.”
“Makoto was at the house when I
left,” said Setsuna. “I was a bit
puzzled as to why Hotaru called her to help with her project. I suppose now I have some of my answer.”
“Uh huh,” replied Minako with a
quick nod. “Peanut
butter cookies and Hotaru. We
knew Mako-chan wouldn’t be able to say no to that combination. See, Ami gets anxious when she leaves her
alone for too long anymore, so this way, she can relax knowing Mako-chan is in
safe custody until she gets done with what I want her for.”
“Beneath all her logic is the heart
of a worrier in love,” said Setsuna quietly.
“But if I were in her position, I would likely find myself doing the
same.” The she asked, “What about Rei? I’m surprised she didn’t insist on coming
with you.”
Minako’s face clouded over just a
bit. “I used the meeting with the lawyer
as an excuse, and I didn’t tell her about this part. She needs some time for herself right now,
anyway, where she doesn’t have to worry about me. She’s being expelled from TA, and she’s more
upset about it than she’ll admit. But at
least she’s home now.” Minako slid off
the swing and stood facing Setsuna with her hands in her jacket pockets. “I’m trying to find a reason, Setsuna. I look at things the way they are now, and I
try to find the ‘why.’ I haven’t found
anything yet, though.”
“I can’t promise you ever will,”
answered Setsuna, her voice sympathetic.
“I know,” said Minako. Then she forced a grin. “But for the next few hours, I’m going to
forget all about why’s and how’s, and I’m going to pretend to be normal
again. And I’m going to have fun,
because I’m finally going to get Rei back for what she did to me on Valentine’s
Day.”
Setsuna stood and smiled down at the
girl. “Then you should get going. I need to get home myself.”
The two made their goodbyes, and
Minako hurried over to her waiting friends.
*
* *
The jewelry store was the last place
they were stopping at after having already spent several hours at various baby
boutiques looking for the one thing Minako just had to have for her soon-to-be
nephew – a little white sailor suit with navy blue trim. After that discovery, they’d gone to the arts
and crafts store and helped clean out the leftovers of the Valentine’s
clearance bin. While Minako wouldn’t get
specific about what she was planning to do with all the paper hearts and
colored construction paper, it wasn’t hard for Ami to make a general guess with
this final stop. So, as the saleslady
came over to help Minako in her search for a gold band that fit her description
of perfect as well as her budget, Ami wandered away from her friends.
The various displays Ami passed
ranged from gaudy and overpriced to classic and elegant. While there were a few pieces in silver or
trimmed in colored gems, the store seemed to favor gold and diamonds. Such was the case at the glass cabinet where
she stopped to admire several rows of diamond rings.
A small grin formed on Ami’s lips
when Usagi came up behind her and peered over her shoulder at the display
case. A teasing smirk appeared on the
blonde’s face just before she said, in the most casual and offhand tone she
could muster, “I know that all of you know that no one could ever have a better
wedding than me and my Mamo-chan are going to.
But it would be nice if one of my friends would at least try.”
A blush began to form across Ami’s
cheeks, Usagi having touched on more than she realized, and her gaze dropped
down to one of the more classically cut rings she had been favoring. “I’ll tell you a secret, Usagi. But you must promise to keep it to yourself
and not tell anyone.”
Usagi’s grin grew wide, and she
nodded her head. “I promise. Cross my
heart.”
“I have been thinking about it a
bit,” admitted Ami. “Mako-chan seemed so
taken by what Rei did for Minako. I know
she would like something like that, and I’d like to do something for her that
shows her and everyone else what she means to me. And Mako-chan has always wished for a real
wedding, where she could be a real bride, with all the trimmings. It was something she really did want, but I
can see when she talks about it anymore she’s relegated that wish to a silly
and useless fairytale, because of everything that’s happened and the way we’re
living. I’d like to give this to her,”
said Ami, her fingers running lightly over the glass case, “for everything
she’s given me. I can’t do it just yet,
though. The timing isn’t right, and
there are a few things I need to take care of first, so that when I do this,
everything is perfect for her.”
Usagi took Ami’s hand in hers, a
happy light in her eyes. “It will be,
Ami,” she said with quiet excitement.
“Whenever you do ask her and however you do it, Mako-chan’s
going to absolutely love it.”
“Thank you, Usagi,” replied Ami,
returning some of Usagi’s smile. “Just
please remember not to say anything. I
want this to be a surprise for her, as well.”
“I’ll remember, don’t worry,”
answered Usagi with a firm nod. “I can
keep a secret when I have to. I haven’t
told anybody about your book, after all.”
“What book?” asked Minako, startling
both girls enough to make them jump as she came up beside them.
Usagi struggled to stutter out an
answer even as Ami went bright red at just the thought.
Minako giggled at her friends, then took hold of their arms. “Never mind,” she laughed. “You can tell me later. Right now, you have to come see this. I found just the right one.” With that, she pulled them over to the chosen
ring and pronounced that Operation: Payback
had officially begun.
*
* *
Small feet padded softly across the
den floor. A plate clinked lightly on
one of the end tables as it was set down, just before Haruka felt the cushion
beside her dip under the weight of her child.
Lowering the newspaper she’d been reading, Haruka looked over to see
Hotaru sitting with her legs crossed and her chin resting on her hands.
“Are you finished reading yet?”
asked Hotaru. “If you are, we’re allowed
to eat some cookies. Michiru-mama made
us a plate of them.”
Haruka grinned. “I thought those cookies were for school.”
Hotaru mirrored the grin right back
at her. “We made a lot of them.”
“Is that so? Well, I suppose we should eat them, since
Michiru went to the trouble of fixing them for us.” As Hotaru turned and crawled across the couch
to reach the plate of cookies, Haruka asked, “Where’s Mako-chan?”
“In the kitchen with Michiru-mama,”
answered Hotaru as she took two cookies and passed the plate to Haruka. “They’re talking about baby stuff.”
“And you don’t want to be out there
for all of that?”
Hotaru shook her head and swallowed
a mouthful of cookie. “It’s not the good
kind of baby talk right now. I mean,
honestly, it’s not like I was a baby for all that long. Is it really important how many diapers I
went through or how many times I threw up on you?”
“It was at the time it was
happening,” answered Haruka with a smirk.
“We never knew which end it was going to wind up coming out of.”
“Eewww! That’s
gross! You’re worse than Michiru-mama,”
complained Hotaru. Ignoring the laugh
this got from her papa, Hotaru started looking around for the TV remote. When she found it between the couch cushions,
she moved onto the floor, announcing, “It’s time for my show. Do you want to watch it with me?”
“Sure,” answered Haruka. She took a bite of her cookie, managing to
get half of it in her mouth at once, then reached for her paper as Hotaru
channel surfed to kill time until her show started.
The sound of the channels flicking
stopped, and Haruka heard the familiar voice of the evening news anchor. She looked around her paper and saw on the
screen what appeared to be an impromptu question and answer session. It was a common sight anymore, and Haruka
frowned as she wondered how many more times and how many different ways the
senator was going to find to say, ‘Pity me because she’s my daughter, but it’s
not my fault.’
“Let’s watch something else until
your show starts,” said Haruka when Hotaru didn’t change the channel. “And back up a little. You’re going to mess up your eyes if you keep
sitting that close.”
Hotaru didn’t move. Instead, she watched the screen with a
concentrated expression. “That’s him,”
she said quietly.
“Him who?” asked Haruka. “You mean Rei’s father?”
“No,” answered Hotaru. She reached forward and put a finger to a man
who stood off to the side of the screen.
“Him, with the red tie. He’s the one who was taking our picture.”
“Are you sure?” asked Haruka as she
quickly moved down beside Hotaru. At
Hotaru’s nod, she said, “Hurry and get me a tape from the video cabinet, then
go get Michiru.”
When she was handed the tape, Haruka
put it in and hit record after a quick promise to find Michiru another copy of
this somehow. As Hotaru ran out of the
room to get Michiru, Haruka carefully watched the tail end of the senator’s
interview. Her interest stayed with the
man off on Hino’s right. He blended into
the background well, which was more than likely a requirement of his job. Now that he’d been pulled out into the
forefront, Haruka studied his face, mentally placing it over the image from the
video they’d taken two weeks ago. They’d
made an edited version of the tape for Hotaru to keep, while the original was
locked away. Haruka had watched the original,
freezing it for as long as it would hold on that one scene, until she was
certain she would know the man if they ever crossed paths. This wasn’t how she’d expected to find him,
and certainly not in this particular position.
“Haruka? What’s going on?” asked Michiru as she came
into the room with Makoto and Hotaru.
Haruka tapped the screen with her
knuckle. “It looks like the senator has
a rat in his briefcase.”