"Parent-Teacher Conference" When everyone had gathered in and settled down, Ms. Marbel said to them, "I'm glad you could all take time out of your busy schedules for this conference. I thought that since half a year has passed us, it would be wise for parents and teachers to converge and exchange information and ideas." She paused; the adults in the room, mostly the parents of students, all silently waited her next thought. A few of them knew each other, and a few more were just getting to know each other. Marbel wanted their attention, so she cleared her throat. "Since I summoned you all here, I guess it's my duty to speak first. Most of your daughters are good students and good people, though there are some that have given us challenges. Of course, our work cannot possibly compare to yours, you who must live with them every day." A polite chuckle bubbled up before she could go on. "That being said, I'd like to hear from certain parents first. Mr. and Mrs. Nanahara, would you do the honors?" A Hawaiian woman and a Japanese man stood up, looking slightly embarrassed. Just by exchanging looks with some of the teachers there, they knew their little Kula had already wreaked havoc. "This is still a hard time for our daughter," spoke her father. "When we moved a few months ago, Kula did nothing but scream and curse at us. There was no reasoning with her. I understand what it's like to move away from home and go to a foreign place, but we still do not get along. Most of the time she ignores us." "Does your daughter have a history of violence, prior to moving to the mainland?" "Nothing more than a few incidents of mischief," answered her mother. "She was always a wild girl, but she never gave anybody grief. I was frankly shocked at her actions after reading that letter you sent us around their Homecoming." "Would you have any idea why she would become so volatile?" "Just the move, that's all I can say. She doesn't bother to hide her anger. I am sure that in time, she may yet grow adjusted." "One can only hope," muttered one of the unfortunate teachers who had Kula in their class. Marbel didn't hear it; she thanked the Nanaharas and asked for Mr. and Mrs. Fox to stand. They knew for certain that their youngest was a good person and would rarely give them trouble, but their oldest... "Let me put this simply," Marbel said. "Alisha is a handful, even to our most resilient. She's disobedient and rude, and her language is appalling. However, she's also one of the smartest in her classes, once she buckles down, and Miss Johansson says nothing but praise of her." "I have to admit, your daughter's a genius," noted she. The Fox parents weren't sure what to say. Alisha was all that and then some, but she was improving—probably because her sister was making a concentrated effort to shape her into a better woman. Marbel asked them to continue keeping watch over Alisha, and let them sit down. "Mr. Blair." A meek, middle-aged man quietly stood up, kneading a worn-out hat in his hands. Janet Keys looked at him from across the room and smiled; the two were now dating, "for the mutual bettering of several parties". Miss Madsen stood in Marbel's place and nodded. "So I finally get to see the man that has weathered a thousand storms. I must say, you're braver than I am. I do not envy you the torment you must've gone through every day caring for your daughter. I only wish more fathers were as dedicated and loving." "You're...Miss Madsen?" he guessed. Hitomi nodded and he smiled. "Oh. Alex speaks very highly of you. Even earlier on, when she was still causing problems, you were one of the few teachers she liked, along with Janet." "Oh my." Hitomi grinned and tried not to blush. Allie talked about her with her father? And she spoke of her with reverence? "Well!" she gasped, "We must've done a good job on her. And as you can see, she has improved immensely." "Yes indeed," he said with a smile. "I've got to hand it to Corona Marcos, though. My Alex has said that her girlfriend was another contributing factor for her change. Are her parents here, the Marcoses?" "No, unfortunately," murmured Marbel. "They have both passed on." "Oh...dear. I see. Then Corona and Alex are practically in the same boat. That explains something." He sat down, making way for the next parent. Several teachers wanted to talk to the Walker family in regard to their erratic daughter, but that was impossible due to both of them being incarcerated for different crimes. Alexis lived in a house with some college friends, and had nobody to speak for her, not did Kathlyn Parkin. Marbel had went over to the Parkin house herself, but only stayed for thirty minutes—it appalled her greatly. Mrs. Parkin juggled two jobs and a houseful of sons who were either wasted, imprisoned, or moved away, and Mr. Parkin had nearly attacked Marbel herself. No wonder Kathlyn stayed at Leena's house so often! Most parents spoke as parents did while their children were absent, candidly with some humor and shame mixed in. Mr. and Mrs. Baum, an amusing Jewish couple, went on about how embarrassed they were that their daughter had two girlfriends; Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, along with Mrs. Johnson's sister (who was Ayanna's mother), all spoke of their daughters with some reverence, though Ms. Montgomery had to wonder what kind of teachers would let their daughter run around with a wild girl. "Wouldn't that be her choice to make?" asked Mrs. Love, who knew what the other woman was talking about. "Choice? The girl is only sixteen years old! What does she know? It's bad enough she's going through this gay phase; she doesn't have to parade around with that other girl." "Excuse me," said Hero's father politely, "but that other girl is my daughter." "Oh, so you're her parents! Well, let me tell you just what I think of you." "Excuse me," said Marbel harshly, raising her hand. "This is not the time for parents to speak ill of each other, or other's children. You will be civil or you will leave. Now. Ms. Montgomery, I don't know Ayanna or Miss Love very well, but from what I hear, they make each other happy, they hold each other accountable, and they are good all-around people. What difference does it make if they are...in love or merely just being good friends?" Ayanna's mother muttered something nasty, crossed her arms, and held her tongue. The Loves sighed, glad to have dodged that bullet. After that little spectacle, things seemed to calm down. The Grissoms, Bautistas, Trambles, and O'Shannons all sang about how their daughters were, working together and growing closer, and they were even beginning to consider each other family as well. The van Dijks were hard to understand, even though their English was solid enough, but Miss Torvald was happy to translate, seemingly eager at the chance to flex her Dutch. Basically, they loved how Mira was spending less time goofing off and more time studying, and publicly thanked the Baums and the Krishnans for their daughters' work. "We have never met your daughters," said Mr. Krishnan, his Indian accent smooth and wonderful. "Usha only tells us a few things when we ask. She has never brought them over. When I learned of their relationship, I was surprised. Usha has never exhibited any romantic interest in other women before, let alone given any indication that she may love two. Her mother and I had a good long discussion with her once we found out, but came to a stalemate. I would like to at least see them and hear the story from them." "I'd hoped we wouldn't have to get into that sort of thing," Marbel admitted. "It seems your daughter's academic lives are irreversibly intertwined with their social and romantic lives. Well, they are at that age, and it can't be helped. Mrs. Krishnan, what is your opinion?" "Mine?" Unlike her husband, Usha's mother was Irish, and looked and spoke it all the way through. She would later pull aside Gabrielle's parents and have a good long chat, mostly reminiscing about ole Erin's Isle. "My opinion...doesn't matter. Usha would be too hard for me to change. As long as she works hard and is happy, I shouldn't interfere." "Just no more than you need to," noted Ms. O'Brien, who had Usha in her class. They agreed and sat down, making way for others. Ms. Marbel and many other teachers began to understand why Ivory Tran acted so prickly and sour most of the time once her mother stood up; the influence clearly rubbed off. Even Mr. Blair looked uneasy as the Chinese woman ranted and scolded her daughter and the teachers. Ivory was "just like her father, always gallivanting around and getting into trouble!" Mr. Tran was of course absent, off on some permanent adventure, leaving his ex-wife the trouble of taking care of their daughter. "I think you're wrong about Ivory," said Mrs. Yi, standing in her defense. "She can be a handful, but from what I know, she's a sweet and tenderhearted person, the kind I love having in my house. She's been a wonderful influence on my own daughter, and always makes my day brighter with her smile." "Oh sure, she always acts polite when she's out of the house! Wait until you're forced to listen to her bitching and moaning at eleven o'clock at night!" "Ladies, please," said Marbel firmly, "there will be no use of foul language here. Mrs. Tran, you're out of line. Kindly calm down. Mrs. Yi, you are kind to speak for Ivory, but please do not get off track. You are here for your own child." "I understand. Ancelin really has improved. She's much more open and relaxed. The poor girl was just too shy at first...and I have Ivory to thank for bringing her out of her shell." Mrs. Tran snorted and muttered, but not loud enough for anyone to hear. Obviously, the most interesting conversations would take place after the meeting; for the time being, Janet Keys was up. Since Jocelyn's father was gone and her mother in prison (for abusing her daughter, no less), Keys was the only one who could speak for the girl. "You all know me," she gestured to the teachers and parents. "I have by some design become one of the most popular teachers in the whole school. I consider many of your daughters members of my family as well—fittingly, really, since I never had kids of my own. Jocelyn is especially close to me; I tend to think of her as more of a real biological daughter than just another student. I have taken care of her for some time now, mostly as a foster mother, and I have cherished every moment. She is soon to be a parent herself, and although she has been through some hard times, I couldn't be happier. "I'm also dating Mr. Blair," she added with a smile. "Most of you would look down on this, but I see it as something different. He is a good man, one I can love, one who knows pain and loss and stands up to it anyway. This is not a conflict of interest; his daughter, Alex, has always been a person who could talk to me and confide in me safely. I think that as long as we're seeing each other, she could consider me a mother as well. Lord knows that girl needs a mother figure in her life." Several heads nodded, and only the most strict people there could deny her that bit of happiness: Janet needed a new love, and it seemed wise to chose Mr. Blair, even just to act as a mother figure to another girl in need. She sat down to scattered applause (which was unexpected); Farrah's parents came up next, and supported what Mrs. Yi had said, to a degree. They also agreed with Mrs. Tran, in that Ivory was a bad influence, but hey, she wasn't that bad. "Just a harmless trouble-maker," said Mr. Kwong. "And you're right, Madeline; she is quite loveable once you get to know her." Ancelin's mother grinned. She knew the Kwongs fairly well, as upon one drizzly night she had been introduced to them by Ivory herself. Ana Lu's parents were next, and although they got a few good words in (the spastic Mr. Lu gushing about how cute his daughter and Rai were together, the loveable Mrs. Lu amusing everyone with her jokes and anecdotes), they were interrupted by a shocked Mrs. Zanders. "What do you mean, ‘cute together'?!" "Don't you know? Our daughter and yours are an item, and a hot one too, if word is correct. Oh my, is this our first meeting? Why it's such an honor!" "You can't be serious!" screamed Mrs. Zanders. "Rai is not consorting with any women! The last time she was anywhere near a relationship like that was during our trip to England! What was that girl's name—Sally, Salome, Sandra? Anyway, you must be mistaken. Rai would never—" "No mistaking it," said Mrs. Lu. "We've seen Rai and Ana together. You even look like her. Unless there's another Rai Zanders, or you're someone you're not—oh, wait, what was that?" "This is outrageous!!" she screamed. "To think that my own daughter would suddenly go behind my back and turn into a...a...a dyke!!" "What did you say?" mumbled Mr. van Dijk. Rai's mother grimaced. "What absurdity! I can't believe this! And I don't even have the courtesy of hearing it from Rai herself! I learn it from my daughter's girlfriend's parents, right in this meeting!!" "That'll be the last word out of you, Shelly Zanders," stated Marbel calmly. "You've been loud and disruptive enough. Do calm yourself. I regret your predicament and apologize for this humiliation, but please do not act like such a baboon." "Baboon?!" she roared. "It's not your daughter that's lied to you!" "Mrs. Zanders!" "All of you are the same!" she spat, staring at the adults. "You're all just fine with your daughters turning into dykes before your eyes! Every one of you! You just accept it and move on!" "Not all of us," muttered Mrs. Kogure. She stood and bowed, but didn't look very pleasant. "Mihoshi is certainly not a lesbian. We know this because we have expressed our deep resentment towards homosexual activity. We do not mean to disrespect any of your daughters, or you if you practice it," she added with a humble bow, "for that is your affair and not ours. But we abhor it in our house, and Mihoshi knows this." "So pleased we agree," snorted Mrs. Zanders. "Now, if you'll all excuse me, I have to be at home. Raisa is going to hear a few choice words when I arrive!" "Don't be so hard on her!" shouted Mr. Lu as the incensed woman stormed off. "Look, the two love each other! Can't you let them have that and be happy?" Unfortunately, Rai's mother was long gone by that time, and the atmosphere in the room hadn't improved much. Most of the parents exchanged wary looks (some sympathetic, others indifferent). Mrs. Yi and the Knox women in particular felt exposed. They were all happily in same-sex relationships and didn't want the Kogures to single them out any more. "I apologize," sighed Marbel at last. "I apologize to you all for that display. Rest assured we will speak with Mrs. Zanders and try to get her to understand things from a civilized point of view. As for matters of homosexual favor or fervor, let this be said: Stanton does not tolerate intolerance. The only thing we stand for is Growth, be it academic, social, spiritual, and perhaps even romantic. It is the duty of you, the parents, to teach your children when they are not in our walls. If they apply their knowledge well, then they will succeed. You cannot hate them for that." The group remained quiet, uncomfortably quiet, until a brave soul stood up, smiled, and waved. He was dashing and charming, a man of good looks and good words, athletic and a little wild. Some of the single women (and even some married ones) stared and secretly fawned over him, and were surprised to learn that he was the father of Aintzane Klein, one of Stanton's most infamous personas. "Well-said, Bernie!" he exclaimed proudly. "Couldn't've said it better myself, bravo. I'm a patron of tolerance much as anyone can get in this age, but I guess that shows from the way Zane runs around. Can't say it's always been a party raising her, but when your wife dies on you, it gets rough. Zane's always lacked a mother figure, so she's had to look to me. I guess you should blame all your problems on me, what with the way I handled her! Heh! But I loved her, that much is true. I loved her as much as a father could love a daughter, and most of the time, I've loved her choice of romantic interests. Can't say whether or not she's into women cuz' of not having a mother, but I still love her regardless. I think that's all that matters." He winked—more than a few women blushed—and sat back down. "Freidrich is right!" insisted one of the adults. He turned around and smiled. "Thanks, Tony." "Ah, yes," muttered one of the parents, standing up reluctantly with his wife, "uh...our own daughter is new here. I think we just came to see how she's adjusted. She's never stayed in one home for long, and at first we were afraid she'd just close herself off." "I don't think you have anything to worry about...is it Mr. Rohani?" "Yes, how did you know?" The woman stood up and shook his hand. "I'm Mrs. Knox, Vai's mother. Well, one of them, at least. This is my wife, Salome." Salome Knox rose, nodded, and sat with a smile. "We can both assure you that your daughter has adjusted well. She and our Vai are the best of friends!" "You're the Knox girls?" said Avelina's mother. They nodded and smiled. "I've heard some things about you. Avelina says you two embarrass your daughter, when you're not neglecting her." "Neglecting?" The two women stared at each other guiltily. "Oh...Vai never told us that. She hardly speaks to us at all anymore. At first we believed it was just standard teenage fare, the way we used to act to our parents..." "So I guess we all have similar problems," noted Salome Knox. "You're worried that your daughter won't fit in, and we're just plain worried. I'm afraid our relationship makes Vai uncomfortable even now. It can't be good for us to send these signals towards our daughter, especially if she is surrounded by people...like us." The Rohanis looked at each other, then the Knoxes, and sighed. No easy conclusion would come from this, so Marbel wisely chose to change the subject. "Let's hear from somebody else. You two gentlemen there, are you two together?" She pointed to two men who couldn't be more dissimilar. One was a mute ex-military who could only communicate in sign language, the other was a well-dressed and stately gentleman, quiet and obedient. He stood up first and bowed. "No, madam," he answered, his accent clearly German. "I am Herr Brint, representative of the Nachtheim family. I'm simply here to answer questions, since Herr und Frau Nachtheim were unable to attend in person. If you have any, I'll try to answer." Marbel shook her head, coming up empty. "None so far. Lilian has adjusted well, and from what Ms. Marbel says, she has greatly improved since the first of the semester." Brint smiled faintly. "Herr und Frau Nachtheim will be pleased, then. Oh, I do have one question from them: has Frau Nachtheim confided in any of you her choice of college?" "It hasn't come up," admitted Madsen, and most teachers said the same thing. Brint just nodded and accepted that, then gave the floor to the other man. Only Ms. Torvald could understand sign language; the man was at least happy he wouldn't have to write things down. "He says his name is Garver Miklos, the uncle of Rozalia Miklos, and her current legal guardian. He says that Rozalia—uh, she calls herself Rozy, I think—she's under some kind of witness protection program. Well, this is interesting. She transferred here for further safety, he says—that might explain the suddenness of it all—and that only her teachers are to be trusted with this information. He also says that Rozy can be pretty spiteful at times because of the things that's happened to her, but she should be forgiven. She's had it bad as it is—well, I guess we could all make a conscious effort to befriend her. Madsen?" "I don't have a Miss Miklos in my class, but I'll see if I can direct some of my students her way." Garver Miklos smiled and waved. "He thanks you." "I gathered." "That leaves you two," said Marbel, looking towards two shy middle-aged ladies, there without their husbands. They were Mrs. Nakatori and Mrs. Washim, respectively, and they knew each other through their daughters. "No comment," said Washim. "Amina doesn't seem to have any problems. She's just the same as always, except now she has a friend." "Nomi still hasn't adjusted since the incident with my husband," added Nakatori. "I've tried encouraging her, but she retreats to her hobbies and doesn't say a word. I think the only person who can get through to her is your daughter." She nodded and smiled at Amina's mother, a beauty of an Arabian who only faintly resembled her child. "Well," sighed Marbel, "they are only first year students. Plants do not grow overnight. It seems we've gone long, and said a few things that were unnecessary, so I will close. I thank you again for your time; please continue to inject good wisdom and teachings into your daughters. For those of you with discord between you, do settle it somewhere quietly. I do not want parents fighting each other. If nobody has any more questions, then you are dismissed." ............ Dawna Nakatori lay paralyzed and naked, her whole body covered with sweat and guilt. She had merely meant to speak with Anise Washim, to exchange knowing bits of wisdom between mothers whose daughters were best friends, and between women whose husbands had left them, one way or the other. They ended up having dinner together, as friends, and came to the Nakatori home, feeling good and slightly bloated. The sex, however, was unexpected, albeit wonderful for a time. "...I didn't mean for things to go this far," admitted Anise in the dark silence. "I'm a married woman, and a Catholic converted from Islam. This is beyond my own comprehension." "...I know. I think we needed it, though—we needed to know what it was like to be loved." "What do you mean? My husband and I love each other." "I mean...loved. Physically. When my husband cheated on me and left...I just lost it, ya know? I forgave him, but it's just not...the same. Do you understand?" Anise sighed. Unfortunately, she understood only too well. "Dawna, maybe we needed this and maybe we did something wrong. Regardless, it can't ever happen again. Don't you agree?" "Yes," she sighed. Anise shuddered. "I only hope our daughters won't get wind of this. I don't know what I'd do if Amina found out. How I could look her in the face again..." She felt a hand of support, but it was brushed off as she stood, dressed, and walked out the door. Dawna Nakatori was left alone, cold from loss, and could only hope, even if she lived all her life in sorrow, her dear Nomi would find some measure of happiness.
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