Read Online Her Teen Dream by Devon Vaughn Archer - Free Book Online Page B

your first time
being in this office, I have to assume that you instigated this. If
I’m wrong, say so.”
    “You’re wrong !” she roared. “If I had
wanted to hurt Karin, I would have taken it outside.”
    “And you’d find yourself right where you are
right now,” he said gruffly.
    She pursed her lips and met his stare
coldly.
    “Since you know that we have a zero tolerance
policy when it comes to fighting on school property, I’m calling
your parents and giving you both the rest of the day off. Consider
yourselves fortunate that you’re not being suspended. I want you
both to know that this sort of conduct will not be tolerated. Do I
make myself perfectly clear?”
    Karin got the message. She only hoped that
Cheryl did, too. Now came the hard part—facing her parents.
Meanwhile, she wondered if the news had traveled to Reese that his
ex-girlfriend and current one had come to blows over him.
     

CHAPTER TWELVE
     
    There was deathly silence as Karin sat beside
her mother during the drive home. She wondered if this meant she
would be grounded for life. Or if she’d be blamed for something she
didn’t start. Or would her mother defer it all to her father for
punishment?
    “Will you say something, please?” The words
came out of Karin’s mouth to break the ice. “I know what you’re
thinking.”
    “I’m not thinking anything,” Josephine said
tersely. “My mind is a total blank at this point. My daughter does
not get in fights at school and then sent home for her trouble. We
didn’t raise you this way.”
    “You raised me to stand up for myself,” Karin
countered. “And that’s what I did.”
    Her mother sucked in deep breath. “So why did
Cheryl Green attack you?”
    Karin realized she’d been baited and fell for
it. Her mother was smarter than most mothers were and probably
suspected that a boy was the reason for the fight. But to admit it
would technically mean she’d have to name Reese McKenzie—a boy she
was not supposed to be dating.
    “Cheryl has never liked me,” Karin said with
a straight face. “I don’t know why. I guess it just boiled over
today when she was trying to impress her friends. She slapped me
and I slapped her back. I probably shouldn’t have, but it seemed
like the right thing to do at the time.”
    “The right thing would’ve been to walk away,
Karin, as Dr. King would say.”
    “Dr. King was not in my situation,”
Karin insisted, and knew that that sounded was pretty lame and
immature, even if true.
    Josephine faced her, disappointment clouding
her face. “The next time Cheryl or anyone else decides they want to
fight, you let them fight someone else. Do you understand me?”
    Easier said than done, but arguing the point
would only get her into hotter water. “Yes, Momma. I’m sorry.”
    And she was sorry that this would get back to
Reese. How would he react? Would it help or hurt their
relationship?
    Karin ventured a peek at her mother as they
rounded the corner. “So, does this mean I’m grounded?” she asked
tentatively.
    “Do you want to be?” Josephine asked.
    “No.”
    “Then you’re not,” Karin was surprised to
hear. “This time. But if it ever happens again, I may never let you
out of your room.”
    Karin smiled, grateful that her mother had
cut her some slack. It reminded her of when she was young and could
talk to her about anything without judgment or real repercussions.
But in recent years, they had seemed to grow apart as she neared
adulthood. Karin wondered if it had been the same between her
mother and Nana. Or, for that matter, was it true for all mothers
and daughters, no matter the circumstances?
    * * *
    “Maybe you slapped some sense into Cheryl,”
Lesley told Karin that evening. “It was certainly long
overdue.”
    They were in Lesley’s room with plum-colored
walls and a large window.
    Karin made a face. “I just hope it doesn’t
come back to haunt me.”
    “You mean with Reese?”
    “Yeah. I don’t want to mess