For the better future, let's take the first step - Part 1

The resolve to fix their lives for a better future led Giselle on the road of new change. But the residing fatigue slipped her into falling asleep on the couch by Lillian's side. Later, when she woke up to her consciousness, she ran upstairs to check on her daughter, Lia, who slept soundly. Giselle then stayed with her daughter for the rest of the night, making sure her little girl was safe under her care.

When Giselle woke up again, she felt somewhat sleep-deprived. She wanted to go back to sleep again. However, after failing to rest from being wide awakened, she got out of the bed to go downstairs and made herself coffee to drink. Giselle started feeling better after a cup of black decaf. She peeked out through the thick drapes to find the blooming traces of morning light sprinkling in the sky and fighting the dark for their arrival.

Lillian was still sleeping on the couch, passed out thoroughly from last night. There was still plenty of time for the daybreak to arrive, so Giselle thought she'd explore around the house to get a picture and start preparing for the day. Since she was in the kitchen already, she raided the place first. Compared to her previous memory, Lillian used her utensils and cutleries from the cabinets. The pantry was fully stocked with every ingredient, and so was the refrigerator, which housed yesterday's feast and all the extra purchases Lillian made for Lia's sake. Giselle went through the kitchen and then entered the living room. While she was at it, she tried to clean the place. The fire from last night was all dead, and from examining, it must have died just a while ago. Giselle replaced and threw more logs and kindling to keep the fire going for Lillian.

All of Giselle's belongings got sorted out from her scouring the dwelling. It wasn't anything complicated as she anticipated. Things around the house were pretty self-explanatory, and soon, Giselle got accustomed to the environment. It didn't take more than an hour to get used to Lillian's kitchen, where she was planning to cook breakfast for all with the things available in the pantry.

Nevertheless, before getting into cooking, Giselle thought of reaching out to Mrs. Beth to talk about Lia's situation. Since there was no need to wake up early for school, Giselle let Lia sleep more. And as for Lillian, she did the same.

Giselle wanted to talk to Mrs. Beth freely while the two slept.

***

The dawn brightly emerged to deliver the day with unknown birds singing their melodies and little hustles on the road as businesses opened to greet their customers. The gentle morning sun welcomed everyone to live the present regardless of how it was yesterday.

Giselle held on to that hope and waited until school time to speak to Mrs. Beth. And to her surprise, it looked like Mrs. Beth was expecting her call likewise.

"When did you reach?" Mrs. Beth inquired first.

"Last night."

"Did you rest well?" she asked.

"Yes- to an extent," Giselle replied.

Mrs. Beth then asked if Giselle had discussed with Lia or Lillian about what happened at the school yesterday. Giselle briefly explained how things went last night related to the incident and how Lia herself confessed everything. Mrs. Beth was glad to hear that the little girl took the initiative, but what came next disturbed Giselle's peace of mind.

Luther's father had somehow managed to reach the head principal of the school and complained directly to him about Lia beating his son.

Giselle froze as she heard the dreaded news. Just as it took a tremendous amount of courage to look past the bitter days and hope for a bright future, a new problem surfaced to her fright.

"Luther's father is planning to get Lia expelled from the school for her brutality at his son," Mrs. Beth informed.

He had more reasons to his defense which Mrs. Beth refused to share. But Giselle was able to guess what that could be.

Seeing how it must have been a shock to hear such devastating news, Mrs. Beth noticed Giselle's worries and immediately chose to console her.

The head principal of the school isn't so blind to expel a child from the school just like that. Besides, no matter how much Luther's father tried to pass on the blame to Lia, it would all go futile since Mrs. Beth would be there to speak for the little girl.

**

Hearing such words of comfort relieved Giselle from jumping into worries. She couldn't have her daughter get expelled for such an absurd reason. Kids fighting at school is normal, but this incident has a history of provocation and continuous bullying to trigger the little girl into using violence. Giselle knew it. Lillian knew it. Even Mrs. Beth already knew as everyone else involved. That's why Giselle didn't want to sit and let Mrs. Beth handle things for her. Moreover, she didn't want this issue to blow up from the start. It could leave a bad image of their relationship before disclosing the truth.

Giselle finally spoke after enduring sore silence. She requested Mrs. Beth if she could talk to Luther's father and try sorting out with him.

Mrs. Beth's initial reaction startled Giselle as she didn't expect such an outburst of disinterest. Even though it was a good idea to experiment, Luther's father wasn't the type of guy to sit down for a chat. His blind hatred would leave Giselle hurt, and the issue would only blow up further with his madness.

"No way, I'm letting you talk to him. Are you kidding me? That man was so irresponsible in running his mouth in front of me. He wouldn't care about you or your daughter. So, no," Mrs. Beth sternly warned.

Giselle expected the rejection, but it was still worth the try. Moreover, she had a follow-up plan if her initial suggestion failed to get accepted by the vice-principal.

"Then, can I at least talk to Luther and his mother? I'm sure that would work," Giselle implored again.

Mrs. Beth was ready to reject any other suggestions as well instinctively. But, to her surprise, this has more chance of resolving the matter than meeting with Luther's father. Mrs. Beth recognized how Luther's mother was trying to stop her husband, which could only mean that there's hope.

"But, we don't know if she could stop her husband!" Mrs. Beth doubtfully remarked.

"It's still worth the try," Giselle returned.

Mrs. Beth had to consider this plan, for it could be a risk to meet Luther's mother without her husband. Nonetheless, this was their only opportunity to try something rather than letting it flame forever.

"Alright! I'm not totally sure of this idea, but it's definitely worth trying. Let me reach out to Luther's mom, and then I'll call you back."

"Thank you, Mrs. Beth!"

"If this worked out in your favor, you can then thank me, okay?"

"Of course."

"Alright, I'll call you back!"

Giselle was relieved to have a plan that could favor her. Also, if it turned out as she expected, this would be the first step toward the new change she had vowed to create.

***

'Pain.'

'Pain.'

'Excruciating pain.'

'My head!'

Lillian Grey opened her eyes to a bright room. The thick drapes that always covered the windows had finally spread out to let in the lights. It was morning, yet Lillian felt as if the blackest clouds were over her head. She woke up with a cracking headache. She looked around to find herself sleeping on the couch last night.

'What?'

'How-'

'Did I fall asleep on the couch?'

'Why did I sleep on the couch?'

'What happened last night?'

The last thing she remembered was leaving to get a drink, and just as memories flew to her consciousness, Lillian recalled last night's events. The terrifying images of encountering Diego at the bar, the ride in the cab with Diego, and finally Diego meeting Giselle.

Lillian thought she deserved the headache from choosing to leave last night to visit a bar or have alone time.

'Shit.'

'Argh-'

Just as Lillian cursed herself for causing a scene last night, Lia came down the stairs lazily. She caught the sight of Lillian on the couch and straight away walked to her. For a moment, the two of them exchanged glances quietly.

"Did you sleep here, Lilly?" Lia asked first.

"Yeah..."

"Why?"

"I- I don't know, Lia. All I can feel is this heavy headache killing me now," Lillian replied while holding her head carefully like a bomb about to go off.

The two played out like it was another casual day for them without a care about what was going on.

"Finally! You two are awake!"

Giselle's voice interrupted the moment between Lia and Lillian Grey. The two blinked at each other in awe as their heads turned at the same time to finally take notice of Giselle's presence in the room.

"Giselle..."

"Mom?"

"Get ready and come down for breakfast in- 15 minutes, got it?" Giselle rigidly informed.

Lia and Lillian stood up at once and obeyed as they rushed together upstairs. The little girl had urgent business to attend to, so she ran to the bathroom first to take care of it. Meanwhile, Lillian bolted to her room with all the pillows and the blanket. She let Lia use the bathroom while she made the bed neatly. Soon, Lillian joined Lia to brush together.

"Did your mother look angry? I couldn't notice, but it feels like she was angry at us," Lillian asked as she applied a thin strip of the toothpaste to her brush to begin brushing.

"How come you couldn't notice?"

"Because I wasn't awake yet-"

"How come you aren't awake yet!" Lia repeated.

"It's an adult thing, sweetheart. You will learn when you grow up," Lillian responded haughtily.

"Hmm... I hope I don't learn such things. But, I think I know why mother must have looked angry."

Lillian stopped brushing to look at Lia. It was then Lia recollected what had happened last night.

She confessed to Lillian about Giselle knowing about the school incident. Lillian's reaction at first was complete rage. She confronted Lia about spilling the story they promised to keep secret from Giselle. Lia, who was polite until now, returned to outrage right back at Lillian for leaving her alone without a backup story. Lia cried about how she had to lie to her mother and couldn't fall asleep because of the lying.

Lillian was able to understand from her perspective, but the two kept bickering like little kids until they heard the loud clamoring of utensils coming from downstairs. Both grew silent at once and settled to compromise.

Lillian was curious to know how Giselle reacted. And to which Lia admitted that her mother rather remained calm to her expectation. Lillian couldn't believe it at first, but somehow she got confused.

While she raked her mind with the puzzle, Lia hinted that compared to her problem, Lillian should worry for herself as she was the one who ran away last night and ended up sleeping on the couch.

"I didn't run away!" Lillian roared in her defense.

Lia had finished brushing, so she came out first to dry her face with a towel. She then combed her hair with a hairbrush. The little girl didn't want to give a chance to her mother. Therefore, she got ready neat and tidy for the day. As soon as she was done, Lia informed Lillian before running downstairs.

Lillian was all alone in the bathroom. Last night's stunt with Diego resurfaced in her head, and she presumed that should be the reason why Giselle was acting cold today. Lillian cursed at herself again for leaving last night. She planned to have a drink and buy some for both before returning home to spend time with Giselle. However, the night ended against her will.

Lillian met Diego, with whom she cried about her troubles, and from recollecting last night's events, Diego was the one who sent her home, which means Giselle should have met him.

Just thinking about it increased her headache tenfold.

Lillian ignored to finish brushing at last. She washed her face and got ready before heading downstairs. Lillian Grey lingered by the wall as she watched Giselle serve Lia a glass of milk and breakfast.

Giselle caught Lillian hiding by the stairs, so she called her to join. Lillian walked to the table and took a seat, all while sweating underneath.

One swift glance at the table, and Lillian saw the spread. She realized how they looked healthier than her version of breakfast.

"Everything looks delicious!" she remarked to receive dead silence in response as she awkwardly laughed to herself to eat her breakfast.

***

The three ate together in persisting silence until Giselle mentioned yesterday.

Both Lia and Lillian swiftly jumped to admit their own issues; Lia bought her school affairs while Lillian confessed to drinking and meeting Diego.

Giselle looked nothing like shocked as she was aware of both. She stared at Lillian to inform her that they should talk privately about her story, which put Lillian in binds as she anxiously returned to eat her oatmeal bowl. On the other hand, Giselle shared the update she received from Mrs. Beth. Lia's face grew pale from hearing the news of Luther's father trying to get her expelled from school. Lillian refused to believe the story at first, but soon she fell into her rage and became enraged.

"Calm down! Mrs. Beth told me that the head principal wouldn't expel a student just like that. So, Lia, don't worry, and you have been staying strong all these days, which is why I included you in this conversation. You understand?"

Lia's fears vanished the second she heard her mother. It wasn't already decided that she'd get expelled, but it was a foul play by a classmate's parent, who couldn't accept his son's bullying and wanted a chance to pass the blame.

"Yes, mom," Lia replied with spirit.

Even if Lia was going to continue to stay strong, Lillian couldn't remain quiet, especially not after she had warned Luther's father about interfering in their family.

"Did I ever ask you guys to keep quiet?" Giselle interrupted again.

Startled, both Lillian and Lia looked at each other, confused.

"I'll handle this matter. That's why I want you two to stay strong by my side. Only then could I accomplish what I desire," Giselle firmly addressed.

Her sudden burst of confidence influenced the other two. Lillian chuckled to agree. It was rare, but whenever Giselle displayed conviction, she did accomplish whatever she desired, which was why Lillian's rage disappeared as she let Giselle handle Lia's school affair.

"Alright! It's time we fight back!" Lillian said to raise an empty toast.

"We're fighting again?" the little girl asked in fear.

"No, we are not fighting, Lia. We are simply going to fix the problem and take our place. Don't worry! You won't get expelled from the school. I wouldn't let that happen!"

Giselle's words of assurance affected her daughter into developing faith. Until last night, Lia was unsure of what the future was going to hold for her. But seeing that her mother refused to run away anymore, she was willing to stand by her side. Lia was going to fight for her place at school. And she was never going to sacrifice or remain silent to the teasing.

With both Giselle and Lillian by her side, Lia was going to settle the dispute with Luther and return to her old school life.