It had been a difficult year for Anna in her new school. After her father, Michael, moved their family for his new job with an esteemed consulting firm, she had the hardest time adjusting of all her siblings and certainly missed the comfort of having her high school friends close by with whom she'd grown up. Anna now struggled to maintain the honor roll status she had worked years to tout, and as the oldest of four children, Michael expected her to set an impeccable, and in Anna's eyes, unreasonable, example for her siblings.
From one suburb to another, the beautiful tall brunette teenager, who was accustomed to excelling at her track meets, collecting straight A's, singing in her church chorus, and spending time only with the most upstanding peers, now found herself struggling in class at her new school, not caring about her performance in class or sports, and could frankly not care less about chorus or how her shift in behavior was impacting her younger brother and sisters. Michael and his wife Alice had tried everything that year to ease the transition for their children, and their efforts were met only with disappointing results from their eldest.
Feeling out of options, Michael sought advice from his pastor for how he could best correct his sweet daughter's path. He had told his wife he was going to outside channels for advice, and was met with much support as Alice's efforts had also proven only for naught with Anna. Michael had never needed to go out of his way to instill discipline in his well-behaved children before the move; although unbeknownst to them, Michael had had a bit of a time working with their mother Alice to help her achieve the pinnacle status as a wife and mother, and the ire of many men's desire.
After service one Sunday, Michael asked his pastor if he might be willing to meet later in the week to discuss how the transition had been affecting his family, seeking advice for best ways he might be able to correct. An older man, the pastor was happy to oblige, and welcomed Michael to dinner that Wednesday to discuss his options.
When Wednesday rolled around, Michael went straight from the office to meet with the pastor. Michael explained how difficult the adjustment had been for Anna, how she had been sneaking out, shirking her responsibilities, and setting a terrible example for his other children, who were also beginning to fall out of line. After several hours, Michael was relieved and invigorated to return home, feeling much emboldened with a new path forward.
Without question, Michael was pleased to arrive home that evening, met with heightened curiosity from his wife, Alice, seeking details concerning the outcome of her husband's meeting with the pastor. Knowing better than to second guess her husband, or be overly prodding, she quickly understood what was in store for her oldest daughter.
The next morning as all the children were scrambling to get out the door for school, Michael knocked on Anna's bedroom door. "Come in, but I'm in a hurry!" Anna snapped. Michael opened the door, stepped in, closed it behind him, and calmly explained, "Anna, I need you to come directly home from school this afternoon. We have some things we need to discuss." With the utmost sass, Anna rolled her eyes, "that's not going to happen, dude. I've got plans." Incredibly frustrated, Michael immediately felt the need to meet this attitude with countering assertion to remind his daughter who calls the shots in his household.
In one large stride, he loomed over his little girl with such speed it caught Anna off guard. "Anna, I am not asking you. This is not a request. You will be downstairs at the kitchen table waiting for me by 4 pm. I am your father, I am not 'dude,' when did you lose all semblance of respect?" Anna was startled by this and the sternness in her father's voice. "I'm sorry Daddy. Yes, sir, I'll be home by 4."
Anna spent the whole morning at school nervous for what her father was going to talk about when she got home. She had been trying, albeit not with the right approach, to convince her parents that she needed her own car and sincerely hoped her misguided mission was not at risk.
After school, Anna turned down her friends' invitation to meet up to get high, making up an excuse about her dad taking her shopping for a car to save face. After all, she didn't want her new miscreant friends thinking she wasn't getting everything she insisted from her parents. Still yet, Anna dithered around with her untoward crew and caught a ride home from two other girls; she crossed the threshold of the back door to her home at 4:47, and slinked into the kitchen with the smell of cigarettes on her breath.
Tired of waiting, and unwilling to cave and text his daughter to ask where she was and why she was late, Michael had retreated to his office - he'd deal with this when she arrived.
Thinking she was in the clear, Anna quickly grabbed a soda from the fridge in an attempt to mask the tobacco on her breath and yelled from the kitchen, "Dad, I'm home, where are you?" Michael waited a moment then emerged from his office, "Anna, put the soda down; please come in here."
Anna wasn't used to being called into her father's office, in fact, she and her siblings weren't allowed in that room without specific invitation. Suddenly recalling the pit in her stomach from the morning, Anna set the can down on the kitchen table and went into her father's office.
"Sit down," Michael calmly instructed, motioning to one of the two chairs in front of his old mahogany desk. Anna obliged, meekly. He continued, "Anna, you know goddamned well you were supposed to be home by 4 pm. Your mother and I are sick of your behavior, your excuses, your refusal to accept responsibility for your actions." He paused, took a long breath to regain his composure, "things are about to change drastically for you."
Bumbling, Anna stammered "wait, wha-? Dad, seriously, it's not that big a deal, I was like 20 minutes late." "Anna, you should have been 20 minutes early. And this is exactly what I'm talking about. Not to mention, I'm concerned about your grasp on reality if you think I don't smell cigarettes on you." Anna gulped, realizing she'd been caught not only stretching the truth, but her soda idea hadn't done anything to save her.