Tiffany sat in math class and tried to concentrate. It wasn't working. She hated senior math and wanted to melt into her chair. The teacher was old and mean. She was only getting a B in the class and her mom and dad were getting upset at Tiffany. Tiffany was an only child and was a complete brat. She had always gotten what she wanted and hated when she had to work for things. On her eighteenth birthday just a few weeks ago she had expected to get a BMW but instead had gotten a Miata. She was not impressed. Tiffany was on the shorter side and had dark blonde hair. She was very pretty curvy, which meant that the guys at school would drool over her. She hated when they flirted with her and had their eyes glued to her breasts.
"Tiffany!" Tiffany looked up and realized that the teacher had asked her a question. She had tuned out the class completely and knew she was going to get in trouble.
"You were just called to the office."
"Oh." Tiffany stood up and grabbed her bag. She was always being called to the office for student council meetings, but normally the meetings were scheduled during her English or History classes. Her parents would only let her remain on school council if her math mark remained a B or better. This meant she couldn't miss any class time.
She walked down the hall towards the office, smiled, and said hi to fellow classmates. Tiffany was wearing a plaid skirt and white sweater. She loved dressing up and spent hours in the morning making sure her hair and makeup were just perfect. When she walked into the office, she was surprised that the rest of the student council wasn't present.
"Hello Tiffany. Come into my office." Mr. Andrew, the vice-principal, ushered her into his office and closed the door.
"Your father is on the phone." Mr. Andrew handed her the phone and she sat down hesitantly.
"Yes Dad."
"There's been an accident. I need you to get to the hospital as quickly as possible. It's your mother."
Tiffany bit her lip and held back tears. She got up and left the office without saying anything to anyone.
"Tiffany! What's wrong?" The vice-principal followed her out.
"My mom was in an accident. I have to go."
Mr. Andrews watched helplessly as Tiffany walked out the door towards the parking lot. The drive to the hospital was short, but she didn't remember a thing about it. She entered by the emergency room and after asking at the desk, was directed to a waiting room at the end of the hall. When she entered, her dad and grandmother were sitting in the tiny room. It had gray walls and four chairs, one on each wall.
"Tiffany!" Her grandmother came running and hugged her tight. Tiffany hugged her back while looking at her dad.
"What happened?"
"Tiffany sweetie. She passed away. It was a bad car accident. The doctors did everything they could."
Tiffany gasped and collapsed on the floor. When her dad tried to get close, she kicked him away. She curled into a ball and cried her eyes out. She didn't want anyone touching her or comforting her. Life wasn't fair and she wanted to close her eyes and forget everything.
Tiffany's dad and grandmother just hugged each other and tried to figure out how best to help her. Tiffany and her dad had always had a strained relationship. Her dad worked as a criminal lawyer and worked 60-70 hours per week. He was barely home and when he was, he would go on and on about how she needed higher marks to get into Yale. Of course, she really didn't get a say in what university she went to. Her father had gone to Yale, as had his father, and his grandfather. He didn't have a son, but he was going to make sure his daughter followed the legacy.
The next few days were a blur for Tiffany. They had to deal with funeral arrangements and Tiffany was getting annoyed at how people were treating her. When she went to school, everyone looked at her with pity. Her teachers gave her extensions on her assignments and she almost screamed when her evil math teacher offered to waive the unit test and give her an automatic B. When she was at home, her father would be in his home office either trying to keep up with his cases or dealing with paperwork.
On the day of the funeral, Tiffany woke up and pretended it was just another school day. She got through almost the whole funeral without crying. When her father stood up to give a short eulogy on his wife of twenty years, Tiffany couldn't help but cry. When she listened to her father talk about her mother, she realized that before she came along they were madly in love. He talked about how they would write each other love notes and how they would have pajama weekends where they'd relax and spend time together. When those around her saw her cry, they assumed that the death of her mother had finally got to her. No one knew that the reason Tiffany was crying was because if she had not existed, her mother would still be alive and her father would still love her mother.
Tiffany's mother had passed away almost two months ago and things were starting to get back to normal. She and her dad were starting to talk again. She decided to stop being a bitch and actually accept the fact that her father was actually trying to make an effort. Tiffany was lying in bed trying to get back to sleep. The power had gone out and there was a thunderstorm. She had always been afraid of the dark. Being back in her father's huge mansion didn't help things since she could hear every creak and moan of the house.
Tiffany got up and tiptoed her way down the hall towards her father's bedroom. She knocked lightly and then opened the door.
"Daddy?" Tiffany was whispering. She didn't want to startle him.
"Yes Tiffany?" As Tiffany's eyes adjusted to the darkness of his room she saw he was lying in bed awake.
"You can call me a baby or wimp, but the storm is freaking me out."
"Why don't you come sleep in here then." Tiffany giggled and ran into her father's bed. Before her parents got divorced, she used to crawl into bed with her parents. They would all snuggle together. She was in elementary school at the time, but for some reason at this moment in time this was what Tiffany needed. She needed to feel safe and secure. Her father wrapped his arms around his daughter and very soon they were both asleep.
The next morning, Tiffany woke up and realized she was in her father's bedroom. The power had come back on and the clock radio was blinking 12:00. She really had no idea what time it was. As she got up, she smelled her father's famous pancakes. She ran down the stairs and as she entered the kitchen, she grinned. Her father had on jeans and a t-shirt along with his chef's hat and pink frilly apron.
"Hi sweetie. I can call you sweetie right?"
