Difficulties
~~WOOT i updated fast haha...enjoy!!:)~~
4:35 am.

Mike glared and tapped his foot impatiently on the kitchen floor. He glanced at his watch and frowned. Okay…now it’s a little later than four…where the hell is she?
He stared around the dimly lit kitchen and sighed uneasily. He didn’t know if he was worried about the fact that Laura hadn’t come home yet or the fact that Anna was going to kick his ass. Just as he had pondered this, the front door swung open slowly and Laura stumbled into the front hall.
Mike lowered his eyes and walked over to her slowly. She squinted through the darkness and frowned. She leaned her hand against the wall and kicked off her shoes, almost falling over.
“ Do you know what time it is?” Mike demanded angrily.
“ Uh…n-no…I must have l-lost time of all t-track.” She muttered breathlessly.
Time of all track…that sounded comprehensive.
He watched as she stumbled into the kitchen and gripped the island for support. He followed closely behind, making sure she didn’t fall over.
“ Are you drunk?” he hissed in disbelief.
She turned her head to him and frowned. “ Exceeuse me? I baleeve that was uncalled for.”
“ How?” he asked.
She frowned with thought and looked down through her dizzying world. She gave a small smile and laughed. “ God I’m so wasted!”
“ Yeah no shit.” Mike answered as he watched her slide around the island.
“ What are you doing?” he asked with an arched brow.
“ I wanna um…uh…do we have any beer?”
Mike gave a small laugh and shook his head. “ Not tonight and not for you.” He replied.
He knew she was about to fall over so he walked over to her and grabbed her arm, holding her up. She pulled her arm away from him and pushed him. “ Get away from me bastard!’ she yelled.
He raised his eyes and stood back a little. “ Laura…I think you need some rest.”
“ I don’t need nothing. I’m p-perfectly fine.” She muttered with a heavy slur.
“ Yeah I can tell.” He answered sarcastically.
She continued to wobble around the kitchen for no particular reason. He followed her closely and she quickly dodged away from him with a laugh.
“ Too slow!” she shouted from the other side of the kitchen.
Mike sighed with irritation and rubbed his face. I can’t believe she’s fucking drunk.
“ Laura, time for bed.”
“ Time for nothing…what I n-need is a p-place to go and have a bed in w-warm blankets to see how far I can…uh…um…s-sleep.”
Mike frowned with confusion as a small smile twitched on his lips. “ Okay…”
“ So you don’t do nothing to tell me w-why I can and cannit doo.”
This was getting ridiculous. She didn’t even know what she was saying. He approached her slowly as she blinked with dizziness, falling to the floor. He sighed heavily and stared down at her. “ Whoa, are y-you okay?” she asked with concern.
He smiled and knelt down beside her. “ I’m fine…are you okay?” he asked.
“ I’m ding good.” She muttered.
“ Good...bed.” he ordered.
“ You just said g-good bed.” She laughed.
“ Yeah…okay…come on Laura, get up.” He encouraged softly.
The best way to handle this situation would be to do it patiently. Laura stared at him and smiled. “ You’re my dad.” She laughed and rolled over.
Mike raised a brow and swallowed hard. That still sounded strange to him. “ Thanks, I didn’t know that.” He answered.
“ Now you do.” She stated lightly.
He ran a hand through his hair and sighed heavily. God please let me get through this.
“ Laura, up, now.” He ordered.
“ Nnnnnno.”
“ Yes.” He said softly and grabbed her hand.
She frowned as he gently pulled her up and wrapped his arms around her. She gripped onto his shirt and closed her eyes, feeling the dizziness overcoming her entire body.
He walked her downstairs to her room and laid her down into her bed, pulling the covers over her shoulders. She leaned her head deeply into the pillow and immediately fell asleep.
Mike gave a weak smile and shook his head. He had never seen anything so funny in his entire life. She had gotten herself drunk…of all the stupid things. He walked out of her room and up the stairs towards his own, thinking about what Anna would say if she found any of this out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

5:30 Am.

Mike awoke to the sickening sound of burping and coughing. His stomach twisted angrily as he listened to the disgusting sounds.
God, I’m never going to get any sleep.
He sat up and rubbed his tired eyes, hearing the toilet flush. Then a few moments later, the barfing started again.
Jesus Christ, how much did she drink?
Mike walked along the plush carpet through the hall and turned into the bathroom. His eyes squinted painfully in the light as he looked down at the young girl, huddled over the rim of the toilet bowl, throwing up violently and shaking terribly.
He sighed uneasily and sat down on the bathtub beside her. She coughed heavily and reached up with a shaky hand to flush the toilet. She leaned her head into the bowl and moaned painfully, still coughing. Mike rubbed her back gently and lowered his eyes.
He knew what it was like to be in this sort of situation. “ You okay?” he asked quietly.
She swallowed hard and closed her eyes. He watched as she shook her head slowly and breathed heavily into the bowl. She felt like her stomach was going to cave in on itself.
He heard her breathing become heavier and faster. “ Alright…it’s okay.” He said softly.
She began to throw up again and again. He cringed at the smell of alcohol and stomach contents. He knew that they both weren’t going to get a lot of sleep for the rest of the morning.
As she continued to throw up, he grabbed a cloth off of the sink and ran cold water onto it, ringing it out a few times and sitting back down on the bathtub. He pulled her long hair out of the way and pressed the cold cloth against her neck.
Slowly, she stopped throwing up and just coughed up a few remnants. He flushed the toilet for her and she wiped her mouth. “ You want to sit back?” he asked calmly.
She gave a small nod and he helped sit her back against the wall. She could feel the cold cloth being dabbed against her pale face, relieving her heated temperature. “ Finished being sick?” he asked.
Laura swallowed hard, still feeling incredibly sick to her stomach. She gave a small nod to the question, knowing that there was nothing left to throw up. “ Come on, let’s sit you on the bed.” He said quietly and helped her up.
She grabbed onto him tightly and weakly walked towards Anna’s bed, sitting down. He sat down beside her and smoothed the damp hair from her face.

Laura lowered her eyes, feeling tears beginning to stream down her cheeks for no apparent reason. Then, she began to sob quietly beside him. Mike sighed heavily and wrapped his arms around her.
She cried into his chest and he could feel her shaking. “ Why are you crying?”
Laura sniffed and swallowed hard. “ I d-don’t know.” She whimpered with a hoarse voice.
“ Okay…” he replied softly and stroked her hair as she cried.
She must have been terribly confused. One moment she’s at a party, the next she’s throwing up horribly and not knowing how she came home or what exactly she was doing. Mike let her cry into his chest for a long time. Each gut wrenching sob made him frown.
She gripped onto his shirt as her crying died down. She began to sniffle softly, still feeling terribly sick to her stomach, not to mention the growing headache. “ Are you alright?” he asked quietly.
She nodded a little and closed her eyes, listening to his steady heartbeat. Fatigue tugged at her weak body and she could feel herself drifting off to sleep. Mike listened to her breathing become slow and shallow, indicating that she had fallen asleep.
Carefully, he picked her up in his arms and carried her downstairs to her room. She was still sound asleep when he lay her in her bed for the second time that morning, pulling the covers up to her neck. He blinked wearily and stroked a few stray hairs out of her face.
Laura gave a great sigh of comfort and fell into an even deeper sleep. Anna had been right. She did look awfully peaceful when she was asleep. It somehow made Mike feel even sleepier as he watched her.
As he watched her, he felt something tugging at his heart, something he had never felt before. It caused him to frown slightly, trying to figure out this feeling. It was like a feeling of peace and quiet.
But there was something else there, something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. He stroked her cheek gently, feeling the softness of her skin beneath his fingers.
Okay yeah I’ll admit it, she’s cute…in her own stubborn, irritating kind of way. I still can’t believe she’s my daughter. I don’t think I’m ever going to get over that. How can Anna expect me to love someone that I don’t even know?
He rubbed his eyes slowly and blinked with fatigue. With that, he walked towards the stairs, leading up to the door. He looked back at the sleeping child and gave a small smile.
“ Sweet dreams brat.” He whispered.

~~AWW..anywhoosies..im going to bed cuz writing this made me kinda sleepy...hope u enjoyed it and more to come. What happens the next day? Does she get in serious trouble??? OOOO....anywhoosies....thanks and please review!!!:)~~
Into The Studio
~~YAY...thanks EVERYONE for reading this far. Your reviews make me smile every day!! *hugs to everyone*...ENJOY!:)~~

Laura moaned painfully and rubbed her head as she walked upstairs from her room. It felt like someone was driving a long metal screw through her brain, that or she had been run over by a semi. Mike looked up from the paper and smiled a little, sipping his coffee.
Laura squinted and sat down at the island, cowering her head from the bright sun shining through the window. “ How’s my little drunk this morning?” he asked.
Laura looked at him and frowned. “ Could you keep it down?” she asked weakly.
Mike chuckled and brought his coffee cup up to his mouth while leaned back against the counters. “ How much of last night do you remember?”
Laura stared down at the wooden island in thought before replying. “ Going to the party…then crying on the bed…”
Mike raised his eyes and swallowed the steaming drink. “ Unfortunately I had the chance of witnessing EVERYTHING, from the moment you got home to now. I have to say, you don’t hold your alcohol very well.” He explained.
Laura gave a small moan at the booming sound of his voice. “ Okay so…what’s my punishment?” she asked with a dry throat.
Mike sighed and stared down at the black swirling liquid in his mug. “ Well, I could ground you for a year and tell your mother, which could lead to yelling and screaming…the disappearance of all your CDs, TV, stereo, designer shoes, jackets, purses, earrings-.”
“ –Okay, get to the point.” She muttered.
Mike gave a small smile. “ Or I could do nothing.”

“ Nothing?” she demanded with surprise and confusion.
“ Yeah, see with all my experience as a former disobedient teenager, I know that disciplining this kind of behavior is only going to lead to the same behavior over and over again.” He explained.
“ I-I’m not following.” She muttered.
Mike set his cup down on the island and crossed his arms. “ Teens who get punished for bad behavior usually want to let their parents know that their threats and punishments don’t work so they go out and continue their deviant behavior. But if the parents do absolutely nothing, the teen becomes confused and doesn’t continue the bad behavior, feeling relieved that they are in the clear and feeling that doing it again would be stupid.” He explained carefully.
Laura stared at him and blinked slowly. He had a really good point. “ So I’m not grounded?” she asked.
“ Nope, instead you are coming with me to the studio this afternoon. There was a slight emergency with the vocals and I have to go in there and fix them.”
“ Why do I have to go?” she complained.
“ Because this is your punishment…which isn’t really a punishment because I know that Chester is going to have you do something to entertain yourself…like…I don’t know, screw up the album even more, forcing me to work even harder. Actually now that I think about it, this could be considered a way for you to get back at me for being such an ass.” He explained in thought.
Laura gave a small smile and sat up a little more. “ Okay, now I’m interested.”
“ I thought you might be…don’t forget these.” He stated as he handed her a bottle of aspirin.
She stared down at it and raised a brow. “ So are you going to tell mom about this?”
Mike squinted in thought and gave a large sigh. “ Nah. There are some things that should stay between a father and daughter…and this is one of them. Besides I don’t want her knowing that I let you go to a party without talking to her first because I have a feeling you weren’t allowed to go in the first place, even though you told me your mom confirmed it.” He explained.
Laura raised her eyes. “ Wow, you figured it out.”
“ Yeah, like why would your mom let you go to a party with alcohol?” he asked as he went upstairs to take a shower.
“ But you would?” she asked.
He stopped at the top of the stairs and smiled. “ This is going to be a fun seven days huh?”
She frowned with confusion as he disappeared into the bathroom. Either he was extremely immature and irresponsible or he had something up his sleeve, like…let’s say, a moral lesson.
I know one thing, I’m never getting drunk again.
The girl lowered her eyes and sighed heavily. “ Damn he’s good.” She muttered quietly to herself.
~*~*~*~*~*~

Chester swiveled around and around and around in his chair until everything around him became a blur. He had begun to feel sick when a form stopped his chair, causing him to almost fall out of it. When his eyes came to a focus, he looked up and frowned at Mike.
“ Hey man, you’re late.”
“ Yeah, I had some things to take care of.” He answered.
Chester’s eyes slowly moved to the beautiful young girl standing near the door. “ Hey, who’s this?” he asked with curiosity.
Mike looked at his daughter and frowned a little. What the hell was he going to tell him? Oh, by the way Chester I have a daughter…nope, couldn’t work.
“ She’s uh…uh-.”
“ –His niece.” She interrupted.
Thank God.
Chester smiled and sat back in the chair, swiveling it from side to side. “ Nice to meet you. Wow Mike, I didn’t know you had a niece.”
“ Neither did I.” he muttered with relief.
“ So what’s she doing here?” Chester asked with interest.
Mike walked over to her and grabbed her arm, pulling her towards Chester and sitting her down into an identical chair in front of the controls. “ I’m staying with her mom for a while but she’s in New York so I have to watch her. I’m not leaving her home alone.”
“ Mike I can take care of myself.” She muttered.
“ This coming from a girl who got wasted last night.” He whispered, so only she could hear.
Laura lowered her eyes. “ Fine.” Mike smiled a little and nodded. “ Okay Chaz, she’s all yours.”
“ Don’t worry Mike, I’ll make sure she’s occupied while you work.” He smiled back.
“ I swear to God if you let her touch the editing software-.”
“ –Yeah you’ll strangle me, I know, I’ve heard the lecture about a million times.” Chester grumbled.
Mike sighed heavily. He looked down at Laura and frowned. “ Behave.”
“ Yes dad.” She muttered sarcastically.
Mike frowned as he stared at her for a long moment. “ Don’t do that.” He stated quietly.
“ Still freaks you out, doesn’t it?” she asked with a smile.
“ Yes, now shut up about it.” He answered and left the control room. Chester didn’t bother asking what that was all about. Instead, he sat up and smiled at the girl.
“ Wanna piss him off?” he asked. Laura smiled and sat forward. “ I’m in.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Laura and Chester watched intently as Mike performed his vocals in the recording booth. Chester looked at Laura and pointed to a small control, smiling and nodding. She took this as a hint and pressed it, pushing it upward through its slot very fast. “ Fucking hell!” Mike shouted and ripped off the headphones.
The buzzing from the music still rang loudly in his ears. He stared at the window and saw the two retards laughing crazily. He glared and put back on the headphones.
“ Don’t touch the volume.” He ordered through the mic.
Laura coughed down her laugh and high fived Chester. “ You think he sounded pissed?” she asked.
“ Not pissed enough, watch this.” He answered and flicked up a few controls. Laura smiled and watched Chester move his hand around the controls. Mike’s vocals echoed through the window and she gave a small laugh. He was going to be pissed. “ Okay, push this up as fast as you can.” He ordered with a chuckle.
Laura pressed her finger against the control and pushed it up incredibly fast, causing a large high pitched noise to ring through Mike’s headphones. He cried out with pain and threw the headphones to the floor, holding his ears.
“ Goddamn fucking son of a bitch!” he yelled angrily with pain.
Laura sat back and laughed uncontrollably with Chester. Mike growled and rubbed his ears.
I’m going to fucking murder those two.
He pressed the mic button and sighed angrily. “ What the fuck? I told you NOT to touch the volume!” he yelled.
Chester chuckled and pressed another button. “ Uh, hey man, we never touched the volume. There must be something wrong with your headphones.” He explained while trying not to burst out laughing.
“ Bullshit!” he yelled.
Laura smiled at him. He looked VERY pissed. Laura pressed the same button Chester had and contained her laughter. “ Hey Mike?”
“ What!” he shouted.
“ You seem to be speaking awfully loud…are you going deaf or something?” Chester threw back his head and cried out with laughter. Laura sat back and giggled as Mike’s face became red with anger. He sighed heavily and stormed out of the recording booth.
They both waited as he entered the control booth, still red with anger. “ Okay, congratulations, you’ve both managed to piss me off.” He muttered.
“ Yay! It worked!” Chester exclaimed.
Laura laughed and stood up. “ Are we going home yet? My headache is starting to come back.” She explained.
Mike looked at her and retained his anger. “ Yeah put on your coat.” He sighed.
She nodded and pulled it on, looking back at Chester. “ Man, we have to hang out more often.” She laughed.
“ Yeah we do! Maybe next time we can speed up the music in the background and force Mike to sing like a chipmunk.” He chuckled.
“ That’d be wicked!’ she exclaimed.
Mike rolled his eyes. “ Okay, are you two finished?” he demanded.
“ Yeah…see ya Chaz!” she called and walked out the door. “ Yeah bye!” he shouted back.
Mike pulled on his jacket and shook his head. “ She’s cool man.” Chester smiled.
Mike glanced at him and frowned. “ Yeah, she’s just as immature as you. I’m never putting you two in the same room together ever again.” He explained.
“ Aw, you had fun and you know it.” He whined.
Mike smacked him upside the head and listened to him groan with protest, causing him to smile. “ Yeah, lots of fun.” He laughed.
“ Go home bastard.” Chester muttered.
“ See you Monday.” Mike called and walked out the door.
~*~*~*~*~*~

Mike raised a brow as Laura moaned with pain beside him on the couch. Of course, watching TV wasn’t exactly helping her headache much. She rubbed the side of her head and winced. “ Still hurt?” he asked.
“ Yeah, like hell.” She answered painfully.
Mike flopped a pillow onto his lap and patted it. “ Lay down.” He ordered. She stared at him with an arched brow. “ What?”
“ Lay down, you’ll feel better.” He offered softly.
Slowly and cautiously, she laid her head down on the pillow. Mike stared at the TV and sighed heavily. “ Close your eyes.”
“ What for?” she asked suspiciously.
“ You want the headache to stop or not?” he demanded.
Laura sighed and closed her eyes. Mike then stroked her hair gently and looked down at her. “ Now, breathe in and out slowly, concentrating on the breaths and not your headache.” He explained. She reluctantly obeyed, concentrating on her breathing.
Mike continued to watch TV and stroke her hair softly. She felt herself blush under the gentleness. She also felt like she was going to fall asleep. She slowly began to realize that her headache was gone, replaced by only warm comfort. She opened her eyes and frowned.
“ Okay, what did you do, it’s gone.” She stated.
“ I didn’t do anything. You were calm and not thinking about the pain.” He explained.
“ How many hangovers have you had?” she asked curiously and rolled onto her back.
He stared down into her deep brown eyes and smiled. “ That’s not important.”
“ Yes it is. Cough it up.”
He gave a small sigh and nodded. “ Alright…let’s see…got drunk at thirteen about fifteen times, then at fourteen about seventeen times, then at fifteen about twenty times, sixteen…thirty times…-.”
“ –Okay…that’s a lot.” She muttered.
“ Yeah it was.”
“ Didn’t your parents kill you?” she asked.
Mike frowned in thought. “ Well I remember the first time they found out I was going to parties and getting drunk. I believe I was fourteen. I came home totally wasted so my dad physically threw me out onto the lawn and right into the sprinkler system. I was cold and wet and they wouldn’t let me back into the house all morning.” He explained.
“ That’s kind of harsh.” She explained with an arched brow.
He nodded and continued. “ Yeah so finally they just gave up. They said I could go get drunk as long as I didn’t come home and trash the house getting upstairs to my room. I never did it again.”
“ Why not?”
“ Didn’t I just explain this to you this morning? It’s confusing and I still don’t understand why I never did it again.” He answered.
Laura nodded and blinked her eyes wearily.
“ You should go to bed. Your headache will be gone tomorrow…and oh gee, school. Hope you have fun.” He smiled evilly.
Laura sat up and threw the pillow into his face. He frowned and watched her walk towards her room. “ That was rude.” He muttered.
She smiled and opened her door. “ Good night DAD.” She answered, putting an emphasis on the last word, just to annoy him.
He lowered his eyes and felt his cheeks paling. “ Please stop that.” He pleaded.
She laughed and disappeared into her room. Mike shook his head and sighed heavily. A small smile formed on his lips.

~~AWW...anywhoosies...read on to find out what happens the next day at school and why Mike has to be called away from work..oooo the suspense..haha not really..anyways..please review and tell me what u thought! THANKEES!!:)~~
Outsmarting The Smart
~~ENJOY THIS CHAPPIE!! Thanks to all the reviewers, u guys are sooo awesome!!! *hands out plate of hot brownies* :)~~

Chester leaned his head back and stared up at the white tile ceiling. He listened to the clicking of the mouse and keyboard from the computer that Mike was working on. “ Hey man?” Chester asked.
“ Yeah.” Mike answered, paying very little attention to him.
“ How long do you think we’re going to be in the studio working on this?”
“ What do you mean?” Mike asked with frown and stared at the computer screen.
“ I mean how many more years are you going to be tinkering with the smallest detail that no one is ever going to hear but you?” he answered with elaboration.
Mike sighed with frustration and turned around to face his friend. “ Chester, this album has to be PERFECT.”
“ Its fine the way it is.”
“ We have ten songs.” Mike stated blankly.
Chester sighed heavily. “ Well excuse me mister I’m too smart for my best friend.”
The ringing of a cell phone cut through the growing tension in the room. Mike reached into his pocket, pulled it out and brought it to his ear. “ Yeah?” he asked.
The voice on the other end sounded like it was coming from an older male. Chester stared at his friend and listened to the voice through the phone. “ Who’s speaking?”
He paused to let the person answer, while staring at Chester, gradually lowering his eyes at the information. “ Alright I’ll be right there.” He sighed and flipped the phone back into his pocket, standing up.
“ Hey, what’s up man?” Chester asked with confusion.
“ I have to get down to the school, the principal wants to talk to me…I need to take the day off…can you finish your parts?” he asked quickly and pulled on his jacket.
Chester raised a brow. “ Yeah…sure…”
“ Okay, see you later.” Mike muttered and rushed out the door. Chester stared down at the floor and raised a brow.
“ School? Principal?” he asked himself with confusion.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Laura glared and stared down at the floor, trying to not look at the principal, Mr. Miller. She never liked the asshole very much. He was always trying to prove one point…that he had all the power in the world. He was the kind of authority figure that she just wanted to stuff a firecracker up his ass and light it.
A soft knock was heard at the door and her ears perked slightly. “ Come in.” Mr. Miller called and pulled off his tiny glasses.
Mike walked into the office, and glanced over at Laura. She did not look happy. “ I’m sorry…I thought her father was coming.” Mr. Miller stated with confusion.
Mike sighed heavily and stared at him. “ Yeah, that’s me.”
“ Oh…I-I’m sorry…you look so…young.” He confessed.
Mike gave a small nod and ran a hand through his spiked hair. “ So I’m told.” He muttered.
“ Have a seat.”
Mike sat down in the small leather chair beside Laura. He had no idea what she had done or why he was here but somehow, seeing the look on her face told him it wasn’t going to be pretty. “ Sir, I’ve called you in here today because something quite surprising has caught my staff’s attention.”
Mike stared at the principal as he pulled a sheet of paper out of a file, placing it on the desk. Laura rolled her eyes and slumped further down into the chair, knowing exactly where this was going.
“ This is the final math exam for this semester. Your daughter wrote it early this morning. You see, the problem with this is…when the test was corrected, she received a mark of one hundred percent, including the bonus question.”
Mike raised his eyes with confusion. “ And that’s a problem?” he asked.
Mr. Miller gave a heavy sigh and showed him the paper. “ It is almost impossible to receive one hundred percent on a final math exam. Even the bonus question took five of my staff three hours to work on and they still haven’t figured it out. It was only meant to give the students effort marks.” He explained carefully.
Mike stared at him blankly. “ Okay…what’s your point?”
“ Sir, your daughter cheated.”
Laura snorted and shook her head. Mr. Miller glared at her and glanced back at the test. “ I don’t know how she acquired the answers but she will be punished by the school board.” He explained.
Mike frowned and glanced at Laura. “ You cheated?” he asked quietly.
“ No.” she answered sternly.
“ Laura, Miss Perkins witnessed you looking at your hand during the entire test.” The principal explained with doubt.
“ Well Miss Perkins is full of shit!” she exclaimed.
Mike lowered his eyes and stared at her.
“ If you continue this behavior, I will have to remove you from my office.” Mr. Miller stated angrily.
Laura stared at him furiously. “ You can believe your little staff members all you want. The fact is that I did NOT cheat on this exam. I can’t help being smarter than your dumbass teachers.” She explained.
“ Laura.” Mike stated quietly with warning.
“ No Mike, I am not going to let him do this to me. I didn’t cheat okay?”
“ Sir, this is what I am talking about. She has a lack of respect for her elders.” Mr. Miller replied.
Mike looked down and thought about their arguments.
“ I am expelling her from this school.” The principal stated harshly.
“ Wait.” Mike answered and looked up from the floor. They both stared at him with expectation.
“ I want to hear her side of the story.”
“ Its useless…she cheated. What more do you want?”
“ I want to hear it from her.” Mike replied, feeling the frustration rising within him. This guy was such an ass.
“ Fine, not that it makes any difference.” Miller muttered.
Mike looked at his daughter and sighed uneasily. She stared into his deep eyes, waiting for the question. “ What happened?” he asked quietly.
“ I was rubbing my head because I still have a killer headache from yesterday. I did not have any answers on my hand and I did not cheat. Yeah I may be a bad student but I’m not a retard. I understand math perfectly.” She explained calmly.
Mike nodded a little, hearing the sincerity in her voice. “ Alright.”
“ You believe her?” Miller asked with surprise.
“ Yes I do.”
“ Sir, your daughter is a liar. There is no way she could have gotten a single answer right on this exam!”
Mike’s flawless face slowly formed a deep glare. “ Are you calling her an idiot?” he demanded.
“ Well she certainly isn’t school material.”
Mike couldn’t believe this guy. He was being extremely condescending for no apparent reason. “ I beg your pardon?” he demanded.
“ I want you both out of my office NOW.” Miller stated and stood up.
Mike stood up and Laura followed. “ You have no evidence that she cheated.” Mike explained while trying to remain calm.
“ I have witnesses.” He answered.
“ Unreliable witnesses.” Mike added angrily.
“ This discussion is over. Out!” he ordered and grabbed Laura by the arm, forcing her out the door. Mike’s eyes darkened and he grabbed the principal, punching him hard across the jaw, sending him stumbling against the wall. He then grabbed him by the collar and pushed him against the wall, staring into his frightened eyes with pure anger.
“ Laura out.” He ordered.
“ But-.”
“ –Now!” he yelled.
The young girl exited the office quickly and stood behind the door, listening with a frown. Mike stared at the frail man with hatred. “ If you EVER touch my daughter again I’ll sue your ass off for sexual harassment, and have you thrown in jail for the rest of your life.” He growled.
Miller stared at him, visibly shaken. “ Get out, I’m calling my lawyer.” He muttered.
Mike nodded and released him hard, causing him to brace himself against the wall. “ Go ahead, you’re going to need one.” He spat and left the office, slamming the door.
Laura raised a brow as Mike led her down the hall quickly and out of the school. “ Why are we walking so fast?”
“ Because I’m not exactly keen on going to jail tonight.” He answered quickly and entered the truck. Laura fastened her seat belt as Mike pulled out of the parking lot quickly, driving down the road with a sigh of relief. They sat there in silence, listening to the hum of the engine and the wind hitting the windshield. Laura couldn’t stand the silence anymore and decided to shatter it.
“ You punched my principal.” She stated meekly.
Mike glanced at her with a frown. “ Yeah and that ass deserved it.” He replied.
“ Why’d you do it?” she asked with interest.
He gave a large sigh and stared out the window. “ He grabbed you. He had no right. He deserves to be sitting on a street corner begging for money.” He explained.
Laura raised her eyes with surprise. “ Wow, I didn’t know you cared that much about me.”
Mike stopped at the red light and slowly turned his vision to her. “ When did I say I cared about you?”
“ Actions speak louder than words.”
“ My actions were provoked by anger, not care.” He explained carefully.
“ Yeah but you protected me from him. Hey wow, this must be that maternal instinct thing mom keeps talking about.” She answered with a gasp.
Mike lowered his eyes and sighed uneasily. He hated being picked apart like a book.
“ You called me your daughter.” She smiled and looked down.
Mike blushed a little and frowned. “ Yeah when?”
“ Back there, after you punched him.” She replied.
“ Must have slipped out.” He muttered weakly.
“ Aw, you care about me.” She laughed.
“ Nuhuh.”
“ Yahuh.”
“ NUHUH!”
“ YAHUH!”
He gave up and pressed on the gas pedal, zooming through mid afternoon traffic. “ You’re a brat.” He growled.
“ I know…it’s my most endearing quality. Hey I have a question by the way.”
“ As long as it has nothing to do with me caring about you…which I don’t…sure.” He answered quickly.
“ Why did you believe me?” Mike stared at the road in thought.
“ Because I know how smart you are. You get that from my side you know?”
“ Wait, YOU’RE smart? Since when?” she demanded with surprise.
“ Since forever. What you think I made it this far in life being a dumbass?” he asked.
“ I don’t know.”
“ You also get that smartass attitude from me…which I might add stop that because I’m sure your mom doesn’t want to pay for you to go to another school.” He explained casually.
Laura frowned a little and stared at him. “ So do I get anything from mom?”
“ Yeah, you have that stubbornness that drives me insane. Plus that same look she gets when she’s pissed at me.”
“ So let me get this straight. I’m a smartass intelligent, stubborn, angry person with potential musical abilities and talents?” she asked.
Mike raised a brow and nodded. “ Yep, that just about sums you up.”
“ Wow…I’m so cool.” She breathed in realization.
“ Does that mean I’m cool?” he asked.
Laura snorted a laugh. “ Yeah right Mike.”
“ That’s a good way to get no dinner.” He stated and pulled into the driveway.
“ Bite me.” She growled.

~~MORE TO COME VERY VERY SOON..LIKE VERY SOON...hope u enjoyed this chappie...please review on ur way out...THANK YOU!!:)~~