RKORadio helped with this idea about Stephanie as an Australian-style Principal's Assistant, and how a girl like Stephanie might wind up molding such a role in a progressive district like those in the San Francisco area, as that area is full of people who will experiment with lots of different things; they think outside the box.
I
don't do lots with the TV series friends like Aaron, I know more
about the book friends, but
this is a sequel of sorts to "A
Pinch for a Pinch," it shows exactly how steph could have had to
listen to Michelle tap dance during school when they wouldn't have
the same lunch, recess, or be in the same part of the building ("The
Legend of Ranger Joe"), and also explains why Michelle, at only
5.5, doesn't get in even more trouble while on the plane during their
impromptu accidental flight to New Zealand.
This has been changed a little, because the DVDs show Michelle's brash attitude continued almost until the end of season 6; it's then, not early to middle season 5, that she stops saying "duh" almost entirely. Given her sometimes brash attitude, combined with the mens' leniency, RKORadio felt something like this could still have happened. I provided the original time frame and helped with ideas on how to tie it in with other episodes (as he'd only seen a few dozen) after this while editing it since he's again busy with college, he provided the notes and idea, and then I wrote a good amount of it. It's one of his first stories, as he hadn't been writing for as long as I have when we came up with this in 2002.
I tried not to edit too much, but as said, Steph helping Michelle is more gradual, and it covers the timeline as it's now apparent, with "The Devil Made Me Do It" in April because of the twins being fed solikds, and Michelle nuking her Gumby only a week before that.
STEPHANIE, HEAD OF THE CLASS
The fourth grade
class went excitedly over to the computers. Stephanie Tanner was
perhaps
the most thrilled of all. Mr. Lowry, her teacher, had
called her a "delightful helper" at the last
parent-teacher
conference. In fact, at that conference, her dad - Danny Tanner - had
boasted that,
"My head swelled up so big from hearing reports
about you girls, I almost couldn't fit it in the
door when I got
home."
The discovery groups were so much fun, they made learning fun for even the most difficult kids, it seemed. Stephanie was glad Michelle wasn't like those kids. Michelle was her nearly five-year-old sister, and she had just been anxious for anyone to like her the first day of Kindergarten. Now, a month into school, she seemed to be loving it. Maybe a bit too much; she'd been tap dancing all the way to school with the tap shoes Stephanie passed down to her. But, she loved it.
"Oh, boy," Stephanie said, rolling her eyes as she spied a messenger walking in the door of Mr. Lowry's classroom. "Don't tell me; Michelle sent someone else to see me," she muttered to nobody in particular.
Michelle had done that quite a bit. She called Stephanie a "genius" for helping her make friends her first day of Kindergarten. So, she started sending all sorts of problems to Stephanie – playground disputes, even a few small discipline problems. Because of Michelle's hype, lots of kids were looking to her fior help.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Lowry," Stephanie said sincerely. "I try to tell Michelle not to do this…"
"Oh, it's quite all right. It sounds like she really idolizes you," he said as he took the note. "Apparently the teacher needs your help with her."
Stephanie didn't say anything, but she felt like saying, "Who do they think I am, Dear Abby?" Instead, she said, "I see. What seems to be the problem?"
"Michelle's tap dancing like crazy and it's driving us bananas," the student messenger said.
"Would you like to go calm your sister down?" Mr. Lowry asked. "It would probably help, that way the teacher can teach; it's too little a problem for the principal to handle, after all."
Stephanie agreed. "I'll be right back; try not to teach anything really interesting," she quipped, just as she had that first day.
Mr. Lowry had been so proud of her then. He knew it was very hard for children their first day of Kindergarten, and could tell Stephanie was a wonderful, compassionate big sister. He'd heard stories about how nice a student she was even before, and had been thankful when he learned he'd have her in his class. He hadn't realized she had a younger sister coming into Kindergarten then, but learned right away when Michelle crawled into the classroom and hid behind Stephanie's desk.
He'd allowed Stephanie to walk her back, and had heard later about how Stephanie had helped. It seemed like something little, but when Michelle started suggesting more kids come to Stephanie, he'd sensed Stephanie was a real leader.
Stephanie sighed as she walked down to Michelle's classroom. She was very thankful to have a teacher who supported this…well, this unique situation like Mr. Lowry did. He'd told her about his time as an exchange student in Australia when he was in high school; he'd learned while there that they had Principal's Assistants in elementary school. These were girls who handled discipline, counseling, and other things so the principal could handle more administrative functions, and teachers could teach. And, he'd told Stephanie that she seemed like the type they would use down under.
She just wondered how such girls ever did it. And yet, as Michelle stood outside the classroom with her teacher, Miss Wiltrout, she saw not only a sister who seemed to have faith in her, but also a teacher whose look seemed to say, "I know you can help."
"I'm sorry to bother you, Stephanie, but Michelle has been wanting to tap dance all day, and it has been getting a bit tedious. I'm having trouble getting her to calm down, maybe you could talk to her a second; I don't want to bother the principal for something this little, but still…" Miss Wiltrout said, trailing off. She knew it was hard for Kidnergarteners to control themselves at times, and yet also knew she couldn't take her whole time with just one kid. And yet, Michelle was usually very well behaved, too, at school; and even at home, she was a lot better than she had been at this time last year, which was around when their dad started punishing for the first time; it had always been D.J. till then.
Stephanie stood in front of Michelle and made her look her in the eye. "Michelle, why are you tap dancing; you're supposed to keep your feet on the ground!"
"Then why did you give me these shoes? Michelle gave hre a look.
Stephanie halted her before a "duh" could appear. "Michelle, listen to me. I know it's hard, but you have got to learn to control yourself. You are a big girl; I know you're not 5 yet, but Daddy put you in Kindergarten because he knows your'e a big girl."
"But, why can't I be a big girl who tap dances?" She began to tap dance again, still Stephanie picked her up. "Hey, my feet aren't tapping now."
"They're not supposed to tap in school!" Stephanie scolded, beginning a mini-lecture about respecting others. "Other people do not want to hear you tap dance. You may tap dance at recess but that is all!" She sighed. "Look, Michelle, I had a similar problem. I talked all the time in Kindergarten. But, I prided myself on being good,a nd I knew I had to control myself. So, I started trying, harder and harder. I told myself, 'Stephanie, there's a time to talk, and a time to be quiet. And I know this is the time to be quiet.'"
"Were you?"
"Usually. But the thing is, when I want, I got in trouble. I had to sit with my head down when the other kids went home, or even during recess!" she said in a threatening voice. "You would hate that, wouldn't you!"
"But recess is for fun."
"Exactly. Recess is for fun. But, when you're naughty, you don't get to have fun. Just like at home. If you're bad, you get sent to your room, right?"She agreed. Stephanie talked a bit more with her, and finally said, "I never got in trouble again after that one time staying in from recess and writing sentences. You know why? Because that was my limit; I did not want that to happen again. Now, you don't want me to…" Stephanie stopped herself. What was she saying? "Well, you don't' want yelled at again, right?" She shook her head. "Good. Then it's settled – no more tap dancing till recess or on the way home. Got it?"
"Got it. Boy, Stephanie, you sure are smart. I'm glad you know so much." She looked around. "Maybe you should be in charge of this place."
Stephanie laughed. "That's all I need." And yet, as she thought more about it, she realized that maybe she could handle even more. The idea was starting to become appealing to her. "One more thing, Michelle."
"What's that."
"Remember what D.J.'s always said, even if Dad and the others don't enforce it. Never say 'duh' or anything when you're being corrected. That's really wrong."
"Okay. You know best." They hugged, and suddenly Stephanie felt ten feet tall. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to be at the head of things.
About a month later, Stephanie's friend Harry input his selections for the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg, deploying troops and making strategic decisions in the computer simulation. He and Stephanie, along with a couple other children, were in one of a number of "discovery groups." On this day, the third after Christmas break, they were completing a series begun before break about the Civil War, and learning about the intricacies of the largest battle ever fought on the North American continent.
As he and several
other discovery group leaders input ideas on their computers,
Stephanie
smiled proudly at the memory of her dad's excitement.
Her mom had died 4 « years ago, leaving
their dad, her,
older sister D.J., 14, and younger sister Michelle, who had turned
five in
November.
It had been rough, but soon their Uncle
Jesse - Danny's brother-in-law - moved in, along with
their dad's
best friend, Joey, a comedian and kid at heart. Jesse had married
their Aunt Becky
about a year ago, and the couple had recently had
twin babies.
Michelle was in Kindergarten already. Danny
pampered her like a princess sometimes, it
seemed to Stephanie.
But, she seemed bright enough, and her age hadn't been much of a
problem. As long as her good attitude continued, it probably wouldn't
be. That normally wouldn't have been much of a concern for a girl
about to turn ten, but she and D.J. had talked with Michelle quite a
bit about certain things, like her bossy or rude attitude. The men
wouldn't correct her for things like rudeness, but D.J. or Steph
would. So, while D.J. did it for the most part - at least the part
where she'd send Michelle to her room before Danny had been willing -
Stephanie had borne some of the responsibility for teaching Michelle
things, such as tricking her once to show her how bad lying was. And,
of course, both had sought to make Michelle feel proud to be nice and
polite.
"Stephanie, would you please pass out the battle plans?" Mr. Lowry requested.
"Certainly, Sir."
Stephanie graciously took the papers from her teacher, and placed one
on
each child's desk.
Mr. Lowry explained how each student
would receive a printout of what they'd chosen to do
each day of
the battle to compare with what Mr. Lowry was about to show them
really happened.
As he explained, he felt thankful to have a girl
like Stephanie in her class. She was always nice
and polite, and
even if she messed up, as all kids did, she was humble and obedient.
He wished all
kids could be like her.
For her part,
Stephanie hoped that Michelle would today. She would have her first
male sub
teaching, Stephanie had learned after she'd gotten to her
class. She shook her concerns off
quickly, though. She remembered
D.J.'s words - expect them to be good. It was something their
mom,
Pam, had said a few times, D.J. had told her. And Michelle usually
was good.
Meanwhile, in Michelle's class, Mr. Rea was trying
to keep track of his class while they did
crafts. He was in his
first year of teaching, and had done okay so far. But, Aaron Bailey
was
causing a bit of a problem, it seemed, though he hadn't been
able to pin anything on him. With
morning recess coming, maybe
while the children were outside playing he would have time then
to
look into the question of what Aaron had been doing sneaking
around.
While the teacher's back was turned, Aaron threw a
spitwad at Michelle. Then another.
"Stop it," she
cried, raising her hand. "Teacher, Aaron's throwing stuff at
me."
Mr. Rea turned and looked at Aaron. "Aaron, if
I catch you throwing something again you'll
have to stay in from
recess this morning. I don't want you to have to do that, and I'm
sure you
don't either."
Aaron made a face behind the
teacher's back, and threw a bigger, grosser spitwad this time.
It
stuck in Michelle's strawberry blonde ponytail. "Gross,"
she muttered.
After another, she picked up the bottle of glue
she'd been holding and heaved it at Aaron,
barely missing his
head. "Maybe this will make my Stop it' stick," she
reprimanded him as the
teacher turned to see what was
happening.
"Oh yeah? Take that," Aaron cried,
throwing his own glue bottle. Michelle responded by
tossing a
crayon at Aaron, who responded by overturning a chair and his desk
toward Michelle as the teacher got between the two combatants before
Michelle could tip too much toward Aaron
"Aaron Bailey,
you are not Bobby Knight!" the teacher reprimanded, referring to
the Indiana
coach suspended for a game for tossing a chair onto
the court several years before. "And I would
tell Coach
Knight the same thing I'm telling each of you - you will both clean
up your messes, and
you must spend the morning recess period
seated at separate tables with your heads down!"
"He started it," Michelle complained.
"It doesn't matter
who started it. You do not have to respond. Now this floor looks like
the
battlefield at Gettysburg. Besides, you could have hurt him if
that bottle of glue had hit him in the
head!"
"I tried to miss," Michelle responded somewhat contritely. "You're tougher than my daddy."
The
teacher tried for a moment to think of a response. Finally, he folded
his arms and said, "I
find it very hard to believe that your
father would let you act like that."
"Are you going to call for my sister Stephanie?" Michelle said in a submissive voice.
The teacher normally wouldn't have done what Michelle
said, but this was a unique situation,
the kind he supposed he had
accepted when he'd come to a big city to teach. He knew of
families
where the kids were allowed to talk really mean to their
parents, too, though he didn't want to say that; it could make her
bolder. So, if it was true, he would send a note home for Mr.
Tanner.
He decided to call her bluff, give her time to back down, and if Stephanie said she wasn't allowed, he'd reprimand her and possibly keep Michelle in from lunch recess, too, if she wasn't remorseful, just like morning recess..
"All right, tell me where Stephanie is," he commanded. "At this point I'm not sure how to handle you, but perhaps your sister will know."
"She's
in Mr. Lowry's class." Mr. Rea asked another girl to take a note
to Mr. Lowry
requesting to see Stephanie. One he wrote it, he gave
it to her and asked her to retrieve
Stephanie.
Mr. Lowry
was about to demonstrate on the computer screens what really happened
on the
third day of the Battle of Gettysburg. All monitors were
now connected to the central unit he was
controlling, so the kids
could see the simulation. Stephanie especially waited with
breathless
anticipation. She always seemed to get excited about
things.
Out of the blue, Mr. Lowry called Stephanie to the
front of the class. She made herself hide
the frustration at
having to wait - it's just like a commercial break, she told herself.
Besides,
they'd been taught who won - but it could easily go
either way, from what they'd learned the first
two days after
Christmas break. And, the exciting presentation made some of the
children forget
who had actually won.
"Yes, Sir?"
Stephanie said politely as she arrived. She just now noticed the
Kindergarten
classmate of Michelle's. "Didn't D.J. babysit
for this girl a couple times," she asked herself.
"I have a note here from Mr. Rea. He's subbing for your sister Michelle's class. There was a problem between her and Aaron."
"She's
okay, isn't she?" Stephanie asked hastily. She was slightly
concerned. She knew
Aaron had swiped a cookie and pinched Michelle
last year, and seemed like a bit of a bully. She
hoped he hadn't
hurt her.
"She's fine, he just has a question," Mr.
Lowry assured her, recalling how she'd helped
Michelle before.
Stephanie followed the other girl down to Michelle's classroom.
In
her classroom, Michelle was slowly picking up some of her things
under the teacher's
watchful eye. Aaron was, too. They kept
casting somewhat angry looks at each other as they
placed things
on the table.
Stephanie strolled into the classroom and
hurriedly said, "Good morning, Mr. Rea. I'm
Michelle's sister
Stephanie. I hope nothing's wrong. I can't wait to get back to fourth
grade and
watch the dramatic, thrilling conclusion to the Battle
of Gettysburg."
Michelle stood and said, "You should have seen our floor a minute ago."
"Quite a mess,
huh?" Stephanie asked the teacher, tilting her head toward the
mostly cleaned
debris. She presumed that Aaron and Michelle had
thrown those items which remained, and many
more, at each other
during their "disagreement."
Mr. Rea nodded. "Yes." He explained about the problem. Stephanie glared at Michelle, her blunt glare slowly and steadily increasing into a sharp, scolding look. "She told me she tried to miss, and that her dad isn't very tough even on behavior like this at home. Is that true?"
Stephanie relaxed her gazed as she looked at Mr.
Rea. "Actually, it is, Sir. But," she said,
glaring back
at Michelle, "he does discipline, at least, and she has been
talked to quite a bit about controlling herself by our older sister
and I."
"In that case, will you talk to Michelle
about that. I don't want to cause any problems, but it is
important
that she learn to control herself," Mr. Rea said. He could sense
that Stephanie would likely correct the girl, hopefully without too
much of a problem. From his experience, it would probably have a
better effect than anything he could do, and he really didn't want to
be sending kids to the principal all the time. He had to learn to be
creative, he felt, and come up with ideas himself. He was in charge,
after all.
"I will; first, may I ask, was she polite about it? She didn't say 'duh' or anything, did she?"
"No, she didn't."
Stephanie gave her a broad smile for a second. "Some of our lessons are getting through very well, at least. I think just a long, maybe slightly loud talk about controlling herself will do. If you'll excuse us," she said, taking Michelle's hand and walking toward the door with her.
"By all means. Michelle, go out in the hall with your sister," the teacher commanded. Though they were only in Kindergarten, some of the students had already learned that habit when one gets in trouble of shouting "awwwwwww." The "awww"s continued as Stephanie met Michelle at the door, and placed a hand on her back while marching her into the hall.
She didn't enjoy the thought
of reprimanding her sister. She hated to see anyone's feelings hurt.
But, she also disliked misbehavior at school. Stephanie could get
a little wild at home, but even there she tried to be good. And, at
school, she was always well behaved. At least Michelle had been
respectful, or she'd have really gotten loud. Even as it was, these
attributes were combined with how tough she often was, especially on
herself. The more sensitive in the class could already sense the
normal tranquility and gentleness was about to be replaced with a
loud lecture.
Aaron clapped his hands and ran toward the door.
"About time a girl gets in trouble for a
change." He
turned to one of his friends as the teacher instructed them to return
to their seats.
"Of course, her sister's a girl, too. She'll
probably come in here crying like a baby, and her sister
will
hardly say a word," Aaron teased.
Michelle was troubled
as she met Stephanie in the hall. She frowned as she gazed
straight
forward into Stephanie's upper chest, then gazed slowly
up into the angry face. She'd expected
Stephanie to stick up for
her. She knew it wasn't nice to say "duh," but at least
Stephanie would
agree that Dad let her, and that was all, right?
Stephanie heard a still, small voice from deep inside calmly reminding her to "Use your words when you're angry." The voice sounded something like D.J.'s, a tinge like their Dad's, and still even some of it was like a voice from Stephanie's distant past, her mother, Pam, whom she mostly remembered after so long as having given her her greatest treasure, a stuffed animal known as Mr. Bear.
She didn't need that voice much here – but if Michelle had said "duh" to the teacher, she would have really been irate.
"I can't believe you threw that bottle of glue at someone! How rude!' Stephanie scolded, beginning a stern lecture.
"I'm sorry, Stephanie," she said, sniffling. "Am I in big trouble?"
"Let me put it this way! You're lucky you didn't say 'duh' like you sometimes do to him, or else!" Stephaie reprimanded. Already, several students in the classroom - and the one across the hall - cowered a little. Aaron picked all the other items off the floor quickly, as Mr.Rea told himself that this girl must know just what her younger sister needs, even if that did sound a little loud. He'd grown up in Iowa, and was used to small communities where a teacher might use an older sibling to help calm a very young one in school, or at times to help keep them in line.
" D.J. and I have told you many times about how to behave nicely. We have showed you, we have talked with you, we have made you stay still until you replaced a you got it, Dude' with a Yes, Ma'am,' we have done all that for you, because we want you to grow into a nice young lady," Stephanie shouted, shaking her finger. Placing her hands on her hips, she exclaimed, "And that goes for more than just talking; it means what you do, too. That means not to throw things at someone even if they are doing it to you; you are supposed to go to someone in charge and get help.
"I may have disrupted the class trying to make them laugh when I got my glasses. But I went up to the teacher's desk, called her Ma'am,' politely accepted that I had to write sentences for her for the next day, and behaved after that! I may have been too caught up in calling Walter Duckface' to settle and behave, but I sat with my head down like a good girl when I was told to stay after school for it. I didn't think it was fair, but I did it. I got in trouble a lot when I was younger for talking in class, but I never once talked back to a teacher, and never got sent to the principal! Because I knew that when I was told to stop, I had to, and I did. I certainly wouldn't go throwing bigger suff at someone if they threw something at me!"
Michelle nodded slowly, and uttered a weak, "I'm sorry, Stephanie." She humbly apologized to the teacher for what she'd done. She walked over to her chair, and collapsed into it, weeping over the lecture as she put her head down and thought about what Stephanie had said. Nobody had ever yelled at her that way before!
However, noone else in the class paid attention to Michelle. Aaron had emptied his pockets. He was at the teacher's desk, looking anxiously at Stephanie.
"There,
on the desk. That's all the lunch money I stole this morning. I just
did it to have
quarters for video games. I won't do it again,
honest!" Aaron cried out. As Stephanie glared at
him, he
said, "Okay, okay, I threatened to beat one kid up if he didn't
give me his. He can come
get it right now, everyone can. I promise
I won't hurt anyone." Aaron said.
After Stephanie glared
another second, the bell rang for the class's morning recess to
begin.
"Thanks. You shouldn't have to worry now, Sir. But if
anyone gives you any more problems,
you just let me know,"
Stephanie said, folding her arms. "Especially if this one does,"
she said
with a menacing glare toward Aaron. She wanted to make
sure Aaron didn't pick on Michelle
like he had others.
The teacher nodded slowly. As he did so, Stephanie walked over to Michelle, and gave her a hug. "I love you," she said softly.
"I know, Stephanie," Michelle said sadly. Inside, she was scared of what might have happened had she said "duhhuh" to that teacher. Stephanie hadn't said what she'd do, but Michelle had heard how bad it was to get sent to the principal's office. Even though the principal wouldn't hit right away, she didn't know that. And, for most of the kids, they figured getting sent to the principal was a lot like getting sent to see Stephanie.
Stephanie and Walter ate together at lunch that day. Suddenly, a 5th grader walked up to her. " The word's really getting around."
"What word?"
"That you're the bogeyman. I volunteer as an
aide in the principal's office. And, a couple kids
were talking as
I was delivering a message to one class. Especially some of the
younger kids
think they're going to get sent to you if they fight
like they've been doing with the smaller kids. I guess a lot of kids
talked at morning recess."
"Oh, brother,"
Stephanie said, resting her hand in her head. She wasn't sure what to
think
about this complication.
"Hey, don't feel bad.
It's not something the principal would use a lot. But, it might be
helping
a class or two. And hey, being called Principal Stephanie'
is better than Step On Me.'"
"She's got a point," Harry commented.
Stephanie sighed. "Yeah, I guess."
As she ate, she decided that maybe it wasn't too bad.
Although,
"It seemed a lot better when Michelle was just referring me for
conflicts and stuff like that. I mean, I got a few discipline
problems referred to me, but to be a full PA like in Australia? That
would be a weird feeling."
As Jesse and his wife Becky
gazed at their adorable twin boys in the bassinets on the
coffee
table later that day, Becky turned to Jesse and grinned.
"You're going to be the proudest househusband."
"Yeah,
I know. Problem is, when you go back to work on the show next week,
I'm going to
be even more like June Cleaver."
"Oh,
honey, you will not turn into June Cleaver," Becky chided him.
She looked at her watch.
"Do you have the cookies out of the
oven? Wally and the Beave will be home soon." She
chuckled at
his sharp, yet dismayed, look. "I'm just teasing you, Jess."
"Don't do that. Besides, I baked cupcakes in honor of your return in five days, not cookies."
Stephanie and
Michelle opened the door. Normally, they both enjoyed running over
and
grinning at the infants. This time, however, only Stephanie
did. She was just glad Michelle
wasn't angry at her for yelling so
much. See seemed quite remorseful, in fact. She had been extra
good
the rest of the day.
"Hey, munchkin, what's wrong?"
Jesse asked. He sat Michelle on his lap, and she buried her
head
in his chest. They'd been sharing problems with each other ever since
before Michelle could
talk, and Jesse would talk things out next
to her in her crib. She was glad for someone nice to
come home to,
even though her dad was working.
Michelle sniffled as she thought of the lecture.
"Well, what happened; you didn't get sent to the principal's office, did you?"
"Worse. I got sent to see Stephanie."
"Why, what happened?" Jesse repeated.
Stephanie could tell Michelle didn't feel like
telling everything. "You should have seen it -
their floor
looked like the battlefield at Gettysburg, because Aaron and Michelle
tossed everything
at each other. She was going to have to stay in
from morning recess anyway. But, the teacher asked me to talk to her,
and she seemed to excuse it a bit saying Dad doesn't correct her as
much. Which is true, but D.J. and I do."
"Steph, you
can see she knows how badly she behaved," Becky said lowly,
placing a hand on
her shoulder. "You don't have to go telling
it like that."
"Yeah, now listen," Jesse said,
tilting Michelle's head up to look her in the eye. "You
take
from someone who got sent to the principal a lot, you want to
learn from your mistakes now, so
you don't repeat them.
Capiche?"
"Capiche."
"That's good.
Cause they're just trying to help you. And that Aaron, you just make
sure a
teacher knows if he's a problem. Cause he has to learn now,
too, so he doesn't grow up to star
in an episode of Cops on the
wrong end," Jesse said. She nodded.
"Good," Jesse finished as D.J. and Kimmy walked in the door, "'cause you and I know Stephanie loves you very much, and she doesn't want you to be sent to her any more than you do."
"What? Michelle got sent where?" D.J. wondered as she set her books down on an end table.
"I was bad. I got sent to see Stephanie," Michelle said.
"Whoa. You mean Stephanie's the principal now?" Kimmy asked. Michelle nodded slowly.
Becky explained what happened. "Oh." Kimmy thought for a second, then smiled, trying to cheer Michelle up. "Well, squirt, just remember the old saying. I think Ben Franklin said it. The principal is your pal.'"
"Right,
see," Stephanie said, sitting on the other side of Jesse from
Michelle. "I'm still your
buddy when I..." Her eyes grew
wide, and she sat up very straight. "Wait a minute. I can't
agree
with Kimmy, can I? It could cause a paradox that could
destroy the universe!"
"Besides, Kimmy, it's kind of
his style of saying, but Benjamin Franklin didn't say the
principal
is your pal.' That's just a way to help you remember how to spell
that kind of
principal," D.J. explained.
Kimmy was
slightly stunned. "Really? I always thought the spelling saying
was the other way.
I guess that makes sense, though. I always
wondered what a ple' was."
"You thought it was the principal is your ple? I feel much better now!" Stephanie declared.
Becky tried hard not to smile at the comical
exchange. "Well, you know, it's not really all that
unusual.
Back home in Nebraska, in our small community it wasn't uncommon for
families to
have lots of kids. And, if one got really teary over
something that happened, they might get sent
to be with their
older sibling for a while - like when you went to see Stephanie your
first day of
Kindergarten," she told Michelle, who nodded,
fondly remembering how Stephanie had helped
her. "On the
other hand, if one got in trouble, an older sibling could also be
counted on to talk to
them a little and make sure it didn't happen
again. And, if you didn't have an older sibling, people
were close
enough you might have a kid who was like an older brother or sister,
or maybe even a
babysitter in my oldest sister's day, before they
split the grade school into elementary and junior
high. Things
like that saved the principal a lot of headaches."
"And
at least you don't have to worry about one of them giving you the
ultimate like the
principal could," D.J. spoke
casually.
"Stephanie would," Michelle said timidly,
shivering a bit inside at the thought of Stephanie's
comment that
she was lucky she hadn't said "duh" to that teacher. Stephanie
had made it sound like that would be so bad…
"Huh?"
Jesse turned from Michelle and put an arm around Stephanie. He didn't
know quite
how to respond; but, he wanted her to tell the truth.
"Steph, you didn't...I mean, you know none
of us believe in
doing it, but...well, I know you've gotta be tough, in your
position...what am I
saying, you're not the principal. What I mean
is you didn't hit her, did you?"
"No, Uncle Jesse. I wouldn't have, anyway, and I knew I was too mad right then." Stephanie hugged Michelle, too, and the kids went off to play for a while.
Soon before supper, Danny and Joey entered the house.
Michelle ran up to her dad right
away, and got a huge hug. As
Danny gazed warmly at his little princess, Michelle frowned.
"Daddy," she said lowly and regretfully. "I was
bad in school today. I had to stay in from recess
once. I'm
sorry."
"Oh, that's okay, honey." He hugged her
and sat on the couch, seating her beside him. "What
did you
do?"
"Aaron and me threw stuff at each other. He
started it, but the teacher made us both stay in,"
Michelle
finished. She didn't even want to think about the lecture. Besides,
knowing her dad,
that part probably wouldn't matter, anyway.
""Do
you know what you're going to do next time someone throws something
at you?" She
nodded. "Tell me."
"Make
sure the teacher knows, and don't do it back," Michelle said
with remorse. She'd
spoken with Jesse about that part after
returning home.
"That's right, honey. Okay, go play for a bit till dinner."
Danny joined Joey, Stephanie, Jesse,
Becky, and D.J. in the kitchen. "Hey, Michelle told me
what
she did wrong right away. Did she tell you when she got
home?"
"Yeah, Steph's the principal now," Joey remarked.
"What? When did this happen?"
"Well, Steph got in her face a bit with a lecture. And, it's a god thing, at least she got corrected now versus later. I guess there's a few kids who are thinkin' she's like the bogeyman now, so that's where her being like the principal comes in," Jesse finished.
"Well,
I hope Michelle's not one of them!" Danny turned to Stephanie as
they prepared salads
for the meal. "Honey, you didn't have to
say anything to your sister; and I'm sure she didn't need
a
lecture."
"Actually, I think Jesse's right,"
Joey said. Jesse looked with shock at Joey as the comedian
continued
- he'd never have expected the rarely serious Joey to agree with him.
"There are all kinds of people whose orders we have to follow
later in life. I mean, if a Martian says Take me to your leader,' and
you don't take him to the President, what happens? He might zap you
with a ray gun." He put an arm around Stephanie. "Today,
our little Stephanie is principal - tomorrow she's going to
be in
the White House and straighten out everything in this country,
because she knows how to be
firm. Just remember, Steph, when it
comes to symbols of the U.S. Navy, nobody beat Popeye.
And make
sure to care for military families, too - after all, Popeye had to
have some help to raise
his adopted Swee'Pea."
"I don't believe it - this clown actually agrees with me," Jesse remarked. "Although I do think you're nuts with that alien part," he told Joey
"Well...look, I'll take you
girls to school tomorrow, and talk with the teacher. I really
think
this could have been solved without you getting involved
that much, Steph. As for the other, I'd
love to see one of my
girls in the White House. Especially if I can be head maid,"
Danny said.
Meanwhile, Michelle had been playing with finger
paints for a while before washing her hands
and coming down to see
Danny arrive home. She went back up to the bedroom she shared
with
Stephanie; she'd sat several of the paints on Stephanie's
bed, since it was close to the table, and
the table was entirely
covered with cardboard containing her artwork.
"Now all I
need is to put my smock back on and...oops!" Her mouth flung
open at a bottle of
green toppled over as she tried to get it. She
jerked her hand to catch the green, and two more
bottles tipped
over. "Oh, no, stop tipping over, Stephanie's gonna have a cow,"
she cried to the
bottles. As she gazed in horror, she muttered,
"More like a dinosaur."
She tried to use her smock
to wipe up some of the mess, but in her haste, she forgot to take
the
others off the bed, and soon Stephanie's quilt looked like something
a very crazed
impressionist painter would create.
Michelle
then thought about water - but Danny called up and announced that
dinner would
soon be ready, and for Michelle to wash her
hands.
Michelle gulped. She couldn't let Stephanie see this
mess. She quickly washed her hands, then grabbed Mr. Bear - who
luckily had been on Stephanie's pillow and thus not messed up -
and
Stephanie's sleeping bag, and pulled them into D.J.'s room.
She ran back and shut the door to
their room, then ran
downstairs.
"Steph, I've got a great idea," Michelle said as they sat down to eat. "Why don't you sleep with D.J.?"
"Michelle, we went over this months ago. I'm your roommate now. Ewww, I don't like onions on my salad."
"Sorry,
I gave three to everyone. I thought it looked more symmetrical that
way," Danny said.
"You know, everything evenly
distributed."
"I'll take them," Michelle hastily declared.
"Michelle, you don't like them either.
You say they taste like something Comet would want,"
Stephanie
reminded her. Why is Michelle acting so strangely, she wondered,
noticing the anxious
look.
"But I want to be nice to you," she said as D.J. calmly took the onions from both salads.
Michelle turned to D.J. next. "D.J., you and Stephanie could have a slumber party tonight."
"On a school night? I don't think so, Michelle," D.J. said, shaking her head.
"Aunt Becky, you say the babies keep you up.
Stephanie can sleep with them and help you,"
Michelle
suggested next.
"Well, Michelle, she can't feed them the way I can," Becky explained.
"Why not?"
Joey
knew Danny was a little embarrassed to explain things like
breast-feeding - Danny had a
very hard time seeing his girls grow
up, and explaining adult things was part of this. So, he
interjected
to change the subject: "Steph's probably going to be too busy
keeping track of school
lesson plans, right, Steph? You have to
find ways to keep those kids occupied."
"Yeah, maybe you can help the first grade class with their play this year," Jesse suggested.
"Jess is right. Maybe you could have
them do a comedy version of Yankee Doodle Dandy'
for a change. A
comedy, first grade version of 1776' would be nice, too." Joey
stood and sang,
"As we vote on independency."
Sit down, Joey," everyone said at once.
"That's right. And, next year I could choreograph - wouldn't you like to do that play with me?" Stephanie asked.
"I guess so," Michelle muttered. She wasn't going to get Stephanie out of her room. She didn't want to think of what Stephanie would do when she saw the mess on her bed. And, she didn't know if she wanted Stephanie directing a play with her in it - or Stephanie being in charge of anything where she was. She squirmed in her seat a little as she thought of the lecture, bigger than any she'd ever had before.
After
Michelle helped clear the table, the older girls cleaned the dishes
and put them in the
dishwasher. After a while, Jesse poked his
head into the kitchen. "Hey, Miss Principal," Jesse
joked.
"A couple of parents need to talk to you."
Stephanie
nodded. "Be right back, Deej." She flung the towel she was
holding toward her
and went into the living room. She sat on the
couch with her dad, while Jesse sat next to her in a
chair. "What
is it?"
Jesse tried to think for a minute how to put it.
Finally, he said, "I think you were a little hard
on the
Beaver. Ah, there I go," he told Danny. "I told Becky I was
turning into June Cleaver."
"Honey, Michelle was
timid even when she got home, but she just showed us something
that
happened before supper...well..." Danny tried to paint a
mental image for her. "Remember all
that gaudy, flashy stuff
from the 1970s you've seen?" Stephanie nodded. "Well,
imagine if the
1970s threw up. That's what your bed looks
like."
"What?!" Stephanie couldn't quite figure out what the men were saying.
"Michelle made a big mess
there, and your bedspread's gonna have to go to the cleaners.
Plus
some other stuff," Jesse explained. "She's
terrified of what you'll do to her when you find out,
though."
"Why would she be scared? I mean, even if Mr. Bear...uh, how is he?" Stephanie said worriedly.
"He's safe in D.J.'s room with your sleeping bag right now."
"That's a relief, Dad. But, even if he wasn't, sure I'd yell, but it wouldn't even be anything like today. I mean, at least she didn't do it on purpose, but even when she tried to miss Aaron, if you're trying to miss you can still miss, which means if she missed she would have hit him."
"Honey, don't you think you've gone a little overboard with this," Danny said.
"What do you mean, everyone else has been calling me Principal Stephanie,' not me."
"I mean with Michelle. Honey, look, maybe she did need corrected. Maybe she even needed, just a little, for you to raise you voice a touch," Danny said hesitantly. "But, honey, the way you yelled at her today is a lot worse than I think she needed."
Stephanie tried to defend herself by pointing out one positive. "But, Dad, look at Aaron. Before he might have been willing to pick on Michelle, or steal her lunch money, but now I bet he won't even tease her, much less hit or steal from her. He didn't seem scared, he just straightened up."
"Yeah, man, but that's Aaron. Every kid's different, and he might need a lecture like that; in fact according to D.J. his mom says he's practically Calvin without the tiger at times. But, Michelle doesn't need that," Jesse said.
"Honey, do you remember when you backed Joey's car into the kitchen?" Stephanie nodded. "Would you get behind the wheel of a car now?"
"Of course not, Dad. I know better. And I'd certainly never press a button that I didn't know what it did."
"But, are you scared to?" Jesse asked. "Or scared of us?"
"No, of course not. I might hide some things because I don't want you to know..."
"Like what?" Danny interrupted.
"Well, nothing, right now.
But, well," she muttered, suddenly realizing something. She
knew
why she'd been so rough on Michelle - she was thinking of how
hard she was on herself, and
expecting her sister, who wasn't even
as old as she was, to live up to Stephanie's own high
expectations
for herself. "I'd do that because I wouldn't want to face the
fact I blew it trying it
myself. Not because I'm frightened of
anything."
"Exactly. Steph," Danny continued, "there are two kinds of fear. Well, one isn't really fear as we know it, but the English language called it fear until a couple hundred years ago. And, that word is really a deep sense of awe, of knowing you have to be careful. That's the feeling that makes you not want to get behind the wheel again, or makes you not put your hand in a fire. You're not scared of the fire, but you have a very deep respect for its power, just like Aaron might for you, so you don't mess with it. Just like you're not scared of what we'll do, but you know that we have power to remove pretty much any privilege you can imagine, and that isn't fun."
"That's the truth," Stephanie muttered. "But, you're right, I'm not scared of you."
Jesse put a hand on her knee. "That's our point, kid. Michelle's really scared of you. You've got to understand Michelle doesn't need anything as harsh as Aaron needs to make him listen; in fact, D.J. tells us his mom has to give him a swat on occasion. Now, that's not something your dad or I like to think about anyone doing, but if it doesn't cause that unhealthy fear, we have to accept some people do that, even if we wouldn't. But, you gave Michelle the unhealthy kind today. And she needs you to show her she doesn't have to feel that."
Stephanie sighed. She knew she'd yelled a lot. She knew she could have lessened the volume, or shortened the lecture, a little and been just as effective.
"I don't want anyone to be scared of me," she said lowly. "Where is she now?"
"Probably anywhere but your room," Danny explained.
"I'll go up and see her." Stephanie trudged up the steps, wishing that she hadn't been so harsh; or that she'd apologized quickly, or something. She'd been so focused on making sure Michelle wasn't upset with her, she'd forgotten that she could have scared Michelle. And, as she considered her dad's example, she realized just why she'd acted that way.
Her heart sank as she saw Michelle in Joey's room, with his hockey uniform on. "Michelle, why are you all dressed up in Joey's hockey stuff - it doesn't even fit. The pads are too big, for one..." She suddenly stopped herself. "Oh, Michelle," she said with a tear in her voice. She hadn't meant to threaten Michelle - but, maybe something had come out the wrong way. "Do you really think I would hurt you?" Michelle nodded very slowly. Stephanie walked over and hugged her.
"You can take all that off, Michelle. A hug's going to feel much better without that mask on, anyway. I promise I'm not going to hurt you. Dad and Uncle Jesse told me there was a big mess in our room. But, I love you very much. And, I won't hurt you." After Michelle took it off to reveal her normal clothing, Stephanie said, "Let's go in our room and talk. Although, we'd better use your bed."
Michelle felt more comfortable as Stephanie spoke calmly and warmly on the way over. She could tell Stephanie was having trouble avoiding getting upset at the incredible mess, but she wasn't even yelling, so she decided that Stephanie would be nice.
Stephanie and Michelle sat up against Michelle pillow. She put her arm around Michelle and said, "Michelle, I'm very upset at that...well, that exploding peacock you put on my bed. But, I know you would have told me if you hadn't been so scared, right?"
"Maybe."
"Michelle, I'm sorry I yelled so much today. I was very upset that. I try hard to be so good at school. But, I didn't realize why till Dad reminded me of the time I put the car in the kitchen. I thought I didn't deserve to be loved after that. Michelle, as hard as I was on you, I'm twice as hard on myself when I mess up. Another time, you were just a baby, I blamed myself for cutting Uncle Jesse's hair and thought it was my fault he broke his arms on his bike, when it wasn't my fault at all. I expect a lot of myself, and get really mad at myself when I don't do what I should. And, I think I got as mad at you today, because that's how upset I'd be with myself if I'd talked like that. I shouldn't have been so mad at you to make you so scared," Stephanie said.
"I deserved it," Michelle said, resting her head on her sister's shoulder. She was getting a little tired. "I'll never throw anything at someone again. Or even away from someone."
"Michelle, you deserved to be lectured. But, not like I did it. The real principal would be much more lenient. Unless of course, you really were bad, but we won't get into that."
That reminded Michelle of something else.
Stephanie had said she wouldn't hurt her now. But, Michelle also
knew that being rude must be very bad to have prompted the extreme
reaction
it had. And, given that Stephanie was the principal - if
not worse - in that spot, she had to wonder. She looked cautiously
toward Stephanie and spoke weakly. "Stephanie? Would you really
have smacked me today if I'd said 'duh to the
teacher?"
Stephanie closed her eyes for a second and lowered her head. She didn't like to think of it. But, ""If you'd been bad enough and the teacher or principal said you deserved it...I probably would have, just so I could be there to comfort you, and you could cry in my arms for a couple minutes before you went back to class." She could tell Michelle was getting teary at the thought, so she reached over with her other arm and embraced her. "But, don't worry. I will never hit you at home, and I won't hit you anywhere else, unless the principal says you really need it."
"I won't, Stephanie. I promise," Michelle said decisively. And, she wouldn't, either. Thinking of how scared she'd been, she requested, "Can I sleep with you tonight? Thinking about thinking about that is even scary," Michelle admitted. "That's why I never want to think about it."
Stephanie sighed. "Well, I think the only thing my bedspread is good for right now is a picture of Gettysburg if they'd used paint. Would you feel better if I came in bed with you tonight?" Michelle nodded happily. "Good. Because, I want you to be comfortable with me. If I ever find myself watching you, or if we're lost or something, I will take charge. You will be good and if you mess up go to timeout when I send you."
"You bet!' she said emphatically. She never wanted to risk another eruption like that. Even if it was the worst Stephanie would do, it had still be quite unnerving.
Stephanie didn't want to risk another one like it, either. That was why she was warning Michelle. However, she also wanted to be nice, and wanted Michelle to feel comfortable with her. "But, even then, I want you to feel safe and just know I love you and I'll be nice, but you have to listen to me. And here at home, you don't have to worry about me screaming my head off, either. The worst I could ever do...let's see, the worst I will do is call the hairy, scary monster," she considered aloud from the top of her head. "Say his name three times, and he comes out."
"Thanks. I'd rather you call him than the Stephanie monster," Michelle kidded her.
The next morning at school, Danny was talking with Mr. Rea and the principal as Stephanie and Michelle stood around before school. "I'm sure you won't have any problems," Danny said. "I understand your calling Stephanie - she really helps others a lot here, too, and she knows not to be too harsh, so she doesn't scare the bejeebers out of everyone. Frankly, I think the idea of calling her was a pretty good one."
"Uh-oh," Aaron said as he walked in with Teddy. "They must be watching me. Stephanie's here and I haven't even had a chance to think about doing something wrong. Now I know I better be good!"
"That's right, you better," Stephanie teased.
"Well, Mr. Tanner, I'll tell you something," the principal said. "I'm not big on hitting. If things got so bad and Michelle ever did need a smack, I wouldn't hesitate to call Stephanie if that's what you prefer."
"Yes, but I'm certain it won't be needed, she is such a wonderful angel," Danny said as he looked lovingly at Michelle.
"No it won't, I promise!" Michelle declared. "I'm going to be a good girl at school. They won't have to think of sending me there!" And she would be sure of it. There was no way, after what she'd been through, that she would ever be rude to a teacher, or refuse to accept what they said. Of course, her dad had spoken about how she shouldn't accept what they said as truth if they told her something dangerous or mean, but she wouldn't have to worry about that.
"I think Stephanie has become enough of a star here that a lot of kids are willing to promise stuff just so they don't have to see Stephanie," Mr. Rea offered. "Maybe that's for the best, though. I came out here because I knew city schools needed a lot more help than those in my small town. But, maybe that's the key - one big sister like Stephanie who can comfort or lecture or whatever else on kids' level in a mature way."
Stephanie was amazed at how people continued to try and build her up. "Well, pin a rose on my nose," she said sarcastically.
Mr. Rea noticed Stephanie's tired face. "You are a very helpful girl, from what Mr. Lowry has said. And, I'm sure everyone likes having you here, so they have that option to have you help."
"I know I like having her here. She is the best big sister ever," Michelle declared.