Murphy's hands trembled as she saw the big brown envelope in the mail. It was everything she'd ever dreamed of, right there in her hands. They began to shake in anticipation, and she was so unaware of the goings-on that Ethan came up behind her and took the envelope.
"Hey, what's this?" he asked in a teasing tone.
Snapping back to reality, Murphy swiped it away from him. "Just because you've decided to join the army, doesn't mean you can make me feel bad about going to college."
Ethan smirked and walked to the fridge. He took out a can of Coke and snapped it open. "I just don't know what the big deal is," he said, rolling his eyes as Murphy stroked the envelope. "That thing isn't Simpkin," Ethan said, his voice full of irritation.
"Simpkin...passed away seven years ago, Ethan," Murphy said hotly. "But I think my perfect Trixie is a lovely addition to the family."
"You say that because you lost your virginity to Nathan," Ethan teased. "I still don't know why you did that. He is practically our cousin and you know it!"
"It was prom night!" Murphy cried. "And he wanted to make sure that he wasn't gay..."
"What's wrong with being gay?" he asked, taking another sip of Coke. "Do you remember Amber and Mandy? Our mom's? They're gay and they got five kids out of it...and they've been together over twenty years..."
"You know that's not what I meant," Murphy said impatiently. "I have no problem with gay people, you know that."
Ethan nodded. "Oh, Murph, you've gotta know when people are kidding you," he said, a smile on his face. "Come on. I've got to do the final preparations on my army...stuff, and you've got to go get Sebastian, Devon and Lucy from school."
"Ah, Pinewood Middle School," Murphy said sarcastically as she picked up her keys. "We're lucky that Mom and Mom are lawyers," she said, giggling a little bit. "We've all got cars!"
Twenty minutes later, Murphy pulled into the Pinewood parking lot. She pulled into a parking spot and got out of the car, locking it behind her. Then she walked into the double doors, where she was not surprised to see Devon sitting in a seat outside the principals' office with his best friend, Mike Thompson, sitting beside him. They were covered with what looked like meat sauce, and pasta was in their hair.
Sebastian was standing by Devon, looking like a concerned thirteen-year-old brother, which he was. "Oh, finally!" he said dramatically when Murphy came in, his trademark lisp getting a giggle from Mike.
Murphy silenced his laughter with a look and narrowed her eyes accusingly at Devon. "What happened this time?" she asked, her tone slightly irritated and she crossed her arms and tapped her foot.
Devon gave a look to Sebastian, as if he wanted him to tell the story. When the older brother shook his head, Devon sighed, his eleven-and-a-half-year-old voice coming out like a high-pitched whine. "It was Frederick Morris, okay?!" he cried at last crossing his arms.
"Frederick Morris?" Murphy asked. "You mean, the son of Dan Morris, who Mom and Mom are representing in court next week?"
"Yes," Devon said heatedly.
Murphy bent down so she was eye-level to him. "Okay, you got into an altercation with him, that much I get. Can you please tell me the full story so when Principal James calls me in, I have something to go on?"
Devon sighed. "Okay," he said calmly. "Well...at lunch today..."
"Wait, wait," said Murphy. "You've been this dirty since lunch?!"
Devon shook his head. "Half day, remember?" he said. "We had lunch, like, half an hour ago."
"Oh," said Murphy, nodding. "Of course, of course. I'm sorry. Please go on," she said in her "this is all business" voice.
"Well, he made a rude remark about Lucy...and Sebastian," Devon said quietly to Murphy.
Murphy blinked, surprised that he would defend his twin. He loved Lucy, but he was closer to Sebastian and Ethan, and she could understand his defense of his older brother completely. "Okay," Murphy said. "What did this Frederick kid say?"
"He said that..." He leaned forward and put his lips to Murphy's ear. "...he said that Lucy was a fucking lesbo cunt and shouldn't even be in this school...and...he said that Sebastian was a goddamn faggot and should be electrocuted..." He said, quickly pulling away.
Murphy straightened up, her face flaming. Devon's dark blue eyes were teary, so she knew he was telling the truth. "And...you and Mike had a food fight?" she asked, forcing herself to remain calm.
Devon looked at Mike, and they both nodded.
"We sort of got the whole cafeteria to join in," Mike admitted sheepishly, lowering his eyes
Murphy sighed as the principal's office opened and the beautiful Principal James stepped out. She'd been in her first year as principal when Murphy was in the eighth grade, and she had a small wooden apple on her desk, to symbolize five years as principal. She smiled at Murphy, who felt herself tingling slightly at the attention.
"Hello, Murphy," said Principal James.
"Hey, Principal James," she said politely.
The gorgeous principal smiled. "Why don't you step into my office?" she asked, allowing the Frederick child step out, who was covered in meat sauce as well.
"Of course," Murphy said, giving a look to Sebastian to keep an eye on the boys for her. She walked into the office, and was careful to take the seat not covered in meat sauce.
"How have you been?" Principal James asked, walking over to her mini-fridge by her desk. "I've still got drinks in here. Would you like anything?" she asked, her green eyes practically shimmering in the sunlight which crept in through the blinds.
Murphy forced herself to pay attention and nodded, a jerked movement which seemed forced, even to her. "Yeah, um...water would be great," she managed to get out.
The principal nodded and took out two bottles of water. She put one on the side of the desk which Murphy sat at and kept the other in her hand. "So, I suppose Devon and Mike gave you their side of the story," she said, tapping her fingers on her desk.
Murphy nodded at her. "Yes, Principal James," she said.
She smiled back at her. "Oh, please, Murphy," she said to her, her pink lip-glossed lips forming into a grin. "Please call me Gloria. You're not my student anymore. Besides, you graduate from Clairmount in June. You're eighteen, too," she said.
Murphy nodded a second time. "Yes, erm, Gloria," she replied. "I am eighteen and I am graduating from Clairmount."
"Got any college plans?" Gloria asked. "Have you been accepted anywhere famous yet?"
"Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, UCLA, USC, Berkeley, Arizona State, University of Phoenix, NYU, Cornell... The list goes on, Gloria," Murphy said, allowing herself to blush a little to appear modest.
"Wow, that's very impressive," she said. "Have you made up your mind about where you might go?"
"Well, I've declined UCLA, USC, Berkeley, Arizona State, and the University of Phoenix," she admitted. "I just want to stay close to home. I'm considering Dartmouth and NYU," she went on. "I'm reluctant to choose Harvard or Yale, though, because they're known for breeding lawyers and stuff... I find law interesting, but I don't want to do it for a living."
"What do you think you might want to do?" Gloria asked.
"I would love to teach literature, or something," Murphy said. "I just love books and reading, and the thought of assigning essays has been a dream of mine since sophomore year. I just love the idea..."
Gloria smiled, tucking a bit of blonde hair behind her ear. "Wow... So, back to the boys," she said, trying to make her tone stern.
"Y-yes," Murphy said. "O-of course."
"What they did was wrong; throwing food is just not acceptable, no matter what a person says," she said.
Murphy nodded. "I completely agree," she said. "But...did Frederick happen to tell you what exactly was said to put the throwing of food into motion?" she asked tentatively.
Gloria nodded. "He made rude remarks about Sebastian and Lucy's sexual orientation," she said.