"Ruthie, dinner's ready! Get down here!"
Startled by her father's booming voice, Ruthie covered her ears as she walked into the kitchen. "Daddy, where's Mom? I need her to sign something." Scanning the kitchen to see where her mother may have gone to, Ruthie realized her father seemed to be plating the last of their dinner. "Wait, Dad... did you cook dinner?"
"Your mother's working late tonight, stuck in a meeting. What do you need her to sign?" Setting their two plates down on the kitchen island, Thomas noticed the piece of paper in his daughter's hand.
Oh great, the one night her mother's gone.
Thomas shook his head, before motioning for his daughter to take a seat.
Shuffling over to a nearby chair, Ruthie plopped down before setting the piece of paper on the counter. "Daddy I really need this signed for school tomorrow. Do you think maybe you could sign it?"
Please don't ask what it's for. Please don't ask. Just sign it.
Ruthie's hopes of her father remaining impartial to her situation quickly disappeared, as she watched Thomas pick up the small piece of paper.
"Ruthie, this a note from your teacher about your grades. Why would I have to sign this? Are you having trouble in school again?" Thomas noticed a look of defeat on his daughter's face, as her chest slowly collapsed with her escaping breath.
I thought we'd been through this with her. If she doesn't pick up her grades she won't graduate.
"Baby Girl, I thought you promised to talk to me if you were having problems."
Rolling her eyes, Ruthie began shoving her food around.
Why does Daddy always think I'm not doing better? Can't he just trust me for once?
Ruthie yanked the piece of paper out of her father's hand, before turning back to her plate. "It's standard, Daddy. They make all the students get a signature. It's to ensure parents sign into the online grading system themselves."
"Online grading system? Let me get this straight. They send a piece of paper home with you to have me sign, but not the actual report card?"
What the hell is my daughter going to learn if this is what her school is doing? I mean, this is common sense.
Thomas motioned to the end of the kitchen's counter, before looking back at his daughter. "Grab my computer. I'll look right now and sign this for you."
Ruthie grabbed her father's laptop case, before pulling it near them.
God this thing weighs as much as I do! What's Daddy keep in here?
Pushing the computer toward her father, Ruthie took the first few bites of her food as her father started up his computer. "You know Dad, for someone who lectures me about being on the computer all the time you're on it more than I am!"
Signing in, Thomas watched his computer loading the usual start up files. "Ruthie, you know I work on this thing. I'm not goofing around on it like you do. I actually earn an income."
Why is she so testy lately? She can't possibly be mad about me doing this, it's what a parent is supposed to do.
Accessing the internet, Thomas struggled to remember the login to his daughter's school records. "Great, just great! Ruthie will you please help me login to this damn site."
Trying to hold back the sigh she felt like giving, Ruthie pulled her father's laptop in front of her. "Daddy, how many times has Mom written the password down for you? Seriously." Clicking open her father's browser, Ruthie found some sites already populating for her.
Oh my God! Is that a porn site? What the fuck is this doing on my dad's computer?
Startled, Ruthie looked up at her dad in shock. "Um, Daddy... what's with this?"
