Oddity Chapter One: Fatherly Love
Oddity Chapter One: Fatherly Love.
Story & Characters © Michael .B ( Max The Wolf [YS] LT_Max_W_Charger [FA] )
Disclaimer: This story may contain some mature content so therefore is not allowed to have readers under the age of 17, 18, or 21 depending on where you live. Thank you.
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Story Theme: Underrated - Autopilot Off
Michael's Theme: Cadillac Rock Box - Anthrax
Veronicas Theme: Back in Black - AC DC
Ending Theme: How Lucky I Am - Emerson Drive
Story Started: 10-17-2009, Finished: 10-19-2009 Edited: 10-20-2009 (Fixed up the Chapter Title...it didn't fit.)
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The afternoon sun shown down upon the small suburban town, while various people and animals went about there dally routines. Almost every house was different to represent there owners personalities. Inside one home at the end of the street, a phone rang constantly inside the living room, the sound filling the small room as foot steps came from the upper floor of the house.
"Okay, okay...Jeez, keep yer pants on." spoke a human who quickly stepped down the stairs. He was dressed in faded blue jeans, a black tee-shirt that had the Ford Racing logo on the front and a blue jean vest...his blonde hair was cut short as his blue gray eyes glanced to the caller ID seeing it wasn't working again. With a slight sigh, he picked up the phone. "Hello?"
"Mr. Valentine?" spoke a woman on the other end.
"Yes."
"This is Ellen Stone of South Rock High...I'm calling about your daughter, Veronica. I wish to speak to you personally if you can spare the time." she spoke softly.
"I'll be right there." he replied before hanging up the phone and walking out to the garage that housed his truck, picking up his keys and wallet on his way. "Damn it Veronica...what did you do this time?" he muttered to himself as he got in the truck. It was a old model 1993 Ford F-250 4x4, the once midnight blue paint had faded into a light blue, soon the truck roared to life...the large 351 cubic inch engine reviving slightly due to the upgrades of a Holly Four resting upon a manifold that replaced all the electric Fuel Injection. He then started off down the road toward the school, the mud tires humming softly over the radio that plaid softly in the cab. When he made it to the school his mind was working overtime to find out what was the problem this time. After finding a parking spot, he got out of the truck and walked inside the High School, and right to the principals office.
When he pushed the door open slowly, he was faced with a black female Panther...she was dressed in a light gray suit and had a pare of light framed glasses resting upon the bridge of her blunt muzzle.
"I'm so sorry for you to have to come down here on such short notice." Ellen spoke softly before looking to the side slightly. "Veronica will you please wait outside my office?".
Soon a jet black husky stood up from a leather chair and stepped outside the room with out a single word. Slowly Ellen looked back to the human slowly. "Please, sit."
"What's this about?" he replied while taking a seat in one of the large leather chairs that rested in front of a large rose wood desk that dominated the small room.
"Again I am sorry, I don't want to tell you how to raise your daughter but I must ask that you do something about her temper and her attitude. She provoked a fight with one of the students and ended up breaking the girls arm." she paused for a second before resuming "The parents won't press charges against you or her if you pay half the hospital bill...I know its hard to raise a child like her, but please try getting through to her."
Slowly the human gave a soft nod "I'll talk to her" he spoke while glancing to the office door.
"Thank you, Michael...I wish you luck." she replied while moving to sit down behind her desk. "I am also giving her a one week suspension from school."
Michael once more gave a nod before he stood up and walked to the office door, when he stepped from the room he looked to the side at his daughter.
"Lets Go." he said while walking toward the exit of the building with her following behind him. She was not the most common for her breed...jet black fur, sea green eyes, and a long curled, bushy tail. She stood out as a oddball in the town...Her long head fur held streaks of pink from dye she had used to try and fit in but ended up in a failure.
Once they was on there way home, at about half way Veronica spoke up softly, breaking the silence that surrounded them since they left the school. "Are you mad at me, Daddy?"
"I'm not mad...I'm disappointed in you Veronica. I didn't raise you to be like this, I thought I taught you better." he glanced at her slightly, before looking back to the road. "You embarrassed me greatly today, and the only way I dodged a lawsuit is by agreeing to pay for half of the medical bills for the girl you hurt."
"I'm sorry, Daddy...I really am." she replied softly, while looking at him slowly, her eyes watching his face for any sigh of change, but seen none.
"I wish I could believe that, but I don't. You've said it each time, but you always do it again. So...what was it about this time? Your fur, your cloths, or your breed? What one this time Veronica.?" he spoke softly while turning down the two lane street that led to there home.
"None of those." she replied while looking at him, her eyes wondering over him with a hidden admiration and a want she didn't understand, but soon turned away when he looked at her.
"Then what was it about?"
"I can't say." the husky replied while looking out the window, her ears folding back against her skull.
"If that's the case...you'll have plenty of time to think about it in your room. The principal gave you one week suspension and I'm giving you one month grounded." Michael spoke softly as he pulled into the drive, shutting off the truck.
"Yes, Daddy." came Veronicas timid reply as they both got out of the truck, Michael leading the way into the house. Slowly he turned to her and pointed to the stairs.
"Now march your tail up to your room, and don't come down until I say you can."
Slowly she walked to the stairs, her tail tucked between her legs. When she reached half way up the stairwell she turned to look at him. "I love you, Daddy."
Slowly he looked up toward her with a soft nod. "I love you too, now go on." he replied, watching her start up the stairs once more...only looking away when she disappeared around the corner. Looking to the side, sighing softly he then made his way to the kitchen where he started making lunch...his mind drifting back to the day he had adopted her. She had been picked on ever sense she was able to talk or anything else for that matter.
Of the seven other incidences at school she would have told him flat out what was the cause, but this time she didn't...was it worse than the others? No, it couldn't be...he raised her to never have any connection with any drugs, so what was the problem?
Slowly he shook his head, dismissing that train of thought before it got worse...he was pushing to hard to find a reason that would come later when the time was right.
Once his brain shifted out of neutral, he closed the icebox after picking up a pack of hamburger meat and walking to the small counter, some more memories came back once more that caused him to smile. One was of when Veronica took it upon herself to make him a surprise breakfast on his twentieth birthday. She had managed to set off every smoke detector in the house at once. Idly he prepared the meat while the stove heated up the skillet that rested upon the burner, he then remembered last Christmas when they both spent countless hours hanging strings of lights, and setting up the tree...fond memories indeed.
"She's my baby girl...regardless of how old, or what happens." he spoke softly to himself as he tossed the meat into the skillet, watching it cook.
Veronica sat upon her bed, looking at a photo of her and Michael standing in front of the old 93 Ford outside the local oval raceway that held Open Modified Races every year. She would sit in the stands and watch the races that he preformed in, cheering him on every time. The money he won wasn't millions but it came in handy when times got hard...and she had given him the strength to strive for more. Now he had became sponsored by Ford Motor Company, so now he made her a promise to put her through the best collage he could pay for. Slowly she looked down to the pillow that she had on her lap. "And here I am...acting like a little bitch in school..." she scolded herself.
Soon her ears perked up to the sound of her father calling for her. She got up, walking to the door with a nod. "I'm going to tell him the reason, the truth."
Michael stood at the foot of the stairs, watching Veronica bound down the steps, stopping in front of him with a soft smile.
"What's got you in such a good mood?" he asked as she gave him a hug, before walking to the kitchen and sitting down at the table.
"Nothing." she replied still smiling.
Slowly Michael moved to sit down at the other side of the table, after grabbing two cans of soda from the fridge. "Well with that clear as mud, do you want to tell me what happened at school today?" he looked at her slowly, somewhat taken back by her nod while a smile crossed her muzzle.
"Yes. The cause for the trouble was of when that girl called me a useless mutt, and that because of my fur is why my birth parents didn't want me...that I was a embarrassment to my breed." she spoke softly, her smile fading away from her words. She then slowly looked down but was stopped when Michael placed a finger under her chin.
"You're no embarrassment, Victoria. She's just jealous."
He replied while lifting her head to look at him.
"Yes I am...look at me...I look nothing like my kind." she whimpered.
"Nope. You may look nothing like them, but if the world was based upon looks...well...we both are mutts, and outcasts." he smiled. "Come on...eat. After lunch I'll take you out for some ice cream and a movie...how's that sound?" he watched her carefully before she gave a nod in reply, soon she started eating on the food he had prepared. When they was both done with lunch, Michael stood up taking the empty plates to the sink.
"What about me being grounded?" Veronica asked while tilting her head, watching as he shook his head.
"Consider it one week." he replied while turning around to her...the look on her face was do full of shock it made him wish he had his camera. Soon he stepped past her, picking up his keys, turning around just in time to see her jump in the air slightly, spinning around and darting to and up the stairs all while giving a squeal of glee. He snickered slightly while making his way out to the truck. "Wow."
"I must be dreaming! I have to be! He just made it one week and he's taking me out for ice cream." she gave a soft joyful yip while changing into a short white miniskirt, a black tee-shirt with the band name "Metalica" on the front in red. She then grabbed her small purse and bounded down the hall, then the stairs, jumping the last three steps and hitting the first floor in a dead run before reaching the truck and climbing inside. "So why did you shorten my time, Daddy?"
"It's because I love you, and you had a valid reason...not a good one...but not one to do much harm in the process." he looked at her while starting up the truck "I'd most likely have done the same." he laughed while backing the truck out of the drive, pointing it for down town before he floored it causing the rear tires to bark slightly, leaving a black mark in the road. Yet another short drive it was to the ice cream parlor with the radio blasting some heavy metal, he pulled the truck into a empty space in the front before shutting off the engine and getting out with his daughter. Soon they made there way inside, getting in line to wait for there turn.
When they had gotten there ice cream and was on the way out, he happened to overhear a slight insult that was aimed at Veronica...and he knew she heart it as well when her ears laid back against her skull.
Michael turned slightly to see a young dingo sitting at a table, her arm in a cast. It didn't take much to put two and two together, he also saw she was with her parents so he decided to get it all over with. Slowly he turned to Veronica while handing her his ice cream cone. "Wait outside for me sweetheart."
Slowly she gave a nod, doing as told while Michael stepped over to the table where the family was.
"Pardon me...but I couldn't help but hear your daughter insult my little girl."
"You're the father of that little mutt who broke my little girls arm?" replied the father. That was a major insult to Michael as he slowly clinched his fists while Veronica watched from outside.
"Mister...you can say anything you want about me...but if you insult my daughter again, you won't be pressing charges...I will. And you'll be eating meat from a straw for a year. " he retorted sharply as he pulled out a folded piece of paper and flicked it into the Dingo's empty plate, causing it to land in a small pool of grease. "Here's your money for half the hospital cost...don't you ever come near me or my daughter again...you better pray you don't cross my path as well." he ended his statement by turning away and walking to the exit as the dingo stood up.
"You dare insult my in front of my family! You'll make out a new check for the payment...the bank won't touch it! "
Michael turned around as he opened the door, at that moment everyone in the parlor was watching them before he spoke again. "Save your breath buddy...for you to raise a child that insults others because they are different...you don't have pride. Me? I can live with out it all...but what I can't live with out is my daughters love, and the fact I raised her right. As for your money...here's my advise...shit in one hand and wish in the other. It's been nice speaking to you...goodbye." he stepped out the door before anything else was said, looking to Veronica with a smile as he took his ice cream cone when she handed it to him. "I love you pumpkin." he spoke softly as they walked to the truck, and climbed inside.
"I love you too, Daddy." she replied while scooting up beside him, nuzzling against his side softly with a murr. Slowly Michael started up the truck and backed out of the parking lot and drove down to the park where they could finish there ice cream in peace before heading out for a movie...for what turned out to be a pain in the ass day...was turning out quite nicely after all.
All could be wondered about was what the night held for them both.
( To Be Continued.)
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HEH, something to help my writers block...I did this on paper and decided to put it down for you all to read...thank you. ^_~