An Unexpected Girl

chapter eleven

"Hey mom," Iris said, picking up her mom's call. It had been a while since the last time Iris had called home, and she expected her mom to bring this up.

"Hi Iris, how are you?"

Okay, that's a bit weird. Her mom was usually straight to the point. She really wasn't one for formalities. Maybe she was just building up to it.

"I'm good, mom. Currently, just doing some homework for class."

Iris held her breath. Her mom would usually go easier on her if she knew she hadn't called home because she was busy with schoolwork. She was working hard, and that was the most important thing to her mom.

"That's great, but I hope it isn't too stressful. Make sure you're taking breaks and don't overwork yourself."

The confusion Iris was already feeling seemed to intensify by ten. Her mom was always telling her to embrace a challenge, and to keep her head in the game whenever she complained about the workload of school.

Now suddenly she hoped the workload wasn't too stressful.

"Yes mom, I am. Is everything okay?" Iris shifted uncomfortably, scared that there was something else going on that she wasn't aware of.

"Yes, everything's good," her mom replied quickly. Too quickly. "Don't worry about me. Just concentrate on yourself and your studies. That's the most important thing right now."

Iris knew that if there was something wrong, her mom would much rather not tell her than risk 'distracting' her from her studies.

Iris bit her bottom lip, not believing her mom in the slightest. Something strange was definitely going on and she couldn't understand it at all.

There was a moment of silence on the line.

"Your dad's been trying to get in contact with you," Iris' mom suddenly said, changing the subject.

Iris rolled my eyes, even though she knew her mom couldn't see her. "He's always trying to get in contact with me. He's constantly messaging me on Facebook. I don't know why I haven't blocked him yet," Iris stated, inspecting her nails. But none of this was news, and her mom knew this as much.

Iris's father wasn't really much of a father. He was a guy that had gotten Iris' mom had dated during her teenage years, and of course, he had fled once he realized Iris' mom was pregnant, going on to live his life, while Iris's mom had the course of her life changed forever.

Throughout the years, Iris' father had tried severally to get back into their lives. Both Iris and her mother had since learned that it wasn't worth it to let him back into their lives and paid him no mind. He always forgot Iris' birthdays and sent her birthday cards at random times of the year. It was appalling. As far as Iris was concerned, he was as 'deadbeat dad' as it could get.

Hence why Iris froze when she heard the words that left her mother's mouth next:

"I think you should give him a chance."

Iris literally took her cell phone away from her ear and looked at it for a minute, trying to figure out if her mom had really just said that, or if she had somehow misheard her.

"What did you say, mom? I think the connection is bad," Iris finally said, holding the phone back up to her ear. Clearly, she had heard her mom wrong. After all, there was no way in hell that her mom said that. Especially not after all that he had made her go through alone.

There was a sigh from the other end of the line, followed by Iris' mom's voice.

"You should give him a chance, Iris. I know he hasn't been the best father, but he seems to be trying-"

"Mom, are you serious right now?" Iris asked, cutting her off mid-sentence. "Did you really just say that?" Iris had sat up in her chair and was clutching her phone tightly in her hand. "He has been nothing but a burden to both of us, despite the thousands of chances we've given him throughout the years."

There was a moment of silence on the phone that seemed to stretch out. Iris rarely disagreed with her mother. After all, she knew that her mom always had the best intentions for her and was merely just doing what she believed to be best.

However, this was something that they would have to disagree strongly on. No way in hell was Iris going to let her mom forget all the abandonment and pain that her father had caused them.

"Mom, I've gotta go," Iris finally said, breaking the silence. "I've got an assignment due in a couple of hours that I haven't yet completed."

"Okay," her mom simply responded. Iris could hear her sigh from the other end of the line, "all I'm asking is that you don't shut him down completely when he reaches out again."

Iris had to bite her tongue slightly to keep from laughing right then. Ironically enough, she found nothing slightly funny about the situation before her.

"I've got to go, mom," she simply said, feeling the anger building up within her.

They hung up the call, and Iris instantly rose to her feet and began pacing her room. None of this made sense. She was utterly confused and kept replaying the conversation that had just occurred in her mind.

Had her mother really just said she should give her father a chance? What the hell was going on?

It was moments like these that Iris desperately needed Korra. She needed someone to rant to about all of this, and Korra was the only person she felt she could talk to that might understand where she was coming from, but Korra was spending the night at her boyfriend's house.

The anger that Iris had been feeling vanished, being replaced instead by sadness. Iris didn't like how she felt right then. She hated how alone she felt, too.

Iris' phone pinged at that moment, signifying she had gotten a text message. Picking it up from her desk, Iris read the message on the screen.

CRAZYBITCHFROMGYM:

What time should I meet with you tomorrow?

It was Adi. That was how Iris had saved her name on her phone, and it brought a small smile to Iris' face despite the negative emotions she had been feeling a few moments ago.

we're all meant to meet at the hiking location at 10am, so maybe 9.30am and we can drive up there together

CRAZYBITCHFROMGYM

You got a car?

Iris responded:

no, but i know you do

CRAZYBITCHFROMGYM

You got gas money?

Iris rolled her eyes. She had invited Adi on this trip because she thought it'll be a good idea to have someone looking out for her to make sure she didn't completely make a fool of herself, but she was quickly beginning to doubt that she had made the right call.

Iris decided she would just have to put up with Adi's annoyingness just for one day.

Yes, i do. any more questions, officer? Are you going to arrest me?

CRAZYBITCHFROMGYM

Hilarious. I'll see you at 9.30am tomorrow.