Prosperity Challenge - 11.6 (Days/Years 31-33 - Thigpen 2)
"Where's mom?" Denae asked her dad after Gwen missed yet another family breakfast.
"You know she's working really hard on her campaign, Denae," Emanuel replied. "She just got in an hour ago, she's sleeping."
"Man. I don't think I've seen in her in like three days. I'm practically an orphan," she whined, pouting exaggeratedly.
"Eat your pancakes, you little drama queen."
After school that afternoon, the best report card of her life in hand, Denae looked for someone to celebrate with. She felt affronted when she found no one at home, just a note on the table saying, "Spaghetti in fridge - be good. -DAD".
She decided on the spot that if she was old enough to be left alone all the time, she was old enough to run her own life. She called up Taylor Haynes.
"Taylor! Hey, can you get out tonight?"
"Well, just tell them you're coming here to study or something. I want to go out...pleaaaaase? It'll be fuuuuuuun!"
Taylor convinced, she decided to take a nap before he came to pick her up that night.
She was very surprised to see the car he drove up in, but decided not to question her good fortune. They drove off into the night, leaving only Denae's note - "I'm being good! Love, D."
* * * * * * * * * *
She couldn't even be mad at Taylor. The soap in the fountains had been all her idea. How was she supposed to know that was actually a crime?? Oh, she was dead. Dead, dead, dead.
She somehow survived the yelling, and slunk off to bed.
Things didn't look brighter in the morning. She was grounded indefinitely, and all because her mom - no, both her parents - hadn't bothered to be home to congratulate her on her report card. Life was so unfair.
Meanwhile, Gwen had achieved her goal of being mayor of Winterfell. True, no one had run against her, but it had taken a lot of hard work to be considered experienced enough for the job.
She was making a lot more money, something she talked about whenever she got the chance.
And in other news, Emanuel's long time nemesis and brother-in-law, Glen Thigpen, came over to apologize and bury the hatchet. He said they were both old and grey, and it had been so long that he was sure neither of them even remembered what they'd been fighting about. Emanuel remembered, but he decided to let it go and accept Glen's offer of friendship.
Bonus pic:
Winterfell's first skunk attack! Poor townie, he booked it out of there right quick after that.