Lovely Girls(48)
I frowned. “How would you do that with a young child?”
“Think about everything that happens on a playground at that age. For example, the kids are told they must take turns on the swings. If Daphne refused to give up her swing, Gen would praise her. If Daphne gave up her swing to another child, Gen would frown.”
“And Daphne would somehow discern that she needed to be unkind to other kids to get her mom’s approval?” I remembered the playground days well. Alex would run around wildly, joyfully moving from the climbing structure to the slide to the swings, delighted to play with other children and never paying much attention to me.
“Once, a little boy brought his toy truck to the playground, and Daphne took it away from him. She didn’t even like playing with toy trucks. She only took it to upset him. The boy ended up in tears, and Gen took Daphne out for an ice cream. Trust me, Daphne caught on quickly. She’s always been a smart girl.”
“But that’s insane. Why would anyone want their child to be a bully?”
“I didn’t say that Genevieve wanted Daphne to be a bully. I said she rewarded her for being assertive.”
“And that turned her into a bully.”
Ingrid spread her hands. “I suppose it’s better to be the bully than the victim. Genevieve was bullied when she was young, and she didn’t want that to happen to Daphne.”
“Why would you allow Callie to be friends with Daphne?” I asked.
“What do you mean? The girls grew up together. They’ve been friends since they were all babies.”
“At some point you must have known that Genevieve was raising Daphne to be a bully. Why would you want your daughter to be friends with someone like that?”
Ingrid’s stare grew icy. “I don’t have to explain myself to you.”
“Daphne knocked my daughter’s iPhone out of her hand and stomped on it until it was in pieces.”
“She did?” Ingrid paused and then shook her head. “I don’t always approve of Daphne’s behavior. And I can’t say I’ve always been thrilled about the influence she’s had on Callie. But people aren’t all good or all bad. Daphne can be controlling and selfish, but she can also be funny and sweet.”
“I’ll have to take your word on that,” I said.
“When the girls were in middle school, Daphne started a project where the kids created bags full of necessities for homeless people. Bottled water, granola bars, hygiene items. The whole class got into it. They held fundraisers to buy the supplies and assembled the bags after school. Daphne was the one who spearheaded the whole effort.”
“And that excuses her bad behavior now?”
“Of course not,” Ingrid said. “But you seem to have this idea that Daphne is like the evil witch in a fairy tale. She’s a teenage girl. You know what they’re like. Sometimes they’re great, sometimes they’re difficult.”
“I have a teenage daughter. And I know that she wouldn’t hang a doll in another girl’s locker to mock the death of that girl’s father. Or paper the school with copies of a newspaper article about her father’s death. Or spread around a story about a fellow classmate being promiscuous and then leave sexual toys on her desk to humiliate her in front of her classmates. That’s what your daughter and her friends did.”
Two spots of red appeared on Ingrid’s face. “Callie wasn’t involved with any of that.”
“You can keep telling yourself that, Ingrid, but that won’t make it true. It’s gotten out of hand. The texts, that video. This isn’t simple schoolyard bullying. It’s harassment.”
“And Daphne insists that your daughter is behind the bullying.”
I shook my head. “My daughter isn’t a bully. She wouldn’t have done any of that.”
“The truth of the matter is, we don’t know what our children are really capable of. They all keep secrets from us. Now, I have an appointment.” Ingrid set down her pen. “I’d like you to leave.”
“Fine,” I said. “But I hope you know there will be consequences. I’m not going to let this go.”
Ingrid’s eyebrows arched. “Are you threatening me?”
“Take it however you’d like,” I said.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
* * *
VIDEO DIARY OF ALEX TURNER
* * *
OCTOBER 13
Alex sat outside on a wicker patio chair. It was dusk, and the sky behind her was streaked with pink and orange. There were children’s voices from a neighboring backyard, laughing and play screaming. Alex wore an Adidas tee and black running shorts, and her long hair was pulled back in a ponytail.
I’ve decided I’m going to major in journalism in college. Making these videos has made me realize that’s what I want to do with my future. I want to uncover facts and find out the truth behind every story.
Take tonight, for example. Callie’s planning on meeting Daphne at the beach. I think it’s a stupid thing for her to do. Why meet in the middle of the night? And why somewhere so remote? I mean, she just sent a revenge porn video of Daphne to the entire school.
I texted Callie and told her I don’t think she should go. And she just texted me back a crying laughing emoji and then a pile of shit emoji. She’s obviously not taking me seriously.