Home
“Send in our troublemaker please, Iron Will.” A calm, womanly voice called from the Vice Principal’s office into the waiting room. Coach Iron Will picked up a small, lanky teenager, who was not willing to go calmly. The restless teen was being carried by the scruff of his neck towards Vice Principal Luna’s office.
“Oi, get your paws off me, you fat slag!” He yelled in a thick Trottingham accent at the large man carrying him before he was unceremoniously dropped in a heap on a cushioned chair, facing Canterlot High’s second-in-command.
Vice Principal looked at the small teenage boy with an expectant smirk. “Back again so soon, Pipsqueak?” She giggled a bit before continuing. “You didn’t have to get in trouble just to see me. I have office hours, you know.” She nodded to Coach Will as a signal for him to leave the room, and after the large gym teacher vacated her office, Luna sat down in her large swivel chair. “Graffiti again, hm? Maybe we should put you in the art club.” She said, holding a picture of Pipsqueak’s most recent vandalistic artwork: A heart mosaic of unbelievable beauty. Thorns, roses, and amazingly detailed designs were emblazoned inside and around the heart, and above it was one simple word written in a beautiful font: HOME. It pulled the piece together beautifully. If it were not spray-painted on the front of the gym, it would have the potential to be a masterpiece.
“I won’t do work with that lot o’ pansies and gits. I do my own art whenever an’ wherever I want. I won’t stop, no matter how many times you drag me in here.” The rebellious teen said, sitting up straight in an attempt to make his small frame seem more intimidating. Though he didn’t fear any of the school’s authoritative figures, he did want to be seen as a legitimate problem, not just the smallest kid in school with an itchy finger and a can of spray paint.
“Well, unfortunately, this puts you on your third strike. I’m afraid we’ll have to call your parents about this, and quite possibly expel you.”
“Call me bloody parents? Good luck with that one, Luna!” Pipsqueak smirked triumphantly at the woman sitting in front of him, sitting proudly with his head high and his arms crossed. His parents wouldn’t be ringing the office, no matter how many emails or phone calls Canterlot High’s office staff sent out.
If only she knew…
“Well, if we don’t hear from your parents in the next few days, we’ll have no choice but to expel you.” Luna said with a small frown. Though he was a troublemaker, Luna thought that deep down Pipsqueak could be a good kid, and use his artistic talent for good. She had hoped to be the one to help him become this way, but if there was no parental contact, then she wouldn’t have that chance.
“Oh, trust me, you could set a deadline ten years from now and you wouldn’t get an answer. I’ll be expelled by the end of this week.” the adolescent vandal answered, a detached, barren look on his face.
“What do you mean?” Luna asked with a raised eyebrow. “Are they on a vacation of some sort?” Luna was utterly baffled. Even if they were on vacation, she would be able to contact them through the cell number listed on Pipsqueak’s records. Why would they not be able to answer a call?
“Wouldn’t you like to know? You’re not hearin’ a peep from me.”
“Pip, you’d save yourself a lot trouble if you told us where they were so that we can contact them. If we get a reply back from them, we won’t have to use such drastic measures as expulsion, and-”
“Don’t call me that.” Pipsqueak replied, his head facing down, his hood now covering his face. His attitude seemed completely different than it did moments ago. He had gone from a mouthy, rebellious boy to a quiet, visually distraught individual.
“Excuse me?” Principal Luna asked, obviously confused about what the young teen meant.
“I said, don’t call me that! Didn’t you hear me the first time, you barmy slag?!” He screamed back, his voice cracking a little. “Nobody ever calls me that! Ever! You hear me?!” He was standing now, his hands on Luna’s desk, his eyes staring into hers, tears beginning to form.
“P-Pipsqueak, what’s wrong?” Luna asked in a surprised but caring tone, genuinely concerned for the boy.
“Like you fuckin’ care! You’re all the same, no matter where I go! The same as all the schools in Trottingham! You just wanna get rid of me as quick as possible so you don’t have to deal with me. That’s what everyone does! Everyone tosses me on the street, just hoping somebody else’ll pick me up an’ do their job for ‘em!”
“Pipsqueak, I know that Trottingham must’ve been hard. It’s a very dangerous place to be over there, but it’s different here at CHS. I want to help you feel happy and welcome here.” Luna smiled at the troubled boy, hoping he would give her a chance to show him the truth behind her words.
“Oh, it’s different here? It’s DIFFERENT here?! Fuckin’ codswallop! Back in Trottingham I was the school’s punching bag. Here, everyone still treats me like the gristle on their boots! I’m an outsider. I’m the kid with the bad attitude and the funny accent. Nobody here wants me. They either ignore me or treat me like some sort of bloody science experiment gone wrong! I’m treated like a fuckin’ nutter no matter where I go. You can’t tell me this place is any different. It’s not!” Pipsqueak was speaking through sobs now, his chest heaving with every shuddering breath. “Nobody cares about me, get it?! I’ve never been wanted anywhere, and I know that won’t change!”
Luna was visibly shaken. She had no idea that he was going through so much, being patronized and ostracized here at CHS. “Oh my goodness… Pip, I-”
“DON’T CALL ME THAT!” He screamed directly in Luna’s face, causing her to flinch in shock from the sudden outburst. She could tell that he was no longer angry at her, though. He was broken. Something deep inside of him had found it’s way to the surface.
Luna couldn’t bear to see the boy like this, and walked around her desk to give him a comforting hug, which Pipsqueak accepted, still sobbing and shuddering violently, he welcome her embrace with complete submission and abandon, much to the young woman’s surprise. That’s when she realized. She realized why he constantly vandalized with his graffiti artwork, and committed other petty crimes. She realized why he never seemed to care about bad grades coming in the mail. She realized why Pipsqueak’s parents would never call back when she left a message. She realized why all of his parental information was simple and done in sloppy handwriting. She realized why Pipsqueak always felt alone.
“Pipsqueak… You’re… an orphan, aren’t you?”
The boy didn’t answer with words or a nod. His cries become even more violent and he pushed himself into her embrace further, now welcoming her comfort and affection. Canterlot High’s Vice Principal simply stayed there, holding the vulnerable, broken boy in her arms for several minutes. Eventually, Pipsqueak’s tears ceased, and he sat there in Luna’s arms, her blazer now soaked with his tears. After a few more minutes, he managed to utter one word.
“How?”
Luna furrowed her brow in confusion. “How what?”
“How can you treat me this way after all I’ve done here is create problems for you and Principal Celestia? I disrespect the teachers, I leave graffiti all over the school, I break classroom supplies, and I cuss at you when I get called into your office. How can you treat me as an equal when I’m more disgusting than a sewer rat?” The orphan boy looked up at Luna, tears once again forming in his eyes.
“Pipsqueak, you’re not disgusting at all.” Luna smiled down at the young teen as she ran her fingers through his hair. “You may be a bit of a troublemaker, but what kid your age isn’t? And I have to say, the art you create is very beautiful. You have the potential to be a great student, too. I know you do, I can sense it.”
“Really? Coz’ Mum and Pop didn’t.” He said, his face once again drooping in sadness at the painful memories of being abandoned by his parents. “They didn’t think I could be anything. They left me in front of an orphanage. Talk about a bloody cliche, eh? The orphanage didn’t want me either, though. After I was old enough to survive on my own, they kicked me out, and I lived alongside the rest of Trottingham’s homeless. I went to school, but since I didn’t know me parents’ names, I had to make them up when I filled out the entry application. They needed a house and cell number, too, so I stall a few blokes’ cellies and used their numbers. Eventually I thought my life would be better elsewhere, so I rode tracks and snuck onto ships until I found meself here. I thought things would finally be different, but nobody here hires anybody under 17, which meant I couldn’t get the money I needed to rent an apartment or anything, so I’m stuck in hobo camps here, too, just stealing cash whenever I get the chance. I learned to express me heartbreak and emotion through art, and I can find half-empty spray cans out in the streets much easier than an intact pen or pencil and paper. But still, nobody seemed to care. Nobody else ever valued me or anything I did, so why do you?”
“Oh, Pip, honey… I had no idea you’d gone through so much!” Luna was crying from hearing the boy’s tragic story. “Well if you ask me, your parents aren’t worthy of raising you if they treated you like that. Every child deserves to have a parent figure that loves and supports them, and you’re no exception. You deserve a family.” Luna gave the boy’s hand a loving squeeze. “I could raise you with my sister. I know it wouldn’t be an ideal family, but I want to help you be the very best you can be. Let me show you what a real parent should be like.”
Pipsqueak looked up into the eyes of the first person to ever value him. He smiled through his tears and nodded. He leaped into her arms, feeling her embrace for the second time today, and he knew that finally, he would be where he always wanted. He would be with somebody who loves him.
He would finally be home.