“It’s all Miss Kennard’s fault!” Angie whispered through her tears.

“I hate her!” she said out loud, not caring if her mother heard her or not.

Within moments she heard her mother’s voice calling her down and telling her to bring her homework “and don’t tell me you don’t have any, because I know too well you do!” she heard her mothers sarcasm.

After about fifteen minutes of silence, Angie at the dining table doing her homework and her mother moving around the kitchen preparing dinner, Bette turned and looked at her daughter.

“So, who is it that you hate so much?” Bette asked feeling that she needed to get more involved in Angie’s life and figure out who this new set of girls were that she had befriended.

“What?” Angie asked as she looked up at her mother one eyebrow raised, Bette momentarily thinking that she was looking into a mirror.

“I beg your pardon?” Bette returned the look to her daughter, reminding her of her manners.

“Sorry mummy, what did you say?” Angie asked realising her mistake.

“I asked, who is it that you hate so much?” Bette repeated.

Angie was a little confused and didn’t actually understand what her mother was asking her. Bette could see the confusion in her daughters face.

“I heard you yell from your bedroom earlier that ‘I hate her.’” Bette said as she watched for any recognition of what she had said.

It came to Angie very quickly what her mother was referring to. She felt a little embarrassed as her face started to go red. This was not something that went unnoticed by Bette. She stopped what she was doing and went and sat down beside her daughter.

“Baby, are you having problems at school with some of your friends?” Bette asked with concern, though she wasn’t sure who the hell her daughters friends were!

“No.” Angie replied with her head down.

Bette gently lifted her daughters chin and lent in and kissed her on the lips, for the first time in weeks, the little girl didn’t wipe it away in disgust.

“Sweetie if something or someone has upset you, then I need for you to tell me. I can’t help you if you don’t and nor can Miss Kennard who is there to help you too.” Bette explained with concern.