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From the Diary of Jun - Excerpt 8: Guidance

By the time dad had finished giving Bobby the dressing down of his life classes had ended and, since he was already there, he offered to give us a ride home.

"Damn." We were in the parking lot when Lily finally managed to vocalize what we'd both been thinking for the past hour.

"Yeah." There wasn't much more I could add.

"You dad's awesome."

"When he wants to be, yeah." She was right. He could be weird sometimes, very weird, in fact, but he was also really cool. And dependable.

She watched dad walk ahead of us, a mixture of awe and gratefulness on he face. And something else I couldn't quite place. That is until she added...

"Kinda hot too."

"Lily!"

"What? Not as hot as you, mousey, but I'm just saying."

"Ew."

I noticed dad straighten his posture just a bit. He'd clearly heard Lily's little compliment. I couldn't say whether or not she was right. I'd never looked at dad like that. He was always just dad. Daddy when I was really young, but I never gave any thought to what may have drawn mom to him. But I was starting to get it. And nana had told me once that he was "quite the rambunctious little heartbreaker" when he was young. If I'd doubted it before, having seen what he could do in a few minutes I didn't now.

We were at the car when a thought came to me.

"Hey dad, how'd you know principal Thorne was a hyper?"

He cocked his head, and gave me that wink again. "You kiddin', kiddo? I can smell an alpha slut from a county over."

The locks popped open.

"Hop in, we've gotta talk."

He got in the driver's seat while Lily and I got in the back. She pulled me in close and I curled up against her. She began to play with my hair as dad started the car and pulled out.

"Alright, first item on the agenda," he began, "a utilitarian blowjob in a successful effort to circumvent the machinations of two rather vicious hypers and rescue my daughter from a punishment that would, ultimately, endanger the girl she had taken a liking to does not, in any way, qualify as cheating. But for the love of god do not breathe a word of this to your mother. Emily is not someone that anyone wants to be on the bad side of and I wanted your principal quelled, not killed."

We both nodded.

"Good. Second, Marsha's putty."

Lily and I both looked at each other, confused.

"Shit, right. Thorne. Principal Thorne's first name is Marsha. Anyway, at the very least you won't have any problems with her for the rest of the year, but if you got any funny notions about her after your old man put her through her paces, well, she seems to have, somehow, developed the idea that you, dearest daughter of mine, are more capable of fulfilling any needs she may have than me during our little 'conference.' She'll be trying to stay on your good side. Take advantage of it or don't You're an adult now, you can decide that for yourself. But again, not a word to your mother."

If I'd had any designs on principal Thorne, my dad's colorful reminder of their encounter had put me off of them. Lily, however, seemed to light up with the most vicious of grins for a brief moment.

"Third: Jun, you can't deal with _them_that way anymore."

"Dad?"

"Look, I know when you're not Alert it's kind of a scary prospect to stare down people like that. Hell, they're pretty much designed with "terrifying to stare down" in mind. And you're still young, so that Alert/Resting switch doesn't flip as easily for you as it does for me. But you're going to have to learn to force the confrontation."

I sat up and focused on what dad was saying, I noticed Lily doing the same.

"We can't rely on structures of authority to deal with their kind. That's where they thrive. They're in those structures, have influence over them, or can get influence over them. We can't fight them at a distance, Jun. That's their range. When we're in the shadows. When they're in the dark. That's when we have the advantage. Power. But once they know who you are, what you can do. Once they're after you, that's not an option. And when you find yourself in that situation, Jun, you're going to have to find the strength to force yourself to meet them head on. Secretaries, procedures, and doors be damned."

I remembered how dad had handled the meeting with principal Thorne.

"And Lily?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Don't call me sir. If you're going to be dating my daughter, there are a few things you need to hear too. From everything Jun's told me about you, you're a courageous and determined girl. You know what you want and you've got the force of will to pursue it. Jun's going to need that will of yours. Shi's going to need you to remind her of what I'm saying every now and then. Shi's going to need you to push her when shi can't jump. And some times shi's going to need you to stand up for hir when shi can't stand up for hirself. When it counts, when you need hir, shi'll be brave and strong for you. And shi's going to need you to do the same for hir."

My father's eyes met Lily's in the mirror. She gave him a definitive nod.

Dad smiled.

"You two are good for each other, you know? You've brought my girl out of hir shell and I'm glad she met you."

"Thank you..." she paused, not sure what to refer to him as.

"Harold's fine."

Lily looked at me. Her hand squeezed mine and she gave another nod. This one wasn't to my dad, but it wasn't to me either. It was a personal nod, as if she'd come to some kind of decisions.

"Thank you, dad," she said.

Dad gave his own nod.

"You're very welcome, Lily."

---

"Coming home tonight?"

Dad and I were standing in Lily's driveway. She'd already headed inside and dad said he needed to stretch.

I didn't answer immediately, I couldn't read his tone. He sidled up next to me and leaned against the trunk of the car as I already was.

"I mean," he said with a shrug, "you guys dodged another bullet today. I get needing the time together. Comfort one another. Get your heads back on straight."

"Thanks."

He was staring out at the neighborhood while I stared at the ground. I took a peek in his direction and saw a look on his face as though he were somewhere else.

"You love her, don't you, kiddo?"

"Is this the part where you tell me I'm too young for love?"

My dad cracked up at that, doubling over with laughter.

"Heh heh heh, hwhoo." Slowly, he came down from the laughing fit, wiping the tears from his eyes.

"Kiddo, I was a year younger'n you when I fell for your mother. Almost half a year younger when I got her pregnant with you. Mom was fifteen when she fell in love with mama." He shrugged. "It's in the blood, kiddo. Love hits us young, fast, and hard."

I looked up at dad and saw he was looking at me. He flashed me a knowing grin and then nudged me with his elbow.

"Go on. I'll bring some of your stuff by later."

~ Jun, Age 18