#pacifica mcgucket

“Yes, dad?”

He looks at her sternly over his glasses, sapphire eyes hard to read. “Wouldja care ta explain why yer failin’ math’matics an’ history?”

Pacifica twiddles her thumbs and looks at his shoes- he’s taken to wearing shoes and they’re taken care of but have a little dust on them from walking outdoors but have been polished recently.

“I-I’m sorry, I don’t…”

“P’cifica, darlin’, look at me,” he says. Her own sapphire eyes lift to meet his and she looks frightened. His eyes soften a little. “Now, answer my question.”

“Th-those classes are really hard,” she whines.

“You could’ve come t’ ask fer help at any time,” he replies.

Her eyes flicker downward in shame. “I know…”

“Why didn’t you?”

She shrugs.

He sighs and steps forward, reaching out and lifting her chin to look at him. “Ah’m not angry, sweetheart. Ah’m just trynna understand.”

“I’m just… I’m just bad at math and history,” she complains. “None of it makes sense and I’m too stu-“

“Pacifica Elise McGucket you are not stupid,” he says sharply.

She stares at him for a long moment. “B-b-“

“No buts. You are a bright young woman… you just need to put a little more work into it. Take extra time.”

“It’s hard…”

“Then ask for help.”

She presses her lips together.

“Ah, I see… well then ah guess ah’ll hafta help you with yer homework until your grades are back up,” he says.

“Really?”

“Of course, sweetheart… and t’ give ya extra motivation yuh ain’t allowed t’ watch tv an’ y’gotta give me yer phone anytime yer home.”

“But dad!” She has no idea what she’s going to say but whatever it is she doesn’t have to worry about saying it.

“Yer grades are important and ah can’t let yer grades slipping’ so far go unpunished- ‘specially since you neglected t’ lemme see yer progress report.”

Her head hangs and frustration builds in her chest. “Yes, sir.”

He kisses her forehead. “Now go getchure homework and meet me in the dinin’ room. We’re gonna start now.”

Pacifica nods and makes her way to her room. This wasn’t exactly what she thought would happen but it’s certainly nice to know that her dad was willing to help her get better. If it were Preston-

She shakes that thought from her mind and grabs her homework without a second thought. She makes her way down to the dining room and is surprised to find snacks set out and McGucket sipping on lemonade as he looks at one of his blueprints. At this point she’s sure he’d been working in there before he went to check the mail.

He doesn’t notice her for several seconds as he makes calculations but when he finishes he glances up and sees his daughter standing there.

“C’mon, darlin’,” he says with a soft smile.

She nods and makes her way over, sitting beside him.

He didn’t give her the answers, merely lead her to them in the math portion, correcting her after she’s finished. She found herself getting the hang of it after a while.

“Why can’t it make sense like this in class?” She complains.

“Case you don’t ask questions.” He tilts his head so they make eye contact. “There’s no shame in askin’ fer help.”

Pacifica fidgets with her pen. “They said-”

“It doesn’t matter what they said,” Fiddleford quickly cuts in. “They were wrong about the way they treated you and wrong in what they taught you. Ah’ll let you know if they get anything right aside from skin treatment.”

She smiles. “Thanks, dad.”

“Any time, sweetheart,” he replies and then kisses her cheek. “Now, off t’ bed. It’s ten-thirty and we both need the sleep.”

She gathers her homework and smiles. “Good night!”