James slept poorly that night. His dreams revolved around his father, the mine, and Meg and her father. Every dream seemed to end up with his father hurt, and Meg and her father laughing. 

He woke up before the alarm went off. James made his way to the bathroom and splashed his face with water. He couldn’t get his dreams out of his mind. He kept thinking about what Meg had told him, and then how much pain his father was in when he came home. And, although his father had told him not to blame Meg for what happened, he still resented the fact that her father took his dad’s job.

James made his way to the kitchen. He glanced at the clock on the microwave. 4:30. He sat at the table and thought about everything. It was then that he decided that he would try to make the best of the situation. He thought about how nice Meg had been. He also realized that she didn’t have to say anything about her father and work, but she was totally honest about what happened. 

James’ parents came out of their bedroom. He could see his dad still was in pain, but not as bad as the day before. His dad seemed resigned to his new job and responsibilities. It wasn’t what he wanted, but he had bills to pay and insurance for his family to maintain. 

Eventually James ate breakfast and showered. While waiting for the bus, his mind flooded with thoughts of the last two days. He wondered if he could be civil to Meg. His dad was right. It wasn’t her fault. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. It was just the way things were. Alphas were here to stay, and it was either make the best of the situation, or wallow in pity.

The bus arrived, and James made his way to an empty seat. He didn’t bother to look around, so he didn’t see Meg wave to him to sit next to her. So he was surprised when she moved to sit next to him. He looked up at her, and she gave him an awkward smile.

She wasn’t sure how to discuss what had happened, so she just apologized for the day before. She didn’t mean to upset him with news that her father took his father’s job. But there was nothing that could be done about it. It was what the mine wanted. 

James looked up at her and said that he didn’t blame her for what happened. He explained that his father had spent years at the mine, and really loved his job, and then all of a sudden was “promoted “ to an office job. And what he was most upset about was that his father was never hurt working in the mine, but hurt his shoulder the first day in the office. And that the secretaries didn’t seem to care. But it was a fact of life now. And he told her that he hoped that they could be friends, despite what happened.

This seemed to cheer Meg up. She had felt terrible about what happened to James’ dad, and she understood his reaction to her telling him about work. She instinctively reached for his hand, encompassing it entirely, and told James that if he ever needed to talk, or wanted to talk, she would be there for him. 

James was surprised by her taking his hand, but he told her that he appreciated her offer. However, he made no effort to remove his hand from hers. Inside he felt relieved that he could talk to Meg. Out of all the new Alpha students, she had been the nicest. And she had no attitude about the height difference between her and him. She was just a very nice person.

James eventually steered the conversation towards her family. He asked her if she had any brothers or sisters. Meg told him that she had one sister named Amanda, and that she was 8 years old. Her mom was a stay at home mom. She asked him the same question. James responded that he was an only child. And that his friend Todd was like a brother to him. He also told her that his mom was also a stay at home mom. 

The bus arrived at school, and the students filed out and into their classroom. Meg and James walked to theirs, and sat at their desks. James felt a lot better than he had when he woke up. Talking with Meg helped. He knew his dad was right. If he was upset, he shouldn’t take it out on her. He couldn’t help but be appreciative of her honesty. It made him look forward to seeing her throughout the day. She made have been four feet taller than him, but her personality made her someone to respect and treat like a lady.

While James was at school, his father, Tom, went to work. Upon entering the office, the six secretaries were all seated at their desks talking about this or that. Even seated, they towered over Tom by a good two and a half feet. 

As Tom was making his way to his area, the head secretary, Brenda, told him to get coffee for the women. And she instructed how each lady liked theirs. And then she dismissed him so that he could do as instructed. Tom was seething, but he did as ordered. He needed this job. He just had to be quiet and do as he was told. 

So he made his way to the coffee area. The counter was above his head. He spotted a step stool off to the side. Using that, he was able to reach the coffee pot. However, both the pot and coffee cups were three times their normal size. He was going to find it impossible to pour the coffee and get it down off the counter. 

All of a sudden he heard a voice ask him if he needed help. He didn’t notice the young girl standing behind him. He turned around and saw a girl that looked to be around 18, and her size. She was an Alpha. She repeated her question. Embarrassed, Tom said yes. He told her that he had to get 6 cups of coffee and there was no way he could pour them and get them off the counter. 

The girl introduced herself as Susan, and poured the coffee and added the cream and sugar with ease. Tom introduced himself. She also grabbed the oversized tray and loaded the coffee on to it and followed Tom into the office. The secretaries looked at Tom with disdain as Susan delivered the coffees. 

Susan then asked Tom to follow her and led him into the office of the mine’s CEO. Susan called the man behind the desk dad. She explained what had just happened and said that accommodations should be made to the coffee area, as someone of Tom’s size wouldn’t be able to make coffee or get coffee. 

The man behind the desk gave his daughter a warm smile and said he would take care of it. And with that she gave him a hug and kiss and said goodbye to Tom and left. Tom excused himself and made his way back to the office. The secretaries acted as if he didn’t exist. And Tom was feeling like he was useless and invisible, two feelings that he never experienced before.