Alice is the picture of perfection, and her mother never lets anyone forget about that. In reality, though, the perfection Mrs. Wendleken bragged about wasn't just the perfection Alice achieved. For starters, the Wendelken family was the richest family in town. Mr. Wendleken was a lawyer as well, in a long line of lawyers. The Wendelken family never did anything wrong, ever. At least, that was the way Mrs. Wendleken presented things.

However, looking back, I never once saw Mr. Wendleken show up to any of the school events. Alice always said her father was busy doing important things, which was why he never showed up. Every so often we would hear about how he did this for the town, or that, but he never showed up at any of the major events either, except for ones where he was receiving some kind of award.

That was until the Herdman's became a pattern, ruining all celebrations, and Mr. Wendleken told the mayor to get the kids under control, else he'd have to decline. He had to keep up his reputation for the sake of the town after all. I honestly couldn't blame him, at least when I was little, but now I'm not so sure. Having graduated from the fifth grade, I no longer saw the Herdman kids as a problem, even though the rest of the town not including my mother thought otherwise.

Change though was certainly on its way with Mr. Wendleken's latest plans.

~

Alice smoothed out her dress as she came down the stairs. The staircase was rather elaborate, the Wendleken household being one of the biggest, and oldest houses in the town. Paintings of the previous generations were on the wall, adorning the place. Her nose stuck up in the air, thinking of the parties her mother threw, and how most of the girls in her year hoped for an invite just to see the house, but how some like Bethany didn't care, as they found the party boring. It did though seem as Bethany Bradley's best friend Louella McCluskey wanted to come.

Arriving downstairs, she headed to the dining room, arriving at the exact minute her mother expected her to, straightening out her dress again. "Good evening mother."

"Say hello to your father."

Alice curtsied as her father looked up. The man's eyes narrowed. "Alice, why are you wearing that kerchief over your head."

The young girl clapped her hands over her forehead, her lips pushing together in frustration. "Ralph Herdman."

Her father had returned to his papers but looked up. "Him? The child of that whore."

Mrs. Wendleken cleared her voice, while Alice's pretty eyebrows shot up at the new word. "Yes, well, all of the Herdman children are trouble."

"There mother was trouble when we were in school. That said, if development plans go our way, we may in five years have a different high school from the next town over."

"Yes, but the next town over is why the high school the children go to is so prestigious. They bring a lot of money in. We're rather lucky that the towns rich don't send their children to a boarding school." Mrs. Wendleken turned to her daughter. "Not that we don't have the money to send Alice there."

"No. We have the money." Mr. Wendleken went back to his notes. "You don't want her sent away."

"No, I don't."

Alice's mouth pouted. "Maybe if I went to a boarding school, I wouldn't have to deal with the fact there is going to be two Herdman in my class next year."

"You may take your seat, Alice." Her mother spoke up. "Won't we have the funds if there is more than one high school."

"We'll have the funds. We will be attracting rich families in for business purposes. The town is expanding. The new suburb area will at least thirty houses by the start of the school year, and they're going to break ground for the new shopping mall as well as golfing course in the next few days."

"What suburb?" Her mother's voice strained. "And did you hear about more than one Herdman being in the class next year."

"I thought that woman only had one child?"

"She had five. Ralph, Imogene, Claude, Ollie and Gladys."

"You forgot Leroy."

"Well, she is what she is, so that should be no surprise."

"I wonder who the father is. I mean, she did marry that man, but he's never around." Alice's mother sighed. "And dear, what about the suburb."

"It's built two miles outside of town, in hopes that the town will expand out in that direction."

"How come I've not heard of this? I know everything approved by the council."

"It's to be a part of the next council meeting."

"Yes, well, I was hoping you could help us with the school board, in getting this Mrs. Tadlem sacked from the school. I mean, she held back on of the Herdman children, putting our children in danger. Won't you do something about it?"

"I saw him today, Ralph." Alice's father continued to look through the paper. "He got into another fight. The useless child really, no point in passing him onto middle school. I doubt he'll ever graduate from the primary division."

"Did you not hear what I said? That boy scrawled the word loser on your daughter's head, and all you can say is good riddance? Do you even know what the Herdman children do? Don't you remember how the always ruined your award ceremonies?"

"I remember. I want nothing to do with any of them."

"Yet you're fine with the fact the oldest is not graduating to the upper division."

"I don't deal with the school board. That's your job, as the head of the PTA, is it not?" The man let out a sigh. "Plus, I have more concerning issues right now. It was simply an irritation that I had to run into Ralph while I was discussing matters with some of the potential developers."

"I see."

"So, you don't like the Herdmans?" Alice piped up.

"I don't like that woman, nor do I like that boy." The man stood up. "I'll take my leave now."