! BAD GIRLS ! BAD GIRLS !

( a sex and the city fic )

SPEYER LEGACY SCHOOL
new york, new york
10am

days of job searching and of no call from duncan has gone by. samantha finally was able to get me into speyer legacy school. i sat in the lobby of the school, a private elementary school, as i was waiting to get called in for the scheduled interview.

i sat in one of the chairs, dressed in a cinched grey dress and black heels. to accessorize, i wore gold studded earrings and a gold watch with my hair in an updo.

i watched as students who wore big smiles on their faces passed by.

suddenly, a woman called me over and smiled as she extended her hand out. "miss boyd?" she said as i slowly stood up from the chair. "i was told you're here for an interview?"

i took her hand and shook hers, smiling back at her. "yes that's me!" i said, "but i do prefer to be called by my first name, jamie." i said as we released hands.

the woman smiled, "jamie it is." she said, "i'm glad you could come in today for the position, please follow me." she said, gesturing towards a hallway.

i nodded and began to follow her, trying to ignore the feeling of butterflies in my stomach and the thoughts of anxiety going on in my mind.

the woman led me down the hallway until we reached an office. she stopped outside of the door and opened it. "please, take a seat in here." she gestured to a chair that was across from a large cherry wood desk.

i stepped into the office and saw the chair and made my way over to it and sat down. the woman stood by the door with a slight smile on her face before speaking, "the principal will be in shortly." she said before stepping out and closing the door.

i took a few shaky breaths, trying to compose myself and calm my anxiety before the principal walked in. i placed my hands over my lap and waited patiently for the principal to walk through the door.

finally, the door opened once again and the principal entered the room. she was a petite older woman, blonde hair, blue eyes, wearing a pantsuit. she was holding a manila folder.

the principal took a seat at her desk and opened the folder, shuffling through a few papers before looking up at me. "good morning jamie." she said, setting the folder flat on her desk.

the principal asked me simple questions- my past experiences, teaching styles, my methods for working with children with learning disabilities. the typical questions.

once we were through all of the questions, the principal sat back in her chair. "now if i'm completely honest with you jamie..." she started, causing my heart to pound in my chest.

when she paused i tensed, wondering what she was going to say. "you are far more qualified for this position, in fact you are over qualified for it." she said, causing my eyes to widen. "in fact, your resume was the most impressive one that we got from all the applicants." she said as she reached in the folder and grabbed my resume that she kept. she gave it a glance before looking back at me. "you have the perfect experience, skill, education, qualifications." the principal said, looking at me and then down at my resume. "you're like the unicorn of applicants."

i blushed slightly, feeling the compliment make me feel like i was on cloud nine. my heart fluttered and my stomach had butterflies. i was so happy to hear this coming from her.

"i'd be insane to not officially offer you a position on board, jamie." she said.

i could feel a huge smile plaster my face, i was so overjoyed, "i'd be insane to not accept it." i replied.

the principal smiled back at me, "perfect. then the position is yours." she said. "welcome to speyer."

i sprinted down the steps of the schoolhouse and into the busy sidewalk of new york as i skipped happily down the streets.

as i was skipping i saw a familiar face father up the street, walking the opposite direction of mine. duncan's. he was with rufus.

immediately i began to zig-zag in between people so he wouldn't see me, i had thought i successfully passed by him before i heard him call out, "jamie?!"

i let out a defeated sigh as i stood off to the side where he'd make his way over with a smile on his face.

i turned around slightly and plastered a cheerful smile on my face. "oh hey, duncan, what's up?" i said casually, acting like i didn't try to avoid his glance.

"you're in an amazing mood!" he pointed out as rufus, his golden retriever, began to bark happily at me.

when he pointed out my happiness, i quickly realized that i was still smiling. "oh yeah..." i said, letting out an exaggerated sigh as i pet rufus. "i got a job today."

"correct me if i'm wrong, but you just had a job as a teacher." he said.

"i did." i replied, looking at him with a look like 'duh'. "then i got fired." i said, suddenly feeling a pang of hurt.

duncan's eyes went wide. "you got fired?!" he exclaimed as rufus cocked his head to the side.

"i don't really want to get into it but yes, and now i'll be an elementary school teacher just up the street." i said with a smile, i was just counting down the seconds until he'd bring up the hook up. but he didn't.

a beat of silence surrounded us, "so i was just headed to the dog park." he said, definitely catching the awkwardness.

"yeah? well that should be fun!" i said before my phone started ringing. "hold on a moment." i said as i noticed miranda calling.

"hello?" i said to miranda in a singy-songy tone.

"hi." miranda said calmly.

i looked between duncan and his dog awkwardly, "so, what's up? where are you?" i asked miranda.

"i'm at the hospital in pennsylvania. my mom had a heart attack." she responded.

my smile quickly faded away as the words left her mouth. my heart sunk in my chest. "oh my god miranda..." i said in a soft tone, feeling terrible. "i would ask you how you're holding up, but that's a very stupid question."

duncan could see the look on my face, instantly knowing that something was wrong. "is everything all right with miranda?" he asked, concern filling his eyes.

i gave him the finger to hold on a moment and spoke again, "well how bad is it?" i asked miranda.

"well they keep telling us different things. she's pretty out of it. although she did open her yes just long enough to veto my lipstick." miranda replied.

"what can i do? i'll get on the next train to pennsylvania, handle your work stuff even though i don't know the first thing about law! whatever, you name it." i listed off.

"no, no, no, it's fine. i'm fine." she said before saying something to someone else, "sorry, now my sister's mad at me. i gotta go..." miranda said.

"keep me posted, serious." i said.

"okay, bye." miranda said before hanging up.

after the phone call, i stuffed my phone into my purse. i noticed duncan was staring intently at me, clearly waiting to know what the call was about.

i exhaled. "miranda's mom had a heart attack."

duncan's smile instantly dropped, his expression turning solemn. "is she alright?" he asked, his concern evident.

i shook my head, "currently she's in the pennsylvania hospital. she's not in the best shape. miranda said not to take a train out there, but i feel like i should. i should, shouldn't i?"

duncan thought for a moment. you can tell he was considering it too. "you know what? you should go." he said after a moment. "miranda needs all the support she can get right now."

duncan looked at me with determination. "i'll drive you." he said. "it'll be faster than the train."

"thank you, but no..." i said to him.

"c'mon why not? it's 10am, everyone's headed to work!" he pointed out.

i sighed, "new york is always busy." i didn't mind driving with him, just didn't want it to be awkward since we still hadn't talked about the hookup.

duncan noticed the look on my face, instantly knowing what the problem was. "i'm not bothered by the fact that we slept together, jamie." he said plainly. "and it doesn't have to be awkward unless you make it awkward."

i looked up at him. "that's what i'm scared of." i said honestly. i didn't want this to be a weird ride to pennsylvania. "i don't want this to be weird with us. after we hooked up, i expected a call or something. maybe a "hey jamie! let's go out to lunch!" but nothing. so obviously it'll be weird."

duncan looked at me with a slight smirk and exhaled, "it didn't occur to me that you wanted a date." he admitted, "i've been busy with my practice." he said.

i rolled my eyes and folded my arms across my chest defiantly. "you could've made time if you wanted to, duncan." i said sharply.

he was slightly taken aback by my slightly snappy comment, but then he smiled slightly. "you're right." he finally admitted, "and i didn't make time, that's my fault. it just didn't occur to me." his eyes softened as he looked at me. "i'm sorry, jamie." he said, "i genuinely didn't mean to hurt you. it was a jerk move."

i studied his face for a moment, looking to see if he was being genuine. i could see he meant it, so my shoulders relaxed. "it's okay." i said softly, "i guess i just felt some type of way since we have history."

he sighed, "regardless, that's not important right now. i'll drive you to pennsylvania, it's only a three hour drive."

"okay, yeah. thank you." i agreed.

"you're stuck with me for three hours." duncan said as he threw his arm around my shoulder, still holding onto duncan with his free hand.

i laughed softly as we started walking in direction of his apartment to get to his car. "guess so.."

PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL
philadelphia, pennsylvania
4pm

a four hour drive filled with traffic and music from only "the rolling stones" and "bob dylan" along with three pit stops later, we finally arrived at the pennsylvania hospital.

i had expected to only be dropped off, but to my surprise duncan parked his jeep and got out of the car alongside me.

"you're coming in?" i asked with slight shock as we started walking towards the big building.

duncan shrugged, "yeah, i don't wanna sit in my car for god knows how long, and you're gonna need some sort of emotional support. so, i'm coming in."

we entered through the front doors, the air-conditioned air hitting my skin and the scent of antiseptic filling my nostrils. a wave of anxiety filled me as we made our way towards the nurse's station.

before i could even get a word out, miranda called out my name. "jamie?!" she said. her voice cracking.

i turned to see a sniffly and red eyed miranda, she had been crying. "hey, sweetie.." i said as i walked over to her, wrapping her in a hug.

"my mother died." she responded as she hugged me tightly.

i hugged her tightly in return, my heart aching for her. "oh sweetie..i'm so sorry." i stroked her hair, trying to comfort her.

"she was stable earlier so we all went home, and then they called and said she was crashing. and by the time we got back, she had died." she explained.

"miranda..." i whispered.

she let out a sigh, "i wish we hadn't gone home, you know? all for a damn change of clothes!"

my arms tightened around her as she continued to explain.

"i didn't get to say goodbye, jamie. i didn't get to say goodbye or hold her hand." she broke down in my arms, wailing. i could hear the pain in her voice. "i wasn't there with her, nobody was."

"shh..." i whispered, trying to soothe her as she continued to cry in my arms. i rubbed her back, letting her get all of the emotion out. "don't blame yourself."

"the funeral's on monday and i don't have anything to wear because i didn't think i would be here going to a funeral." she cried out.

"well hey, duncan drove me, so i have a chauffeur meaning i will make it my duty to get you a dress." i said as i wiped her tears.

"no don't, don't do anything. i'll just go buy a shitty black dress that i'll never wear again." she said.

i let out a sigh, "please, miranda. please let me." i knew she didn't genuinely want to go shopping for what to wear to her mother's funeral.

i could see she was about to protest again, but duncan stepped forward, "let us spoil you, miranda. i think you've had a hell of a bad day." he said in a kind tone.

miranda gave in, "fine, okay." she said softly.

MACY'S
philadelphia, pennsylvania
6:15pm

alongside duncan, i pulled out a black dress that was hung up on the rack. it was a black cinched dress that stopped just above the knees. "this gives miranda, doesn't it?" i asked duncan as i held up the dress.

he leaned in to examine the dress, his eyes scanning over the material. "yeah, i think so." he said, nodding his head. "it's simple, something miranda would probably wear."

i nodded and folded the dress over my arm, "then it's the one. now lets get her shoes. and a funeral purse." i said.

the two of us strolled through macy's, searching for the shoes and purse to complete the outfit.

we finally stumbled upon a section full of shoes and accessories. my eyes fell upon a pair of plain but classy black pumps. "what do we think about these?" i asked, holding up the heels.

duncan looked at the heels and nodded his head approvingly, "they're classy and simple. very miranda-esque."

next, we moved onto the accessories. "so, black purse. we're not trying anything else." i told duncan, who smiled in response.

we browsed through the section of bags before my eyes landed on a plain black leather satchel, the strap could be worn across the chest or over the shoulder. "how about this one?" i asked as i picked it up.

duncan examined the purse, then turned back to me, "perfect." he said with a nod. "that's a solid funeral outfit." 

the reality that we had picked out an outfit for miranda's dead mom's funeral sunk in, and the mood shifted.

a thick silence fell between the two of us as we stood in the middle of the department store, holding a black dress and purse.

duncan must've realized that that moment wasn't a good time, so he cleared his throat. "i'm gonna find her a simple necklace. meet me at the register?" he asked.

"yeah, sure." i said, watching him walk off before turning my attention back to the outfit i had picked together.

i was hoping that getting a funeral outfit together would help distract miranda from the fact that she lost her mother. and it seemed to be helping, even if it was simply the distraction of shopping for a new dress, even though the circumstances were less than ideal.

a few minutes later, duncan and i met back up at the register. i placed the dress and accessories down on the counter, while duncan added the necklace.

once everything was rung up, i pulled out my wallet to pay, but duncan quickly swiped his card.

"i would've paid!" i said to him.

he smirked at my comment, shaking his head, "no, Jamie, i got it." he said as the worker scanned the items.

the total came to the $200 dollar range, and it didn't phase duncan one bit.

after the checkout, duncan and i left macy's with a black dress, necklace, shoes, and a purse. we had just completed our first mission-give miranda an outfit that was suitable for the devastating event.

after loading the bags in his car, duncan turned to me. "where to now, hm?" he asked with a smile, his dimple strong and it made me realize that'd i'd never noticed it before.

"can you drop me off at a hotel? i figured i'll stay in town until monday, the funeral." i responded.

with a smirk he said, "drop you off? are you crazy? i'm not leaving you by yourself during this time, jamie." duncan leaned in, still smiling, his arms crossed. "i'm staying with ya. and i don't work. so don't even try fighting me on this, because you're not winning this battle."

i sighed, knowing that duncan was right. i didn't want to be alone. and if he was offering to stay with me, then i would let him.

"okay, okay." i held up my hands in defeat. "fine. but you're paying for your own hotel room." i said with a grin, knowing that he wouldn't protest.

"oh of course." duncan said with a smirk. he opened the passenger door and held his hand out for me. "after you." he said as he waited for me to step into the car.

housekeeping notes !

sorry for any errors, wasn't proofread.

my poor baby miranda, if anyone remembers this episode: when miranda hugged the woman in the register i literally cried. she just wants to hug her mama again 😢