Suspicious Dad Finds Shocker While Investigating His Daughter’s Lateness To School
When a dad welcomes a daughter into his life, something special often happens. Suddenly, a unique tenderness grows within him, especially towards his little girl. Daughters bring out a softer side, even in the toughest of dads.
It’s almost like a twist of fate pushing them to be more understanding and gentle when fathers, mainly known for their strength and even aggression, find themselves raising daughters. This unique connection leads daughters to view their dads as a reliable support system. Someone they can always turn to when life gets tough.
But for single dads, the role is more complicated. They have to be everything for their daughters – the sense of stability, the comforter, the guide – all wrapped up in one. It’s a balancing act that demands dedication, patience, and a lot of love. And through this journey, they become skilled at fulfilling their little girl’s needs. Our story today looks at that special relationship.
A Hero
Like every other father, Phil cared about his daughter. Something about girls always makes men give in to their every request. It’s funny how the most ‘macho’ men end up with little girls and often lose their toughness and become more approachable.
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Daughters tend to look up to their fathers as heroes. Someone who can solve their every problem. For single dads, it can be quite challenging to occupy more than one role while trying to take care of their little girls. Being everything his daughter needed was Phil’s biggest dilemma.
Suspicion
Phil was made aware of something quite strange. The bus that picked up his daughter and dropped her at school often arrived late. He didn’t know what was happening on the route to his daughter’s school, which made him very concerned.
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Phil had a very active life for several years before he had his daughter. He was passionate about martial arts and combat sports. Back then, he seemed unapproachable at first glance, and many people tended to pull away from him. But underneath, he was a darling. It took one woman to discover that.
Meeting Patricia
Unlike others, the wall around Phil didn’t push Patricia away when she first met him at a recreation center. That night, they were both exercising. They noticed each other and immediately felt a wild attraction between them. It was love at first sight.
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They exchanged greetings and soon found out they had a lot in common after talking for hours. Patricia discovered that she felt safe around him, and Phil, in turn, enjoyed her company. Soon enough, they were spending more and more time together.
Newly Weds
As Phil and Patricia continued falling deeper in love, they realized they couldn’t live without each other. In no time, they got married. They both wanted to start a family but weren’t ready. They felt that they were young and still had a lot of time.
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Unexpectedly, Patricia found out that she was pregnant. Neither of them was prepared for this, but they knew they had to make new strategic plans to fit in their newest family member. But Patricia wasn’t sure they had enough time.
Growing Pregnancy
Patricia’s pregnancy progressed with very few complications. However, she soon realized she was always tired and easily exhausted. Moving around with a growing tummy became uncomfortable as the months passed. Nevertheless, she and Phil looked forward to meeting their baby.
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One day, Patricia’s water broke while her husband was at work. She froze in one spot for several seconds, deliberating what to do next. Then, she remembered the ante-natal class routine she’d been taught for when the time came. She called her husband and packed a bag.
The Baby’s Arrival
Phil left work and rushed home the moment after his wife called. As you’d imagine, he was excited but also kinda worried. He wished he could fly so he could be with her as soon as possible. She was waiting outside when he got home.
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Labor was something Patricia had imagined, but the reality was so different. She also didn’t know the gender of their baby because they wanted to keep it a secret until they arrived. A few hours later, the baby came out. It was a lovely little girl!
Welcome Isabella!
The duo broke down in tears when the doctor brought them their baby. They were thrilled! Phil held the baby closely, beaming because he was now a father. Patricia began to wonder how they would manage to be new parents.
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But she was optimistic. She was sure they would do well despite knowing it would take them some time to adjust and get used to their new roles as parents of a little human. She was happy they had taken this big step together.
The Sudden Change
Several months later, the couple seemed to have gotten a hang of caring for Isabella. They had come up with a comfortable routine that worked in their favor. They also changed shifts at work so they could make enough time to care for Isabella.
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Unfortunately, something unexpected interfered with their perfect routine. One day, Patricia was home alone with Isabella, and while feeding the baby, she became painfully tired and got a nasty cough. So, she decided to lie down to rest for a while, hoping to regain her strength.
Unfortunate Events
The second she lay down, Patricia passed out! Her husband arrived hours later, and in his usual manner, he called out to her but got no response. He immediately assumed that no one was home. That’s until he found Isabella alone and asleep at the dining table.
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The baby was still fastened to her chair, and her plate of food was barely touched. Phil called out to his wife and still got no response. He got anxious as he searched all the rooms in the house. Finally, he found her unconscious in the living room.
An Emergency
Phil tried to wake Patricia up, and when she didn’t move, he assumed that she must have passed out. So, he took Isabella to the neighbor next door and rushed his wife to the hospital. When she gained consciousness, the doctor ran some tests.
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The couple was informed that the results would be out until the next day. In the meantime, the doctors said Patricia was well enough to be released. They further assured them that they would receive a phone call as soon as the results were ready.
Terrible News
The couple took the next day off and waited for the call from the hospital. They took this as a family bonding opportunity because they rarely spent an entire day with their daughter, except during the holidays. When they least expected it, the call from the hospital came.
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The doctor asked if they wanted to receive the results in person or over the phone, but their restlessness made them opt for the latter. Sadly, he informed them that Patricia had cancer. The doctor needed her to return to the hospital so they could start the necessary procedures to tackle it.
The Beginning of the Battle
Although they were devastated by the news, Phil and Patricia were ready to fight. After all, marriage was all about staying together and supporting each other, regardless of the storm. Weeks later, the doctor placed Patricia on some form of therapy with the hopes that it would work.
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The treatment was not easy on Patricia. Things were so bad that Phil wished he could take her pain away. Fortunately, their daughter was still very young and had no idea that her mum was going through a tough time.
A very gloomy day
Patricia got worse as the months drifted by. This, in turn, made her husband start to panic. He questioned the doctors every chance he got, asking if there was any other treatment option. Sadly, after fighting for a couple of months, Patricia passed on.
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Phil couldn’t believe that the love of his life was gone. Though he had been dreading the worst, he didn’t think that he would have to raise their daughter alone. How was he going to play the role of both parents to his little girl?
Moving On
He made up his mind to be strong for his daughter and do the best he could to raise her. The young girl grew into a delightful child. Soon enough, she was old enough for school. Like most parents, Phil was emotional on her first day. He wished Patricia could see her all grown.
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Amidst the grief, he had something to be grateful for. He was Isabella’s friend, and they did virtually everything together. Isabella didn’t recall much about her mother except how soft and warm she felt in her arms. Nevertheless, Phil was delighted she remembered that much.
Ready for School
On Isabella’s first day of school, he ensured she was well-dressed and clean. While he didn’t have as good of a fashion sense as his late wife, he did his best and was pretty proud of the outcome. Isabella certainly looked great!
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Phil brushed her hair and made sure she had everything before she got on the bus that morning. He had no idea he would get so emotional watching the bus leave with his daughter. He hoped she would make a lot of friends that day.
First Bad Day
Isabella enjoyed school and made a few friends, but something happened. A few children made fun of her, saying that her ponytail wasn’t done right. Their comments hurt her, but she told them she didn’t care because her dad styled her hair the best way he could.
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Earlier that morning, she had thought she would have the best day at school, but the kids’ behavior had made her self-conscious and sad. They had ruined her entire day. Isabella considered telling her father what they said, but she didn’t know if she should.
Little Kids
Phil asked his daughter about her day when she returned home, and she cheerfully told him about the new friends she made. Sadly, she added that some children had made fun of her ponytail. Understandably, the news made him upset. Why would little children pick on others?
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The fact that they were right about the ponytail broke his heart. His daughter’s hair looked different from the other girls on the bus. But how was he supposed to make her hair beautiful when he didn’t know how? In moments like this, he missed his wife immensely.
The Disastrous Fix
Desperate to find a solution, Phil quickly came up with a supposedly brilliant idea. He would cut and style his daughter’s hair so he wouldn’t need to tie it up in a ponytail again. He would have taken her to a hairdresser but barely had enough money.
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Thus, he decided to do it himself with his shaver. Unfortunately, it turned out differently from what he had in mind. He was disheartened when he realized he’d made it worse. His daughter tried to make him feel better by convincing him that she loved it, but she was close to tears.
It Got Worse
She wore a hat to school the next day and every other day after that, but that didn’t solve the problem. The same set of kids continued to make fun of her. This time, she was at a loss for words to defend herself.
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Thankfully, the few friends she had didn’t mind her appearance. Soon enough, her hair started to grow back. But the length was uneven because it was cut incorrectly. She thought of asking her dad to fix it again, but she was afraid he would mess it up again.
Keeping It Together
Phil’s best part of the day was watching his daughter board the bus and leave for school. He would wait at the bus stop and smile once he saw the vehicle. In contrast, his daughter’s day was filled with hiding her true emotions about her uneven hair.
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Unknown to him, his little girl wasn’t happy. She wasn’t sure how long she would be able to keep her emotions in. She needed a good fix for her hair situation so the kids would cease making fun of her whenever they got the chance.
The School Mail
Several months later, Phil received mail from Isabella’s school. The report implied that the girl arrived at school late every morning. But how was that even possible? He watched her board the bus on time every day. Why did the bus drop her off at school late?
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He began to imagine the worst scenarios possible. Wasn’t Isabella getting off the bus alongside the other children? Did she change routes on the way to school? Where did she go? What if she got hurt? Or even worse, abducted?
Mute
Phil was super worried. He needed to get to the bottom of the issue. So, he waited till his daughter returned home and told her about the email he had gotten from the school. He asked her if there was something she needed to say to him.
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Isabella stared back at her father innocently and kept mute. She didn’t utter a single word. Her father’s concern increased. He didn’t understand why she wasn’t talking to him despite knowing that he really needed to know why she was arriving at school late.
Inspector Phil
Phil decided not to push. Instead, he made up his mind to find out what was going on on his own. He really hoped his little girl wasn’t being threatened by someone or in danger. Like any good dad, he was ready to do everything possible to keep her from harm’s way.
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Once Isabella got on the bus the following day, he entered his vehicle and waited until the bus moved. He followed at a safe distance, hellbent on uncovering whatever secret his daughter was hiding. He had taken time off work to investigate.
Strange Occurrence
Phil followed the bus until it got to the school. He was relieved that nothing eventful had happened on the drive to the school. One after the other, the children alighted from the bus and entered the school building. However, he didn’t see his daughter.
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Where was she? He had seen Isabella get on the bus that morning and watched as the doors closed behind her. There was no way she would have alighted without his knowledge. Phil started getting worried because he sensed something was happening with her.
A Little Patience
He waited in his car and took another look around the area, but there was no sign of Isabella. Moments later, someone came down from the bus. It turned out to be Isabella. She had her bag and everything else and seemed fine from a distance.
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Phil could see that she was actually smiling as she made her way into the school building. As she got closer, she broke into a run, probably because she knew she might be late for class. Then the bus drove off. Phil placed a hand on his throbbing temple.
Unanswered Questions
He didn’t know what to make of the situation. It had dawned on him that every day, Isabella stayed back on the bus after every other child had gotten off. He didn’t know the reason for this behavior or why the driver was entertaining it.
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Phil wasn’t planning on trailing the bus every day, but he was also tired of trying to come up with explanations about why Isabella remained on the bus for a while longer. So, he decided that he would get the answers to his questions directly from her.
The Plain Truth
When Isabella came home that day, he sat her down and told her he knew she always stayed on the bus long after the other kids had left and that the extra time spent on the bus was responsible for her perpetual lateness for classes.
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Isabella didn’t know how her father found out, but she soon realized it was time to open up about what was happening. “My hair is a mess, and the other kids still make fun of me.” Phil stared at his daughter in astonishment as she blurted out the words.
Another Attempt
Phil didn’t realize that his daughter’s hair was still giving her problems among her peers at school. He offered to fix it again; perhaps this time, he would be able to style it better. Isabella agreed so as not to bother her father even more.
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Phil stared hard at the hair and decided that he wouldn’t use his shaver this time. If his daughter was going to overcome her hair insecurities, he needed to do better. After staring for a while, he decided to cut it around the neckline.
Wrong Outcome
Unfortunately, he did a terrible job. The hair wasn’t even on all sides and was way shorter than before. Isabella looked more like a boy than a girl! The new style did not compliment her facial features nor do justice to her look.
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With one quick look in the mirror, the little girl’s face sank. She was totally brokenhearted and regretted letting him touch her hair in the first place. Isabella knew her father wasn’t a hairdresser and sincerely wished she had said no.
Dreading School
The little girl dreaded going back to school the next day because of her terrible hairstyle. She knew the other kids tended to notice the little things about her. They would certainly pick on her again once they saw the new change.
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Unknown to Phil, the school driver was a woman, and her name was Tracy. She loved children and enjoyed her job immensely. She took her time getting to know each child’s name, behavior, and antics, and she was especially fond of Isabella.
Months Ago
Tracy noticed Isabella the first day she got on the bus. The other kids did, too, since they all laughed at her because of her funny-looking ponytail. The driver felt bad for the little girl and decided to do something about her situation.
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Before Isabella got off the bus that day, Tracy stopped her. She told the girl that she would be happy to style her hair. Isabella was super excited because this meant that she wouldn’t look different from the other girls in her class.
The Hair Journey
The bus driver had experience styling hair because she was a hairdresser at one point. Sadly, she left that line of work because of the poor pay. Fortunately, her new job as a bus driver turned out to be something she enjoyed and grew to love.
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Every day, as soon as the other kids had gotten off the bus, Tracy would make Isabella sit and style her hair as fast as she could. Their little arrangement went on for several months. Tracy found this act of kindness very fulfilling.
Daily Routine
Unlike her first few weeks, Isabella seemed happier whenever she went into the school building. The kids no longer picked on her, and sometimes, her friends told her they wished they could trade places with her because her hair looked prettier.
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The problem with her routine with Tracy was that she often got late for class, which caused the school to send multiple reports to her dad. Isabella didn’t know how her dad would feel if she told him Tracy was helping her with her hair.
Dilemma
Each time her father tried to fix her hair, she knew he was only trying to help, so she assumed he would be upset if she declined his offers or sad if he knew that someone else could do it better. She was concerned about his feelings.
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While Isabella weighed her options concerning how and when to tell her father the news, he contemplated following her to school again. He still didn’t know what she did on the bus while everyone else went to class. Was she hiding from the other children?
The Plan
Phil took time off work again and decided to follow his daughter’s school bus a second time. He planned to search the bus once the children had gotten out of the vehicle. It was high time he got to the root of the issue.
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Like the previous time, he watched as the bus stopped outside the school. The doors were flung open almost immediately, and the children came out. Phil wasn’t surprised when he didn’t see his daughter. He was sure that she was still on the bus. But what was she doing?
Caught In The Act
He got out of his car and walked straight to the bus. Heart pounding, Phil took a deep breath and tried to calm his troubled mind. Then he peeked through one of the opened windows, praying and hoping he wouldn’t see anything chaotic.
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Phil was ready to defend and protect Isabella if he saw anything sinister. He would never allow harm to come to his baby. He couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that the bus driver was in on whatever his daughter was doing on the bus.
A Pleasant Surprise
When Phil turned his head toward the big glass mirror, he saw his daughter seated while the driver braided her hair. He froze in shock, taken aback by the scene before him. It was definitely different from what he was expecting. Thank heavens!
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He stood there watching them, and soon enough, they saw him, too. “What’s going on here?” he asked. Tracy turned to the girl’s father and smiled. She told him exactly what she was doing, how long she had been doing it, and the reasons why.
A Heart of Gratitude
The single father was overwhelmed by Tracy’s kind gesture. He was pretty much short of words. If Isabella had told him from the onset, he wouldn’t have been worried and bothered. Now he knew why she was always late for her classes.
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Once Tracy finished with Isabella’s hair, he walked her to her classroom and then returned to speak with Tracy. He thanked her for everything and explained that he hadn’t been aware. Tracy told him that it was okay and that she was happy to help.
A Little Break
Before he left, Phil decided to talk to the Principal and explain why his daughter was always late for classes. He hoped the school would show some understanding and cut her some slack, even if it was just for a while.
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The Principal was sympathetic towards Isabella’s situation and agreed to let her be a few minutes late to class, but no more. Phil returned home, relieved and satisfied. Firstly, his daughter wasn’t in any form of danger, and secondly, someone else was already fixing her hair!
Reconciliation
Phil apologized to his daughter and explained his decision to follow her to school. As a father, he needed to be sure that she was safe at all times. He also asked Isabella why she didn’t tell him about the bus driver and their arrangement.
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Isabella told him she was concerned about his feelings and reaction to the news. She didn’t want him to get angry, upset, or jealous because someone else was doing her hair. Mainly because she knew how much effort he had made to care for her.
A New Dawn
Phil was sincerely impressed by his daughter’s thoughtfulness. They apologized to each other, promising not to keep secrets from each other, and hugged. From that day onwards, Tracy continued to style Isabella’s hair. The school also stopped complaining about the girl’s lateness.
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Soon enough, Phil started to make more money. No, he had enough to take Isabella to a professional to get her hair done regularly. Her confidence bounced back, and she started looking prettier as each month passed by. Consequently, the relationship between dad and daughter greatly improved!