How to deal with the rotten kid your kid hangs out with?

OK, I have been MIA for a while because of work projects that required crazy hours and lots of OT. I am in between those and the next set, so here I am--and I am ranting!

For D's 13th birthday, I upgraded her secondhand cell phone to a nicer one-the Alias. She was so thrilled to get it because it was a lot smaller than the eNvy (aka "The Brick") and it fit in her pocket easier. It also had neater features. I say "had" because the same little bee itch (AC) that stole her jeans earlier this year apparently stole the phone when they were all at the skate park.

Of course, the little monster swears she doesn't have it, although it was being answered/hung up when we called to see if it was in the house. When D called AC to ask about it, the girl got very defensive and then hung up. Later, she claimed she never saw the phone to begin with. Then she went into "you people are crazy" rant and told us to leave her alone. But she keeps messaging D on her MySpace page and calling the house and hanging up.

Yesterday, at Extreme Thing, AC saw D and ran off. Other kids mentioned that she was bragging about the phone to them.

The phone service is suspended on that number, but the girl has a brand new phone with a new microSD card and all D's contacts and pictures. God only knows what the heck she will do with them. The last time she got her hands on that kind of information (from another kid), she called and texted the contacts with all sorts of nasty trashy messages. The pictures ended up on MySpace.

The contacts can be gotten back because we get the backup service from our provider and I had just synced the numbers earlier that day. But that is not the point... This girl is allowed to run wild because her parents just don't give a sh!t.

I am sorry her parents are alcohols and drug addicts and her brother deals drugs. However, it is NOT my responsibility to provide her with clothing, food or anything else. The girl thinks that, if she worms her way into our house, she is entitled to pick up any of D's clothes she likes, take food out of the fridge and steal whatever else she likes. Of course, D is afraid to say anything because of the girl's family.

Unfortunately, there are way too many kids like that around here. Parents drink or do drugs, work weird hours and leave the kids alone most of the time, forget to buy food for the house, etc. Yeah, I feel sorry for them, but I also am a parent and I work.

The difference is that I pay the bills first, then buy food for the house. Only then do we entertain extras like a trip to the mall or buying a bunch of silly stuff. D doesn't like to see drinking so much as a beer around her because of those other parents, so I don't keep alcohol in the house at all. I think my biggest vice is sneaking in a box of Cella chocolate-covered cherries once in a while.

The biggest problem is that I cannot keep D from having contact with those kids. They go to her school, they hang out at the same places... I tell her that she needs to stay aloof because there is going to come a day when something horrific is going to happen with those kids and I do not want her to get dragged into it. I know that when they do finally bust AC's family, anyone in the house will go to jail with them. I just do NOT want my kid to be within a country mile of their place when it happens.

Right now, AC is harboring a runaway at her house and her parents are letting the girl stay there. D found out and saw the girl's sister and told her. I know some of you will say that's snitching, but AC's house is no place for her, let alone someone else's kid. I tried to get the police to investigate that family before, but they say they have too many other things to deal with. Too busy now, but when some tragedy strikes, they will be all contrite and swear they did their best.

It is impossible short of moving (and that may be a possibility) to keep the bad kids away from your own kids, but I am darned sure going to do everything in my power to keep that contact to a minimum outside of school (where they WILL have to interact since some are in the same classes).

If I thought I could get away with it (and I know I can't), I would spank the little brat myself and then personally drive her over to Child Haven since Juvie is always full up.

Now D tells me Little Miss AC is trying to be friends again. Who knows what she has up her sleeve now?

Why I hate the twitches at NBT

1) I have a very good idea which one decided to be "concerned" and call DFCS on me because I spanked The Diva for trying to bite me.

2) The usual brats were invited to "audition" for scholarships again this year. One of them is the teacher(ES)'s daughter, DS. WTF is with that? How can that be fair? Another is a whiny little brat named after a major coastal city in Australia--no talent, but she is a pal of the other one I am pissed about: the PITA who has done nothing but make D's life miserable all year. That's right! The daughter of that crazy woman who also took it upon herself to NOT allow me to help with costumes even though I had been asked by the wardrobe person to do so. HA and the city-named brat have parents who kiss ass and drop extra checks into the kitty so they will be rewarded by getting some of that money back. It never goes to the kids who really need it. GR will get another scholarship as well, I am sure.

3) VSK is still there and just as big a twitch as ever. She sops sugar over YA doing a little bit of handwork, yet walks right by me when I am working on the design for another class's entire costumes.

4) The brats mentioned above keep telling D things that are wrong so she will get in trouble. Today, it was telling her they were keeping their pointe shoes on for "Etudes" rehearsal (big lie!). She still had them on when it was time to begin and she was late because she had to change them. ES knew good and damned well what the spawns had done, but blamed D anyway for making the rehearsal start late.

5) The teacher's kid DS is throwing a Justice/pool party and D was not invited. This same girl pretends to be D's friend and texts her all the time.

6) The scores for the exams are still not up and I want to see what D was given. She told me that several of the girls (including every one of the ones nominated for scholarships) made major mistakes and at one point, they stopped them and made them do the combination over. That is the first time I heard of that; do-overs are not a normal thing in the middle of exams. The scores and placements will help me make my decision as to whether or not D stays at that hellhole.

After all the bull, why do I want her to stay there? She has been there a while, she knows the teachers, she knows the routine and she knows the kids (no matter how ugly they are to her). The teachers are familiar with her way of learning, so no breaking in needed. It would be hard for her to start over at another school, even though I am looking into a few options just in case.

D is a good dancer and could be a lot better if it weren't for all the politicking and kissing the arse of alleged money. Their no-talent spawn get the attention because the administration can soak them for all sorts of "extras". However, I know better about the money. Several people who "front" are less liquid than I am and that is saying something!