The Princess of Preschool

My daughter, Lily, had just started kindergarten when I got a notification from the class group chat:

[Hi everyone, I'm Sarah Miller, and my daughter, Tiffany, just transferred here today.]

The chat lit up with a string of "Welcomes!" and "Hellos!" Just as I was about to type out my own greeting, a huge block of text appeared.

[Important Notice from Tiffany's Mom:

“Girls in the class, please take note: Starting next week, I'll be posting a picture of what my daughter is wearing each day, please make sure your child doesn’t wear the same thing.

“Also, I request that everyone please switch to the same brand of laundry detergent we use, my daughter has a very sensitive nose and can't tolerate other scents.

“Finally, my daughter was a C-section baby and is a bit timid, so I ask you to tell your children not to bully her and make sure she's always treated with priority.”]

Wow. I couldn’t help but think, "This isn't just a new student; this is a royal princess who’s slumming it with us commoners!"

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Some of the moms in the chat were quick to push back.

Karen's Mom: “Are you serious? What my kid wears is none of your business. Why should we have to cater to you?”

Jessica's Mom: “Exactly! And we’re supposed to all use your detergent? My son has allergies too, and we use specific stuff."

“Yeah, who made your kid the queen of the class? My kid is special too!”

The chat quickly devolved into a debate. Usually, I just chuckled at the ridiculous things these parents said in the group chat. The class teacher was the administrator, and she'd usually step in to calm things down. I didn’t see a problem, so I just muted the chat to get some work done.

Then I got a DM. It was from Melissa, whose daughter, Emily, was friends with Lily: "Hey, Sarah, you gotta check the chat. It's about Lily."

I opened the group chat and saw a photo. It was clearly taken sneakily, and it was of my daughter, Lily. I was about to ask what was going on, when a huge paragraph appeared:

[“My daughter wore her diamond hair clips to school the other day and they went missing when I picked her up. I mean it’s no big deal, we can afford them, but today I saw them in Lily’s hair. Lily’s mom, you need to explain yourself.”] She tagged me in the message.

My blood ran cold. "Explain myself?" What she meant was “Lily stole them."

I usually try to be reasonable, but when it comes to my daughter, I'm not messing around.

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I immediately sent a voice message.

Me: “Sarah, are you saying my daughter stole your daughter's diamond hair clips?”

Sarah: “Isn't it obvious? My daughter's are missing, and now they're in Lily's hair! Everyone can see what’s up.”

Me: “Having the same clips means she stole them? Is that your evidence?”

Me: “You are talking straight garbage! If you love accusing people, maybe you should go be a detective, or a lawyer.”

Me: “Take a good look, with your eyes that aren't full of sleep, my daughter’s clips were custom-made for her birthday. They have her initial...