Story of the Day: Woman Refuses to Take Her Neighbor's Daughter to School

Today's story focuses on Mary, who feels guilty after she refused to take her next-door neighbor's daughter to school despite the latter's constant pleading.

Mary is staying in a two-bedroom apartment and has a next-door neighbor named Gloria. Gloria is a single mom and has a seven-year-old daughter, Alice.

Mary is not in any way close to Gloria. They do not visit each other but only exchange greetings whenever they meet when taking out the garbage or checking the mailbox. Besides that, they are basically strangers.

Due to their little to no relationship, Mary was surprised when she heard a knock on her door earlier today and found that Gloria was the person at the door. The single mom asked Mary if she could take Alice to school.

She explained that her ex and Alice's dad usually took her to and from school but had an issue with his car. Alice attends a charter school that is in-person only at the moment, and the school has no buses.

Gloria said she had a car seat for Alice if Mary felt uncomfortable about driving her to school. Mary agreed to take Alice to school but only if Gloria goes with her. She explained that she is not comfortable being responsible for a seven-year-old stranger.

Gloria explained that she worked from home and was about to start her shift. She could not afford to be late to avoid being queried. Mary still refused, saying she could not take Alice to school by herself.

Despite Alice's continuous pleas, she held firm and suggested that Alice missing a school day was not so much of a big deal. Mary understands she may have ruined her relationship with Gloria, though they did not really have one before.

She is also feeling guilty for refusing to take her neighbor's daughter to school. What do you think? Was Mary mean for refusing to help Gloria take Alice to school? Are her reasons for not doing so justifiable? If you were in her shoes, what would you have done?

Here is another story about a woman who refused to let her mother-in-law hold her baby and wants an apology.