1.24 Nothing to Panic About

Naomi's elementary school years draw to a close. 

Truth be told, she doesn't feel that much different. Just taller and more gangly. Are pig tail braids weird to have in high school? Will people think her dress makes her look old? 

Is it normal for her heart to be beating this fast? 

Naomi's mind is plagued by worry. 

She spends a lot of her time staring out the window, trying to calm down. 

Sometimes all it does is make her feel even more caged in. 

The school bus just makes it worse. The inside is musty, the seats too small for teenagers, the windows dusty and difficult to see out of. At least at home she can see the outside. 

She practically leaps off the bus in the mornings, only to cringe when she sees the school building. The small, cramped class rooms, the slightly too small desks, the smelly bathrooms...

Does she really have to go inside? 

After school on days her mother works, Naomi spends an hour or so sitting outside under the guise of doing her homework. The sun, open space, and breeze usually comfort her. 

She ignores the stream of kids that spill out of the school, knowing that they're judging her for sitting at school when she could just go home. 

They don't know that there's not much to do at home either. 

As the sun dips lower in the sky, Naomi reluctantly stands up. She should be getting home... 

"Oh hey Naomi, how's it going?" 

Naomi's smile freezes on her face. 

"Oh hi Bob," Naomi greets as breezily as she can, "How are you?" 

"Eh, it's alright. Study club was boring as fu-," 

"Bob," Anita snaps angrily behind him, "You're supposed to be helping me with my homework, remember?" 

"Sounds like it's urgent," Naomi says with a smile. 

"Well it's not really," Bob begins to hedge. 

Before Anita can even glower at him, Naomi laughs. 

"Well I need to get home anyways. Good luck you two!" 

Naomi dashes off before Anita can get any angrier. 

"Well?" Anita prompts, "You know I can't do Lit without your help." 

Bob sighs as he sits down, "You didn't have to be so rude to Naomi." 

Anita glowers at him, "What? You like Wednesday Adams over there?" 

Bob just shakes his head, "Never mind-," 

"You do don't you!?" 

And so Anita screams at Bob as per the usual as Naomi rides further and further away. 

By the time she finishes her homework, Naomi's stomach is growling loudly. Like most nights, she makes her own dinner. 

Naomi's too nervous to try and use the stove without her mother's direction so she sticks to low-prep food. Her salads aren't too bad now. 

Just as she finishes her dinner, Sage unlocks the front door and comes home. 

"Good evening momm- mother," Naomi, now a teen, corrects herself to the "proper" designation, "How was your day?" 

"It was good. Everything ran smoothly in the end. Are there leftovers?" she looks at Naomi's empty plate. 

"Yes, mother. Salad; it's in the fridge." 

As Sage approaches the fridge for that salad, the washing machine suddenly sparks and groans. 

"I-I barely even touched it! Oh, I'm so sorry, mother, I-," 

"Calm down, Naomi!" Sage sharply cuts her off, "Nothing to panic about. Machines can be fixed. 

"But how?" 

Sage looks at the sparking dishwasher and then at her daughter, "Well, I suppose you can figure that out. Your homework is done and it's not 9 yet, yes?" 

"But I have no idea how to fix it!" Naomi protests. 

"Are you talking back?" 

"No!" 

"Well, it's either you fix it or we spend an exorbitant fee hiring a repair man for a simple problem. You must be independent, Naomi! At your age, I was working shifts at the graveyard and taking care of household chores. You're lucky that you still have an able bodied mother who cares!" 

Naomi nods slowly. Her mother's right, of course. 

But can she really fix it without electrocuting herself? 

Sage gives Naomi a toolbox. "I'll be back in an hour to check your repairs. They have to be perfect!" 

Naomi gulps. A manual open on the floor to her right is her only guide as she uncertainly pokes around in the machine's guts. She's not sure which wire's broken, or where it could be, or if the other wires are intact, or... 

She can't do this! She's going to mess up and burn the house down! 

An hour later Sage returns and sighs tiredly. 

"Go get ready for bed. I obviously overestimated you." 

Naomi slinks sadly to the bathroom as Sage tightens bolts and inspects the wiring. 

Naomi goes to bed on edge. Why can't I do anything right? Why didn't I just look up the problem on the internet!? Plumbob, I'm so stupid... 

By the time the sun filters through her curtains, Naomi is already out of bed. 

She's determined to make up for last night's failure. She mops and scrubs the kitchen from top to bottom. 

She'll read a handiness book at the library during study hall. She'll make sure to not be overwhelmed the next time. 

****

School dragged on and on today. Naomi is briefly relieved to leave the building until she sees the grey, rainy weather. 

"Hey Anita, nice umbrella! Can I walk next to you? Just until the bike rack," Naomi attempts to find refuge. 

Anita glares at her angrily, "No way! Maybe you'd like to ask Bob! Since he likes you so damn much!" 

Before Naomi can ask what she means, Anita storms off angrily. 

I guess I'll just have to sprint... 

As Naomi walks to the bikes, someone calls out her name. 

"Hey, Naomi! We need to do that project, remember?" 

Naomi stops and looks over at Calvin. 

"...Right. Where are we going?" 

Calvin's dad drives both of them to their house. 

"And here we are!" Sherman says cheerily, bouncing Calvin's younger sister Susannah on his hip. 

"It looks lovely," Naomi mumbles. She's not sure if her mother would approve of her being at a boy's house... 

"Look, I should let mother know I'm here," Naomi says quickly, pulling out her phone. Calvin quirks his eyebrow at the word "mother", but makes no comment. 

"Hello mother. I know it's not an emergency, but since you're home..." 

"Well, yes... where are you Naomi? It's nearly four." Naomi is normally arriving at home by now.

"I needed to do a project, a group project, and my project partner asked me to work on it today..." 

"Ah, I see. I suppose it can't be helped. Who's your partner?" 

"Sadie," Naomi lies on instinct, "Sadie Broke-Bagley. We're doing a biology project on cells." Sadie is Calvin's younger sister by a few years, still being in elementary school. But a female study partner shouldn't bother her mother, right? And she is at Sadie's house! Her heart pounds almost audibly in her chest.

"Are either of her parents home? I'd like to speak to them." 

Naomi glances at Sherman, deep in conversation with Calvin. What if he tells her mother that she's here with Calvin?

"They're not home right now, they're both working." 

Sage hmmms, "Well then, be back before 8. And don't forget your manners, Naomi! Etiquette is important." 

"I promise I'll be polite mother. Thank you!" 

On the other side of the room, Calvin and his father are having a disagreement. 

"Shut up dad," Calvin hisses. 

"Don't tell me to shut up, Calvin, I'm your father," Sherman says quietly but severely, "I'm just saying, it would be nice if you had your friend over for dinner. Maybe introduce her to the family-," 

Calvin rolls his eyes, "She's not my girlfriend dad. She doesn't need to meet the family." 

"Look!" Sherman snaps with exasperation, "I never said she was. You just don't have a lot of friends around, is all. I'd like to meet them, is all." 

Calvin rolls his eyes again, but the surly expression dissipates, "If she asks for dinner, I'll ask her to stay..." 

"Great! That's all I'm asking for. Now if you just happened to like her-," 

"Daaaaad!" 

"I'm just saying, Calvin. I would be happy to help. Prom's coming up soon, right? I could drive both of you there!" 

"Oh, ew. I'm just going to make this presentation before you offer to pay her mom 3 cows for her hand in marriage or something." 

Sherman smiles and shakes his head as Calvin walks away to talk to Naomi. 

"Your brother sure is grouchy," he tells Susannah. If Susannah could agree, she would. 

***

The two teens work quietly together on their presentation on cells, Naomi's questions and suggestions often being met with nods and grunts. It seems Calvin's grown into his sullenness, the thing she used to be afraid of... 

Naomi's cheeks flush when she remembers the time he played at her house in elementary school. 

He's probably forgotten about it by now. It was years ago... still, she can't help but look at the sulky teen behind her and compare him to the "scary" but friendly boy she once met. People change. 

She touches her braids. Sometimes they might not change by much, though... 

"So, uh," Calvin says suddenly, "Are you going to prom?" I'm not going to ask her to come with me like some weirdo like dad wants, Calvin tells himself, Just a normal thing to ask. 

"Umm, I'm not sure," Naomi replies truthfully, "I'd have to ask mother if I can go... How about you?" 

"Oh you still ask your parents for permission to go out? That's cute, I guess... Well yeah, but only for the after party, you know?" 

Sage doesn't really know, but she nods and still says, "Yeah, I can imagine. Are you going with anyone?" 

"Nooo," Sadie calls from the couch, unable to keep out of her brother's conversation anymore, "Because Calvin's weeeeird! He doesn't even really talk to girls!" 

"Shut up, Sadie!" his cheeks turn red.

"Maybe he likes you, Naomi! I bet that's it! Calvin and Naomi sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-," 

"Stop it, Sadie! Plumbob, you're so annoying!"

Sadie just laughs and pretends to swerve in the road, "You'll never catch me!" 

Calvin sighs, "Ignore my weirdo sister." 

Naomi giggles softly, "No, it's fine..." 

At 7:30 the project is more or less done. Naomi gets up to head home and goes to thank Calvin's dad for having her over. 

"No problem, Naomi! Are you sure you don't want to stay for dinner?" 

Naomi shakes her head, "I have to be home by 8, Mr. Broke-Bagley. But thank you for the offer." 

"Do you need me to drive you home? It's pretty far." 

"No thanks, my bike's still strapped to your car, I can ride home." 

"Alone? Nonsense, Calvin can walk you." 

"I can?" Sherman elbows Calvin in the back, "I mean, I can! Yeah... uh, to make up for that time..." he smiles unconvincingly. 

Calvin's cousin Isabel just stares in disbelief. Her cousin is such a mess. 

"So, uh, should I walk you?" Calvin asks again. 

Naomi looks between Sherman and Calvin. If her mother sees either of them, there will be too many questions.

"How about until halfway? I don't want you to be late for dinner." 

"Sure," Calvin agrees, grabbing Naomi's hand and pulling her towards the door, "See you in a bit guys!" he can't wait for this awkwardness to be over. 

Naomi blushes. "Thank you for having me again! It was nice meeting you!" 

***

Naomi arrives at 8 exactly. 

"Hello mother, how was your day?" 

"Not too eventful, I played chess and the guitar for the most part. How was Sadie's?" 

Naomi smiles, "It was lovely. Her family was very welcoming." 

"Well, if they can, I'd like to meet them sometime, to thank them. It's only polite." 

Naomi's smile becomes a bit frozen, "Of course, mother. We'll see..." 

Naomi can only pray that her mother's schedule will stay busy before she graduates high school. 

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AN: I wanted to get through my screenshots as quickly as possible, which is proving to be difficult since I have so many. Sorry for this monster of a chapter!