2.1 Work to Do

Sage is awake and waiting for Naomi the day after her graduation ceremony. 

"Naomi, now that you're officially an adult, I wanted to tell you something." 

"Oh?" Naomi raises an eyebrow. 

"I was offered to play in the Starlights Shore Orchestra after my gig there with the Riverview Orhestra and I accepted..." 

The rest of what her mother tells her doesn't register. 

Mother is leaving? 

She's going to live alone now?? 

Sage can see that this news isn't good news for her daughter. 

"Oh Naomi, for goodness sake," Sage loses her temper, "You're 18! You have a job! You'll be fine without me!" 

"I quit my partime job at the graveyard, it didn't make sense to keep working there as an adult." 

"You...what!?" Sage can't believe what she's hearing. 

"There're high schoolers that need that money more than I do! There aren't many other jobs in this town that fit school hours well. I didn't know you were leaving, I thought our bills would be covered while I looked for work!" Naomi defends herself. 

"How could you do something so irresponsible?" Sage seethes, "Do you even have an interview set up?" 

"Mom, I'm sorry. I just didn't know you were going! I've been looking in the ads-,"

Sage shakes her head, "Unbelievable. Just when I thought you were ready to live alone." She takes out her wallet and stuffs several hundred simoleons into Naomi's hand, "This should last you at least a few weeks. You'll have that long to find your income from somewhere else." 

Over the next few days, mother and daughter hardly speak. There's too much packing to do. 

A taxi beeps outside. "I suppose this is goodbye, Naomi. Take care." 

"Goodbye, mother..." 

And then...Naomi is alone. 

The washing machine shatters the silence with its signature groan and fountain of water and smoke. Naomi screams and leaps with surprise. 

How is she supposed to do this!? What if something breaks that she doesn't know how to fix!? What if she doesn't find a job before her money runs out!? 

She can fix the dish washer this time... but if the switchboard short circuits... or the boiler stops working... or the furnace malfunctions... what is she going to do?? 

Anxious and shaking after the dish washer is repaired, she calls on an old friend. 

Brianne and her mother have been travelling in distant cities to celebrate her 18th birthday and Michelle's gone to see her father preform in Bridgeport. Naomi doesn't feel comfortable enough with other people to invite them over... except for Calvin. 

"Thanks for coming over," Naomi says, smiling with palpable relief. 

"Yeah no problem. Sorry for leaving things kind of weird last time..." Calvin feels like an enormous asshole. 

 "Ah, so you do hugs now?" Naomi teases.

"If you insist," he says with a fake sigh. He opens his arms widely and Naomi gladly accepts his embrace. 

"Hey, what's wrong? You're shaking." 

So she tells him. Her mother just up and left with only a few days notice. She has no job and no other money but what she saved from working at the graveyard and the money her mother gave her. 

"I don't know what I'm going to do," she finishes with a tearful sniffle. 

"Aw, don't cry," Calvin says, just as much out of sympathy as from discomfort. He rubs her arm softly.

"And I'm sorry for making this so weird! I know you're not my boyfriend or anything, and I shouldn't be crying on your shoulder and you don't like me that way anyways, I was just...you know I like you and I do feel a lot better seeing you." 

Calvin looks surprised, "Who ever said I didn't like you?" 

"You did?" Naomi's now even more flustered, "Not that long ago??" 

"Yeah well... I kind of lied." 

She holds onto his waist for support, "What?" 

"Look you got all weird and distant and said we should just be friends!" 

"I was only saying that because of...of my mom. I still like you, Calvin." 

He rolls his eyes, "Great. Nice to know that now..." 

She winces, "Sorry. I guess I was too late." 

His face softens and he wraps an arm around her waist, "Not...necessarily..." 

They spend a very long time just kissing. They have a lot of time to make up for, it seems.

Alone in the house for the first time, and excited that their feelings are mutual, the new couple moves on to Naomi's bedroom... 

But Calvin has to disentangle himself. He has work to do. 

"I'm sorry, but it's my first shift. I shouldn't be late," Calvin apologizes, pulling on his grubby work clothes. Working backstage isn't exactly glamorous, but his folks wouldn't leave him alone about having a job after high school, so here he is. 

"I'll see you later then." 

The following days are busy for them both; Naomi's job search brings her to city hall. They're looking for someone to polish podiums for below minimum wage. 

Any wage's a wage, Naomi tells herself. She can't exactly be choosy right now. 

Her former debate coach Mrs. Crosby, greets her outside. 

"Naomi, so good to see you!" 

"You too, Mrs. Crosby," Naomi says with a smile. Mrs. Crosby's her only academic reference on her CV, and thus her only hope at getting this job. Regardless of that fact, it is nice to see her. She'll never forget being able to captain the debate team!

"Oh, call me Heather! You're not my student anymore," she says with a good-natured wink, "Not that you ever were technically my student." Heather's full time job is as the mayor's aide at City Hall; her stint as a debate coach was to get Riverview's youth engaged with local politics. 

It seemed to work on one of her students, at least. 

Heather looks up at the rain, "Let's get inside dear. I heard that you applied and I was just so happy that I wanted to escort you myself!" 

Naomi smiles, "Thank you Mrs... Heather. Lead the way!" 

***

The interview goes by in a blur. Naomi's not sure what kind of impression she made, but she's glad that it's over. She glances at City Hall one last time before turning the key in the ignition and beginning her drive home. 

She feels her heart accelerate when she signs away a third of her funds for the bills. 

She prays that the interviewers call her back soon. 

She practices her responses to questions in the mirror. In case this job doesn't pan out, she needs to be better prepared for interviews. 

Finally at two in the morning, she falls asleep, exhausted. Her dreams are dominated by work and money, all sitting on a dusty podium. 

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AN: I moved Sage out of the house. I felt like playing Naomi on her own and playing Sage has been really boring since she got into the classical branch. This generation will start fresh. Now obviously Naomi still has some funds left, even after moving Sage into a small house, but shhhh the story.