Evan's pretty self-sufficient now that he's a teen. He grudgingly tells his dad where he's going if necessary, but otherwise he roams around town as he pleases. It probably helps ease his dad's worries knowing that most of the time, Evan just hangs around the library.
What Calvin doesn't know, is that Evan spends more time here than he does in school. He shows up for a full day of school two or three times a week, then on the other days sneaks off to the library. Sometimes he feigns illness, or fakes a "parent authorised withdrawl", but other times he just disappears with no explanation. This is especially easy for classes with minimal supervision, like study hall and PE.
For now, his parents are none the wiser.
"Naomi it...finally happened. We have savings," Calvin says, stupefied, one morning. "What do we do with them?"
Naomi smiles. "Well... how does a mansion sound?"
"Or some paintings?" he continues the joke, "I hear the Simona Lisa is within our league now."
They share a laugh. He adds more, "Or how about a mansion to fill with children? One for everyday of the week-"
"Oh, Calvin, don't even joke about that," Naomi reels back, "One kid is already hard enough! I never want to go through this again!'
Calvin frowns, not expecting such a harsh rebuke. "Oh...right..."
They eat lunch in silence.
Evan finishes a quiet morning at the library. Still bored, he decides to take a free tour of the science lab. The night he spent camping there was one of the more interesting educational activities he's done- maybe there's something for him there in the future?
Meanwhile, Naomi finally makes good on her promise for a romantic date out, just the two of them.
Calvin pulls out all the stops.
"These better not be from a dumpster," Naomi says with a smirk.
"...don't make me a liar and force me to answer," Calvin finally says, a guilty grin on his face.
They try out the love tester machine. It declares that their love for each other is red hot! They both giggle.
They try their hand at horseshoes. Naomi's a much better shot than Calvin is, though that isn't saying much.
The science lab was interesting, but Evan doesn't see himself studying fish or plants long-term like the scientists in Riverview do. Maybe his interests are more in the mechanical side of things?
Somehow, just holding scrap doesn't really capture his imagination either. He doesn't feel any regrets about abandoning the junk-yard for work.
Calvin and Naomi were on their way to see a movie, but she stops in her tracks when she sees Evan just meters away crossing the road to the bookstore.
"What's wrong? You want to buy something?"
Naomi snaps her attention back to her husband. If they stop here, Calvin will probably nag her again about Evan. She shakes her head. "It's nothing, I just thought I saw Brianne..."
Brianne? "Hey, let's get moving, don't want to be late for that movie..." Calvin tugs her hand.
So they are both re-routed back to the theatre.
The movie finishes a few hours later. On their way out, Naomi and Calvin run into the Nocturnes.
Though they have all met before, it's certainly a first for them to see the couple in their wolf forms.
Naturally, they all stop for small-talk, Calvin notes sourly. Why does Naomi's work follow her everywhere?
"Glad to see that you're feeling better," Nicole says cheerfully. "How's Evan holding up? I haven't seen him around for a while."
"Oh, he's fine. He works at the bookstore now, that's probably why he hasn't been over to see..." Naomi only now realises that she can't remember Nicole's kids' names, "To see you and your family," a smooth recovery.
She's able to turn the conversation back to work. Salvatore is now a senator, leaving the mayor position open.
"You should really run," Nicole encourages Naomi, "You might be a council member now, but you honestly have more drive than most of our current representatives. They just sit on their butts and throw some money at the art museum and school once in a while and call it a day."
Naomi considers this. Being a mayor is the logical next step from local representative, which she practically is at this point. But it would mean fewer weekends...more commitments. She'd technically work fewer days a week, but she knows better. Those days off are spent schmoozing, sending emails, arranging appearances and campaigns and events for the city.
It would be a lot of work.
"I'll think about it."
Meanwhile Noelle, now old enough to go to school, sighs impatiently. Why does her mom always take half an hour to leave anywhere? Why do they always have to "just quickly say hi" to all of these people? So annoying!
When they get home, Naomi decides to gently broach the topic of becoming mayor with Calvin.
"...I'd be able to make more of a difference around here, the pay would be higher, and I'd only have to be in the office three times a week."
Calvin rolls his eyes, "It's not like I can talk you out of anything."
Not the positive response she hoped for, "I just want to talk about this so you don't accuse me of being a bad mother later," she snaps.
"What!? I didn't say that. Stop twisting my words," Calvin protests.
"Oh come on. You're always complaining about how I don't spend enough time with Evan, it's easy to read in between the lines."
"I'm just saying it would be nice if we spent more time together as a family-"
"Oh here we go."
Evan comes home from work, ready for a hot shower and some dinner, but is stopped by the sounds of arguing inside.
He sighs. Looks like he'll have to go in through his window.
Thankfully his room has good sound-proofing. He falls asleep as soon as he lays down.
Still, the consequences of not showering the night before are hard to ignore the next morning.
Naomi fusses with her appearance in the mirror. It'll be her first day as Mayor. She wants this to go well. All of the townspeople...depending on her... if she messes up, her life in this town is over.
She has to be perfect.
Evan, meanwhile, is eager to go to school today. He doesn't want to be around in case his parents start fighting again.
A bit ticked off after their argument, Calvin heads straight to the festival grounds to cool off.
He's suddenly in front of a news reporter. "Oh, sorry. Didn't see you there."
"No problem," she flashes a patented charismatic smile, "Since we're the only two people here, you wanna dance?"
Calvin could never refuse an offer to party.
He finds out that her name is Natasha and, like him, she's a former party animal. They both like the same Dark Wave bands, and talk about that for a while before making normal small-talk.
"I used to dance the night away in university," she sighs nostalgically, "Drinking nectar like crazy one night, waking up with the worst hangover, then going at it again the very next night. Crazy times. You must have had a similar experience when you were younger."
Calvin scowls, "No, unfortunately. I had a kid right after high school- not planned- and had to give up parties pretty early on."
The news that he has a child doesn't deter her or surprise her in the slightest, "Ah that's too bad. I have a feeling we would have torn up the dance floor back in my wild days."
He smiles, "Well, there's no time like the present..."
She giggles.
Naomi gets home at two thirty that day and is shocked to find Olivia Nocturne hanging outside her front door. She reluctantly invites the girl inside.
"Is Evan here?" she asks as politely as possible.
"No, he's probably at work....why?" Naomi doesn't know what to talk about with a teenager. Could she be here because...they're dating? Flashbacks to her own fights with her mother play before her eyes. Will the neighbours think badly of her if they find out she's seeing Evan alone? her worries begin to eat at her, Will this be bad for Olivia and her parents? Oh goodness...
"Oh, I just wanted to give him a late birthday present. Can you tell him I'll give it to him at school tomorrow?"
"Oh, of course..." her smile is strained. "I'll tell him..."
The hours slip by without either of them noticing. Natasha collapses against Calvin long after the sun has gone down in the sky.
"Whew, I'm beat. It's been years since I danced that much."
He realises the time with a pang of guilt. Well, Naomi's probably not even home yet, he rationalises with a sour mood, I doubt she even notices me being gone.
"Same here."
"I'll be out of town for a few weeks, but when I come back, we should totally meet up again. Maybe at a real bar."
He doesn't object when she enters her phone number into his cell. "Text me anytime." With that, she runs back to her car.
He shakes his head. He should definitely not call her. But...
the thought is tempting...
When Evan finishes his shift, the full moon is bright in the sky. That means Olivia and her family must be camping right now...
Instead, he spots Olivia and Isaac talking in front of the school.
They call for him to join them. They run to a nearby field and start playing catch. They throw hard, much harder than when they're in their human forms, and are much less afraid of rocketing into the ground to catch the ball. Olivia is so focused on the game that she forgets about the present she wanted to give Evan.
"Wanna play?" Isaac asks, holding up the ball.
Evan, a bit worried about getting his clothes dirty and his muscles bruised, declines and makes his way home shortly before curfew.
***
Naomi opens her mailbox and pulls out a thick wad of envelopes. Most of them are letters from the townspeople, airing various grievances. Taxes are too high, they're too low, the school curriculum should have gifted music classes, the science lab focuses too much on botany, on and on and on. Officially, they should be sending this to townhall, but everyone knows where she lives.
She finds a present inside, addressed to Calvin.
One of my co-workers mentioned that you lived in this house. I had fun at the festival. Thought you would like this!
She raises an eyebrow at the CD enclosed. She's never heard of the band, but she suspects that it's the kind of music Calvin listens to when he dances by himself at home. The name on the package is signed as "Natasha" with a cartoonishly large heart drawn on it.
She comes inside and gives him a long look.
He wouldn't possibly...
Well. He was always unhappy with me, she feels her heart sinking, I suppose this was inevitable.
With a tight feeling in her chest, she sets her laptop onto the table. The only thing that will make her feel better is losing herself in her work.
***
Naomi is a bit surprised when her co-worker, Abner Dickerson, invites her out to the karaoke bar. She considered saying no...
But she could really use the chance to unwind. Besides, they only ever talk about work. It'll just be like overtime.
For the first hour or so, all they talk about is work. Abner is a yes-man, but he doesn't really enjoy saying yes to everything.
"I dared to say no to some ludicrous proposal to turn the library into a bowling alley, and they all looked at me like I had two heads," he sighs, "Nicole wasn't too happy."
"It is thankless work, but it teaches you to pick your battles," Naomi says, placing a domino onto the table, "That kind of thing would never get voted for when passed on to the local council members. It's usually not worth objecting to so early on."
"But then what's the point?"
"Think of it as a learning experience. You see the stuff most people think is a good idea...then you start seeing what actually works, what doesn't."
Another ten minutes pass before a lull in conversation crops up.
"Are you married?" Abner asks, breaking the silence. He's a recent hire from Appaloosa Plains, so it's natural that he doesn't know.
"...Yes," Naomi answers after a pause that's way too long, "For almost fifteen years..."
Abner frowns, "But...you don't look that...um, mature."
Naomi stifles a laugh. "Nice save. No, I got pregnant very young, just out of high school, so it all happened very fast. I was married before the baby was born."
Abner frowns, "Didn't take you for the family oriented type."
Naomi scoffs before she can stop herself. "No, I'm not. Don't get me wrong- I love my son. But I was far too young to be having a child. I won't make that- I won't be getting myself into raising another child ever again. There's too much at stake for me professionally."
Abner nods in understanding. "I could never stand kids, myself. Of course we were all children once...but I was such a snot-nosed brat. I don't know how my parents could stand me," he laughs heartily, "I'm never having children if I can help it."
Naomi takes this in. Other than Calvin, she's never told anyone how she feels about her young start into parenthood. She expected to be scoffed at, ridiculed... but to be understood...it's such a freeing feeling.
"...Naomi? It's your turn," Abner patiently reminds her.
"Oh! Right, sorry..."
***
Calvin's not having such a good time at home.
"The school called me today. They said you're failing half of your courses! You might have to repeat a year!"
Evan balks. He forged his father's signature on all of his report cards. How...?
"They called me today, saying that I can't keep pulling you out of school! When have I done that, Evan!? Then they told me about your grades," he snaps at the confused expression on his son's face.
"Evan, what's going on with you? You were doing so well before. What happened?"
Evan sighs. He hates seeing his father so sad. It makes him feel guilty, which makes him feel angry that he feels guilty.
"I just...don't find school interesting," he finally admits, "It's so boring, even the advanced classes. Why do I have to sit inside class when I could just read all the material myself in half the time? I'm so bored, dad."
Calvin rubs his forehead. "I know school's a drag, but you need to at least pass your classes- or else it's another year of all of this. Please promise me you'll give it another shot."
It's an easy promise to make to get his dad off his back. "I promise I'll try harder..."
Calvin hugs him in relief. "Good. Let's sit down and look at your assignments for tomorrow."
Ugh. Parents.
Meanwhile, Naomi's deep into a second game of dominoes with Abner.
She finds herself spilling her frustrations to him. "It's like he doesn't understand that my priority has to be my job. I don't have infinite time! It's either being at home, or the office, you know?"
Abner nods. "Yeah, sounds like your husband doesn't really get you."
He thought that would be the end of it, but even after starting a game of pool in another room, Naomi is still venting. Years of frustration are bubbling to the surface.
"I just wish he saw me as more than just a mother..."
"Will it help if I say I see you as anything but a mother?"
Naomi laughs, looking away. Was that...flirty? "Thanks Abner..."
Thankfully, their pool-game cuts their chatter for a bit.
"Hey, I had fun tonight. Just so you know-I'm a Pisces," he says with a wink.
"Oh...uh...I don't know what my sign is," Naomi stutters, too tired to even keep her eyes open.
Abner laughs, then gives her a hug goodbye.
"We should hang out again."
She returns the hug. "Yeah, for sure."
She waves goodbye to him happily.
....then slides into bed next to Calvin.
The next morning, Naomi runs straight into Evan.
"Look, mom...before dad says anything. I'm not doing so great at school. Please don't be mad. I'll try harder." Evan figures he can prevent another fight this way.
Naomi smiles wanly. "That's nice, Evan. I'm sure you'll do fine."
Evan blinks as his mother shuffles away to the bathroom for a shower. Well... that was easy.
With it being a saturday, Evan invites Olivia over to hang out. They haven't seen each other for several days.
She comes over promptly.
"You know, I could have given this to you much earlier if you just showed up to class," she says with a laugh, producing a rubber ducky.
"What's that for?"
"Your birthday! Duh. I told your mom to tell you I wanted to give this to you!"
"Oh...she must have forgotten," he grumbles.
The he bursts out laughing. "A ducky? What for?"
"It's no better than a baseball!" she defends herself, "Besides, it's cute."
He invites her inside.
"Hey, tell me- what do you see here?"
She studies it seriously. "A...fish?"
She tilts her head. "...or a strange man sideways?"
There's a beat of silence.
"Oh I love this song," Olivia says. "Do you want to dance?"
Evan blushes. "I don't really know how..."
"Aw, that's ok, I can show you."
"See? Pretty easy," she says with an encouraging smile.
"Yeah..." he stares intensely at her eyes. They're such a pretty shade of pink...
"Ow, damn!" he curses, pulling back. Without realising it, he pulled Olivia forward so much that she stepped on his foot.
As they're laughing, Olivia leans in to see if Evan's ok.
They both slowly stop laughing, staring at each other.
"Evan...I like you," Olivia admits, her voice barely above a whisper. "Do you like me back?"
He gives her a very clear answer.
"Oh...sorry, was that too forward?" Evan apologises.
"No, I liked it..." Olivia answers quietly. "It was just unexpected."
"Well...now that you're expecting it?"
She blushes deeply. "...I think I'd like it even more."
The kiss is clumsy with inexperience. Their teeth click together, at one point it feels like Olivia's trying to chew on his mouth, and Evan wonders if maybe he's in way over his head.
He pulls back, embarrassed. "Sorry, I don't... I don't know anything about kissing."
Olivia takes his hands. "Neither do I... but...we probably just need more practice."
Evan laughs shyly, but plants a firm kiss on Olivia's lips. It's far less invasive than the kiss they tried earlier, and Evan finds himself wanting another...
But Olivia pulls back.
"I'm sorry, I don't want to go...but I promised my parents I'd baby sit the twins in about fifteen minutes... but we could go on a date sometime!"
Evan is still standing in the same spot, staring longingly at the door hours later when Calvin comes home.
"Son, are you alright?"
"Huh? Yeah! I'm fine. Anyways...lotsa studying to do..." Evan makes a very smooth exit.
He's too distracted to do homework, so he settles on a game of chess.
A date...where should we go on our first date? He wracks his brain for an answer.
Looks like he has some research to do.
-----------------------------------------------
AN: Evan's adult trait will be hopeless romantic, so gotta go for that early characterisation.
Originally, I didn't want to pair up Evan with a sim I made myself, but he was in a weird spot age-wise since most of Naomi and Calvin's generation waited a while to have children. Case in point, I think Brianne had her first child around the time this chapter is set in.
I forgot to reveal that one of the rolls for Naomi is deadbeat parent, which is why I've fulfilled all of Evan's wishes to skip school. It was sad seeing his grades go so far into the red. I couldn't have the social worker take him away so I still sent him to school sometimes. Since I was allowed to choose his first two traits, I gave him genius and nurturing (reasons should be clear why once he takes over as heir). The other ones still fit his character nicely despite being chosen by the game, so that was good.
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