Paradise Wrecked - Chasing Normal, Arc 3

Scene 13: New Life, Old Scene

Apparently, housewarming parties were a three-day affair. Travis thought about calling in sick to work Friday to help Lydia clean up after the first party, but Lydia wouldn't hear of it.

"You're a teenage girl. You should be trying to impress your superiors so they'll want to hire you." And then she sent Travis off with a huge, almost sculptural salad and a thermos full of coffee.

Travis paused outside the building and looked toward Sai Anto Productions. The apartment was far enough away from the studio that she could find some sort of transportation, but she figured she'd work through more of her guilt if she walked. Lydia must be a saint.

By the time she reached the studio, she still felt awful about leaving Lydia with that huge mess. I know that's her job, but... It just doesn't seem fair. She swiped into the production area and quickly settled in at her station.

The workload seemed fairly reasonable. Not much cleanup, but it looked like Brice was letting her work on some set pieces for the new story. Travis had read the summary, and was very excited to be included on the team. So, she started sketching, tweaking, creating her color keys. Before long, she was so lost in her work that she forgot about what was going on at home.

A hand on her shoulder shook her out of her flow. "Where's your mom?"

"What?" She looked up at Brice.

"President Shiratori wants to know. She hasn't shown up yet."

Of course she hasn't. "Oh. Well, she had a late night, so I'm sure she'll be along eventually."

"You didn't see her this morning?"

"Not really." Travis heard the uncertainty creep into her voice. Does the studio expect me to be my mother's keeper?

Brice grunted. "Well, tell her to get here, and don't expect me to be your messenger boy."

"No. Of course not." Not that I asked you to begin with.

Brice stomped off, and Travis turned back to the monitor, but she had a hard time getting back into her flow and eventually gave up and worked on the cleanup instead.

##

That night's party was worse. The noise was so loud and constant that Travis was surprised the authorities weren't called on them. I really should have asked Will to hang out tonight.

Of course, if she had, she would have been coming back to this, and that wouldn't have been any better. At least this way, she was able to hide in her room before the guests started arriving. But it didn't matter once the speakers were cranked up. Travis couldn't even hear her music through her headphones, and the bass shook her bed hard enough to make sleep an impossibility.

##

When she braved the world beyond her bedroom door the next morning, her father was passed out on her couch and Lydia was just finishing clearing everything off her broken table. Man, I kind of liked that table.

"Good morning, Travis. Breakfast is on the counter." Lydia's voice was its usual cheerful self, and Travis couldn't wrap her mind around that.

"Thanks." She walked over to the couch and shook her dad's arm. "Dad, come on. Bed time."

Her father grumbled incoherently, his eyes half-opening.

"I can't carry you." She tugged on his arm.

He stood up, not stable on his feet, and shuffled off in the direction his daughter pushed him.

"Sorry about this," Travis mumbled as she watched her father stumble into the master bedroom.

"It's all right, dear. I knew who I was getting involved with when I applied for the job."

"Oh." She did check references...and still took this job?

"I made waffles, and there are some fresh strawberries in the refrigerator."

"Thanks." Travis shook her head and headed toward the kitchen.

##

Since moving to New Glory, weekends had become a time for helping Oma run errands. But now that she was living with her parents again, she really didn't know what to do with herself. She offered to help Lydia clear out the debris, but the housekeeper wouldn't hear of it.

"Surely you'd rather go out with friends, or take a walk in a park, or do something to get out of here."

Boy, would I! "I really don't know anyone here yet. Except for this one guy from work."

"Ooh, a boy?" Lydia dragged part of the coffee table, a jagged shard of top and leg, over to the pile of garbage.

"He has a boyfriend."

"That's too bad." She gave Travis a motherly smile as the girl chuckled. "Well, I don't know what the young people do for fun these days. My nieces spend most of their free time in the virtual world."

"The virtual world? What's that?" Travis stacked some cups, most of them cracked, and Lydia didn't stop her.

"It's like an interactive movie, except you're actually in the movie. At least, that's how the girls explain it."

"Oh." Why would you want to live in an interactive movie when you have a whole city to explore? And then she thought about the boy sitting on the front porch across from her parents. ""Oh! And so that's why someone would wear goggles while playing on their tablet."

"No." Lydia spoke so sharply that Travis jumped. "And if you see someone doing that, you tell someone straightaway."

"Oh." And that kid was doing it out in the open?