Paradise Wrecked - Chasing Normal, Arc 3

Scene 17: A Growing Pain

A month behind schedule, the production swung into high gear after the party. Travis couldn't remember the last time she was so busy. Her daily agenda was full; her inbox was empty because everyone else was too insanely busy to yell at her. She'd get through a few objects, and then find that half a dozen more had appeared on her list. She was thrilled.

Finally! This is starting to feel like an apprenticeship!

As everything was crazy, lunches were taken as crew members could find a break. One day, the cafeteria was filled to standing room only. The next, there were barely a handful of people inhaling lunch. Despite that, Travis and Will managed to eat lunch together. Both were fairly quiet, though, as they had to eat quickly and get back to their stations. But Travis was grateful for the companionship, and for the fact her mother was no longer talking about sitting with her.

In fact, her mother was kind of looking through her at the moment...in a way she never had before. She can't be that angry with me for leaving the party, can she? Travis hadn't even had a chance to explain why she'd left. Not that it mattered; she knew her mother would laugh it off.

At home, her mother locked herself in her bedroom, saying she needed to gather her energy for the next day's shooting. It was completely melodramatic and a welcome, if odd, change in her mother's habit. Travis didn't care. It meant she could hang out with Lydia and read and sketch in the peace and quiet of her common area.

Friday morning, her mother was back to her bubbly self. As she flitted around the larger common area, Travis mouthed to Lydia, What's gotten into her?

Lydia shrugged and mouthed back, She told me this morning she's having an intimate get-together.

My mother doesn't know what an intimate get-together looks like, Travis responded. She puffed out her cheeks and let out a harsh breath before turning to watch her mother.

==

Will settled into the seat across from her, "Have anything fun planned this weekend?"

"I was thinking about helping my grandmother do her grocery shopping." Travis had her phone to her ear and was drumming her fingertips on the table. "Come on. Pick up," she mumbled.

Will arched an eyebrow at her, and she waved him off. The phone on the other end suddenly clicked, and Travis found herself dealing with an answering machine. Rats! "Hi, Oma. It's Travis. Is it okay if I stay with guys this weekend? Let me know. Bye." She hung up the phone and set it beside her plate.

"You want to talk about it?" Will offered.

Travis couldn't look up past the top edge of her plate. "Mom's apparently hosting a small party tonight."

"Wow! She really does love her parties, doesn't she?"

"She likes being the center of attention," Travis growled.

Will scraped the plate with his fork trying to scoop up some potatoes. "A small party can't be that bad, right?"

Travis grimaced. "Yeah. Just my parents and fifty to a hundred other people."

"Fifty to a hundred?"

"Yeah. Mom's confused about what constitutes a small gathering."

"So, you're going to hide out at your grandparents'?"

"That's the plan, if Oma calls me back." Her phone chimed to announce an incoming text from her grandmother: We'll be happy to spend the weekend with you. Let us know when you're on your way.

"Good news, I take it." Will noticed her grin.

Travis snapped her phone shut. "The best."

==

The moment her work was finished, Travis wasted no time racing home and packing. She let Lydia know she was going. "You know, just in case her royal highness wonders." Lydia shook her head at Travis' sarcasm.

She got to her grandparents' house just in time for a hearty dinner and a relaxed conversation. After dinner, she pulled out her tablet and sat down with her grandfather in his workshop. 

"These look great, Travis. You've really put a lot of thought into them." Her grandfather tapped a few keys on the tablet and in a moment, Travis' blueprints were displayed on the monitor above the workbench. 

Her heart beat raced. "Thanks. I've had a lot of time to work on them. I still haven't figured out how I want to style the covers."

"That's all right," he said, referencing the screen as he gathered tools and materials. "That can come later."

Her grandfather had been a MicroTech circuits designer for a few decades, and he moved across boards and wires with a speed and a fluidity unlike anything Travis had ever seen. He fused a few circuits and wires onto boards no larger than Travis' fingernails, and then slid them in front of her and handed her his soldering pen. "Want to try a few?"

"Really?" She'd never actually thought she would get to build her own creations, and now a master circuit designer was going to show her how. She reached for the pen, and her phone went off. "Sorry." She didn't recognize the number, but it was local, so she answered it. "Yes?" Her head dropped. "Yes. Yes, they are." Her eyes turned sadly toward the monitor. "I see. Yes, I'll be right there." She hung up and shoved the phone back in her project.

"Is there a problem?"

"Yeah, I have to meet a whole new police station." Her grandfather looked shocked. "Sorry. Mom and Dad are being held at the station, and I have to go get them out." She looked at the half-built circuit boards on the bench, and tears welled at the corner of her eye. This is so unfair!

Her grandfather started putting away the tools and loose materials. "You'd better get your jacket. It's a little cold out. I'll get your grandmother."

Travis stomped all the way up to her room, but it did nothing to alleviate her frustration.