Troubles at Home - Chasing Normal, Arc 7

Scene 38: Sneaking Out

The next day, Travis tried to slip out before her mother woke up. Sneaking out to go to the apprenticeship your own mother set up for you is insane, she thought as she closed her bedroom door behind her.

"Hey, pumpkin."

How is Dad awake this early? He's never awake before noon. "Hi, Dad."

"Your mom wanted me to let you know she's already messaged the studio and told them you're still sick." When Travis rolled her eyes, he quietly chuckled. "Yeah, I'm apparently sick today, too."

Travis slumped against the wall that divided the two common areas. "Why do you let her do this? We can both lose our jobs."

"You know how your mother is, Travis." Her actual name. Her parents had had a heated discussion on the matter. "I'm going back to bed." And a heartbeat later, he passed out on the couch.

Travis envied him. She looked toward the kitchen where Lydia was hard at work. A smoothie sat on the counter with a banana next to it. Travis slung her bag over the bar stool's back and swung the banana back and forth. Lydia said nothing, but offered her a small smile.

Her phone went off in her bag, and she pulled the bag onto her lap to fish around for it. "Will?" She answered it. "Hey?"

"Hey. Word around the studio is you're out sick again."

"Um...yeah." She coughed for emphasis, but even she had to admit it was a weak effort.

" You sound it," she could hear him fighting to not laugh. "What's really going on?"

Travis looked over her shoulder at her lightly snoring father. "Something tells me I don't have to tell you."

"Okay. Can you get out of there unnoticed?"

"I've tried. Twice. I haven't succeeded yet." I used to be better at this, right?

Travis was trying so hard to remember the last time she snuck out of the apartment that she almost missed Will's, "Do you need a distraction?"

"Aren't you at work?" What kind of distraction would he cause?

"Yeah, but some of the guys aren't. They didn't make it into apprenticeships, and then washed out of college. I can make some calls." The grin came through as clearly as if she were looking at him,

"That may not be necessary." Travis looked over her shoulder again, "Gotta go. I'll message you in a few."

"If I don't respond, we're shooting."

Travis set her phone on the counter and looked at her father. He can't stop what he doesn't see, right?

"Travis," Lydia began tentatively, "you know I don't like to interfere, but you really need to think this through."

"If I go to work, what's the worst that can happen?" Travis finished the last of her smoothie. "I'm more afraid of what happens if I don't go to work." In her heart, that was true. Her apprenticeship was too valuable to let slip through her fingers. If she listened to her mother, she risked losing it and her chance to move on with her life. But nothing would change if she sat here and let herself be imprisoned.

Lydia sighed heavily. Travis sympathized, but couldn't come up with a compelling argument for staying. She slung her bag across her body, and slipped out the door as quietly as she could. She waited until she was in the building's lobby before she texted Will. No immediate response,

The walk to the studio was light but slow. Travis was just waiting for her mother to jump out from behind some building and drag her back to the apartment. But of course her mother was asleep. It did nothing to alleviate Travis' fears that something would go wrong.

She snuck into the lobby, taking advantage of Lorraine's known smoke breaks to make it into the studio without notice. In the elevator, she finally relaxed.

And then her phone went off. Her heart raced as she pulled it out. It was Will: You rebel! See you soon!

She messaged him back: I'm here.

When the elevator doors opened on the animators' floor, Will was standing there. "You really did it! I didn't think you would."

I wasn't so sure, either. "Yeah, but I made it out without my lunch bag. Looks like it's cafeteria slop for me today."

"That beats sitting at home playing on your tablet."

"How did you... No, never mind. See you at lunch?"

"I'll look for the table with the slop." He continued down the hall toward the stairs as Travis took the last few steps to the animator workspace.

Her phone rang again. The screen read Mom.