Admiring the Light

Ep 3

"That's not what I asked, where's Dad?" Natalie asked again, keeping her tone even as she restated her question. She really didn't want to get in a fight with her mother, even though she was shaken by her actions.

"Probably in our room, using the bed that my money paid for, why?" The woman snapped again, taking a sip of water. "Maybe I'll just stop paying the fucking mortgage, get out of here and finally move to Texas." She grunted. "He can take care of you two if he's so confident in his job."

"You wouldn't do that, because even if Dad took over the mortgage, you wouldn't have enough to buy another house. I guess I'm too small minded to understand your conflict." She shifted her feet, glancing over at the hallway leading to her parents room. "Sad but true, guess I'm stuck supporting three freeloaders because I don't want to be on the streets myself. Love the bullshit I get tossed." Her mother laughed wryly.

"Yeahh, just the way the cookie crumbles, I guess. Have a good night, Mom!" Natalie smiled and pulled her mother in for a hug, as one sided as it was. "Are you on call tonight? Or are you free?"

"Some others are, why do you need to know?! It doesn't affect you in any way, you hide in your room." She hissed, her eyes narrowed further. But Natalie was already hurrying back upstairs, she didn't want to disturb her father, even though she knew he wouldn't mind. "Because I care more than you think, you're my mom! Love you! Good night!"

But once she was behind her closed bedroom door, the phone was out, her fingers flying across the little touchscreen as she sent her girlfriend a quick dm. "What if she gets that money somehow..." She muttered to herself. "Would Dad even be able to support us..."

...

Natalie let out a yawn, bags under her eyes as she trudged into her first period, her shoes squeaking below her with wet footprints behind. This math room in particular was a dreary gray, with open space in the middle and tables along the sides. Boxes were piled on them, and the desks scattered throughout for students had obviously been brought in as an afterthought, a computer lab turned into a makeshift classroom.

The girl hadn't gotten the best sleep, and the other four people in the room glanced up to look at her. "Mmph... Calculus..." She grunted a little as her green eyes scanned the whiteboard, and seeing "QUIZ TODAY :)" got those eyes open.

"Come onnn, the only thing I'm being quizzed on are my abilities to impulsively answer and act like I can do math, you know that!" She laughed and took a paper from her teacher, though they didn't appear impressed.

A younger person with black hair and equally dark clothing, they copied the girl's joking. "Natalie, I agree with you, these are some confusing theorems, and they're made by a bunch of old dead guys, making it even worse for you. But, sadly, you have to learn them and do the work, as boring as it is." They sighed. "And just between us, why would I want to teach a curriculum, do my job? I'd love to bullshit my way through a lesson. But sadly, responsibility prevails, even for me."

"Ah, so we're both on the same page here, good to know! I'll try my best!" She smiled, a little sweat rolling down her forehead under her many layers of clothing. She had underestimated the power of autumn, and worn a black turtleneck under her denim jacket.

Her baggy sweatpants kept scrunching up near her shoes, and she could feel every fold against her leg like it was being amplified. "Hot and sweaty for the rest of the day, guess I don't even need exercise today." She laughed quietly,

"What is a reasonable estimate for the limit as x approaches 6 of f of x... uhhh, no clue, quiz. Good question, nice curveball!" She sped through the packet, before she pushed it to the side in favor of her scrap paper. "Get all the easy problems done... probably like, two of them."