Paralysis

Chapter Two

"I'm home" Olive shouted to her mother and younger brother as she walked through the door. Her little brother was playing with cards on the carpet in the family room as he laid on his stomach. Olive stepped over him, almost losing her balance in the process. She turned to catch herself on the way to her bedroom down the slim hallway.
"You might fall on your face one of these days." Her brother joked, reminding Olive of her random clumsiness. Olive cackled suddenly; unable to control her laughter.
"And I bet you'd laugh until you peed your pants, Micah." Olive responded, tittering to herself. Micah nodded his head fervidly.
"Yeah, probably." Micah acknowledged with Olive. She chuckled with a widened smile. After tossing her backpack on her bed, she took her bow and cello from the case and placed them on her stand next to her dresser. Olive grabbed her work clothes, walked across the hall in the bathroom and shut the door behind her. She changed out of her current outfit in a rushed routine.
"Hey, sweetie?" Olive's mother squeaked from the other side of the door.
"Hang on, Ma!" Olive exclaimed, placing her hair up in a high bun to keep the curls out of the way. She then pinned her name tag on her work blouse. After opening the door to face her mother, Olive was still rearranging the uniform to fit in a comfortable way.
"Guess what, mo réaltín?" Olive's mother asked with an elated smile, letting her Gaelic come through. Olive's eyes lit up over the enthusiastic tone in her mother's voice.
"Dè a th' ann, Mam?" Olive noticed her mother's glowing smile, antsy to hear what she had to say.
"I got that job I told you about." She said, holding a bag.
"Really? That's great!" Olive's mood suddenly shifted upon hearing the news.
"I went by for my second interview and they handed me the uniform. They said the first went so well that they wanted me to work right away." Olive's mother stated joyfully, pulling her uniform from the bag. Olive beamed at her mother, her chest becoming warm while the back of her neck and ears felt like static was running through her vessels.
"So, you're officially a trauma scene cleaner." Olive snickered, feeling intrigued at the idea of her mother working in that type of field.
"Well, they call it a Forensics Cleaner, but yes." Olive's mother explained. The way the title sounded made Olive beam at her mother.
"That sounds so much cooler." Olive proclaimed excitedly. Her mother shrugged.
"I know the job itself doesn't sound all that fascinating, but I can earn good money if they decide to keep me around long enough. Hopefully I can work good hours." Olive's mother explained
"It really does sound cool, Ma. Maybe I should get into that profession." Olive considered, grinning slightly.
"I wouldn't get your hopes up. You have to be at least eighteen, and I'm only doing this because, as you remember, Alec's and Austin's firm went under after Richard left." Olive's mother seemed disheartened with the reminder.
"I know, Ma. I'm sure you'll get back to doing what you're used to." With Olive's reassurance, her mother gave her a quick grin.
"Going from a clinical psychiatrist with my own office to working for a forensics clean-up unit is probably an off-putting switch." Olive's mother joked. Olive shook her head, preparing more soothing words.
"I think we all do what we have to. I'm supposed to focus on being a teenager and getting an education, but I wanted to get a part time job on the side in order to help you."
"You're right, grá mo chroí. A leithéid de leanbh cumasach!  I couldn't have asked for a better daughter. You make me so proud every day, mo stór" Olive's mother replied, lovingly. Olive shrugged her shoulders out of slight embarrassment.
"Yes, yes, I know." Olive was shyly looking away upon hearing such wondrous compliments that her mother showered her with. Each day that went by, her mother was always informing Olive and Micah how proud she was of the both of them.
"Don't push yourself too much. If you need time to rest, you call in sick right away. You don't need to be working too hard at your age."
"I definitely will if I need to, but I manage my time decently, Ma."
"That's my girl." Olive's mother patted her on the back with a gracious smile on her fair skinned, oval shaped face. Olive hugged her mother warmly.
"I'm gonna be late for work, but I'm so happy for you that you got that job, Ma." Olive exclaimed before pacing across the hall going toward her bedroom.
"Well, I won't keep you. Thank you sweetheart, and have a good night at work." Olive's mother stated with an elated tone. Olive took her jacket to bring with her before shutting her bedroom door behind her. Olive walked into the living room to see that her brother had switched from playing cards on the floor, to watching a show on the television from the couch.
"Hey dork, I'm heading off to work. Try not to stay up so late this time. It was like waking up a boulder this morning." Olive pleaded with Micah, smiling down at him.
"Fine, fine. Have a good night at work, sissy." Micah playfully rolled his eyes, then stood up to hug Olive before she left the house. After walking outside and locking the door behind her, Olive unlocked her bike from one of the pipes at the side of her house. She rode off down the street in attempts to get to work on time. The area was filled with much more traffic than Olive was used to. She had hoped that would mean it would be busier than usual in order to keep herself from dying of boredom while working through her entire shift. She was thankful that she had her coworker to talk with during the evening hours of a school night.