The Creator

Chapter 3

Word Count: 1214

Warnings: None!

Author's note: Here is chapter 3 of the creator! I'm sorry I left it on another cliffhanger but chapter 4 will be posted Thursday!

"Momma, do I look pretty?" Autumn said while twirling around in your bedroom. Your eyes filled with pride as you look at your daughter. She was a perfect mixture of you and Tyler. She had your eyes but had Tyler's nose and smile.

"You look like the prettiest little girl in Dema!" You pulled her into a hug. You could tell she was a little nervous for her job assignment today.

"What about me? Do I look pretty?" Tyler joked while walking into the bedroom, tightening his bowtie.

"You can be pretty too!!" Autumn squealed, running up and giving Tyler a hug too. Tyler picked her up and spun her around in a circle.

"My baby girl isn't much a baby anymore, now is she?" He came over and put his arm around your waist, pulling you in close.

"Nope, she's growing up." You smiled as both of you watched Autumn play with her hair in the mirror. You heard crying from the other room, signaling that Westley was up from his nap.

"I'll go get him!" You kissed Tyler quickly before walking into your son's room. You picked him up and swayed him in your arms to calm him down. Almost instantly his crying turned into cooing.

You decide to go see if Connor was ready for the Job Assignment so you head down the hallway to his room. The door was ajar so you decided to slowly open it instead of knocking. He was hunched over his desk which doubled as a lab table so he could work on his homework for his DNA testing lab classes.

"You ready, bud?" You asked and he nodded, still focusing on what he was doing. "Okay, we're leaving in five so head downstairs." You walked downstairs to see Tyler helping Autumn put her shoes on.

"Ready?" Tyler looked up at you and you nodded. Connor was right behind you which meant it was time to head out to downtown Dema in your province. It was about a two hour car ride of Westley crying and Autumn and connor fighting. By the time you guys arrived, you and Tyler both had headaches.

"Here we are!" Tyler announced as he pulled into a parking spot. You helped get Westley out of his car seat, and then you took Autumn's hand. It was sweaty, and you could tell she was nervous. You gave her hand a tiny squeeze, and she looked up at you and flashed a tiny smile.

"You have to breathe! Everything is going to be okay!" you tried to reassure her.

"I hate this and I hate Downtown!" she complained. You rubbed her hand with your thumb.

There was a Downtown Dema in every province, and they each look different. It's where your bishop, Keon's, would stay if he wasn't in the Dema headquarters. Your downtown for your province had ivy growing on almost every building, and the main coliseum where they hold concerts for the listeners, and events like job assignment, was huge. The green from the ivy was the most color you had seen since Dema was established.

"Okay sweetie, go find your seat and we will be sitting up in row 8! Look for us and smile big!!" you reminded her. You and Tyler took turns giving her a kiss and wishing her luck. You watched at Connor gave her a little pep talk, and then Autumn walked away with the rest of her class.

The rest of your family headed up to your seats. The room was filled with about 300 second graders and their families. The event resembled a high school graduation. They called each second grader's name alphabetically and they would walk across the stage and pick up a diploma like scroll. They couldn't open it until they were at home during dinner, which was a tradition.

A holograph of Nico was portrayed in front of everyone as he introduces the start of the Job Assignment. He couldn't actually be there, because no one ever actually meets him in person unless you are a bishop, one of the niner's, or a listener or creator.

The lead Bishop of your province, Keons, came out on stage, and everyone stood up. Keons raised his hand signaling that everyone could sit down again. He started to read off the names, and about 200 names later, they finally got the J's.

"Autumn Joseph," the bishop called. You quickly grabbed Tyler's hand and gave it a squeeze. You watched Autumn stand from her chair and walk across the stage and grab the scroll. She said a small thank you and turned to the crowd and did a little bow before she walked back to her seat.

You let out the breath you didn't know you were holding in, and you let go of Tyler's hand. You saw Autumn look up, trying to find you and Tyler. You gave her a thumbs up, hoping that she saw. The event finally finished, and they all drove back home.

The car ride was quiet because Connor and Westley were asleep, and you could tell that Autumn was dying to open up her assignment. She kept on thumbing at the rope that tied it together.

"Keons is scary," Autumn whispered, "And his hand was cold when he gave me my assignment."

"Is that so?" Tyler spoke.

There wasn't much talking the rest of the way home either, and it was one of those moments where you missed listening to music the most.

"Can we have dinner early tonight so I can open it?" Autumn asked eagerly as you all get comfortable back at home.

"Not tonight," Tyler spoke before you could even answer. You shot him a quick look of confusion.

"What? Why?" you asked and he shrugged.

"It's Saturday, I have my evening walk with Josh," he explained. Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, Tyler and Josh go on this 2-3 hour walk before dinner. You always thought it was weird, but you never questioned it.

"You're really going to put your little bromance walk before your own daughter?" you asked, upset that he would even think about it.

"I just really need to go on this walk, okay?" Tyler said, annoyed, and he headed out the door with a slam. It left you wide-eyed, and confused as to what just happened. Tyler and you rarely fought, and he rarely got angry.

"Is Daddy okay?" Autumn asked, sitting on the couch with Connor who was also staring at you.

You rub your forehead with your hand and groaned. "He's fine, and he's just going to have to miss dinner and the opening. I'll start dinner now." You headed to the kitchen, still in confusion as of why Tyler needed to go on that walk so badly.

Connor and Autumn stayed in the family room, working on homework and watching Westley while you were fixing up mac and cheese. In about thirty minutes dinner was ready, and everyone, except Tyler, was waiting for Autumn to open her job assignment.

"Should I wait for Daddy?" She asked one more time but you shook your head.

"Go ahead, sweetie." You give her a reassuring smile.

She took the scroll and slowly opened it, and you watched her eyes grow wide.