getting nowhere fast

jamie stopped, taking her sucker out of her mouth and staring at it. "...oh god, you don't think he stole this from the soul they're loading up for me, do you?" she asked. "...i'm gonna say no for my own peace of mind, cherry's my favorite flavor," she said, putting the sucker back in her mouth. "if kids are sick, they probably shouldn't be eating sugary candy in the first place. they're here to get better, not get high blood sugar," jamie said, shrugging. "so! what wild shit's happened so far? anything interesting? please, no 'foreign object up the ass' stories though, i'm sick of hearing how stupid people are."

when she heard his voice, she smiled, knowing it meant piper was home from school. she didn't hear any grumbling or any clunky footsteps, so it must have meant she had a decent day. the other day, a new teacher that took over one of her classes because her previous teacher retired called her to complain about piper not verbally speaking - to which she said was piper's god given right. they shared a few words and the teacher wasn't happy, but jamie didn't give two shits what the teacher thought. she assumed nothing bad went down, otherwise she figured the teen would have told her immediately. jamie was in the middle of getting things ready for dinner later when he walked into the kitchen and she gave him a smile. "always," she said. "i need a vacation, that's what i need," jamie said, only half joking. "she say how her day went? specifically anything about miss poling having a bitch fit about her not wanting to talk?" she hadn't gotten a call from the teacher, but that didn't mean nothing went down during class. she'd be damned if any teacher tried to make her kid uncomfortable.

So...Sadie may or may not be fully supporting her younger brother's 3rd grade blackmarket slime business. No one could say she wasn't an enabler, but she was even more so when it came to the 8 year old in her life. It was why she was shopping for ingredients he could add to spice up the slime (and of course jack up the price at his discretion). Standing in the desired aisle, her gaze shifted between various containers of glitter and other potential mix-ins. She grabbed one down off of the shelf before shaking it a little in her hand, turning to the person near her. "Hey so a question. Say you were gonna make some slime but with some fun stuff in it. What would you put in it?" She had some ideas, but she always loved to get different opinions before fully settling on any one choice.

she hated this aisle more than anything in the world - but piper had a school project due, and of course she told her at the last minute, so here she was. near glitter. the one thing she despised more than anything in the world. "well... if you want it pretty, a lot of kids like glitter. but, be warned - that shit will follow you for years. i'm still finding glitter from a slime fiasco from five years ago," jamie said. "if you're making a clear slime, i suggest finding little objects that can 'float' around on the inside once you mix it in, kids love that. and if you're wanting to do a sensory-related one, make a crunchy slime. you can literally use anything. those plastic beads are a really good one for that." it was embarrassing how much she knew about slime making. "ooh, and if you want it 'fluffy', use shaving cream. that's really fun."

"you've gotta help me," archie said, turning to the person nearest, "what do you think i should get that says, 'i'm sorry i forgot to do the laundry like you asked'?" it wasn't unlike him to use sweet food as a way of apologising to his wife for his inability to do any household chore first time around. he couldn't explain why he never did what was asked, it always just seemed to be forgotten about until the moment he knew she'd come home and he'd have to come up with an excuse. archie just always seemed to be distracted by something. "i don't think my back can take another night on the spare bed."

"instead of trying to butter someone up, how about you just... do the laundry?" jamie asked, raising a brow as if it should be common sense. it was to her, anyways. "just do the laundry. it's not that hard. but if you insist on bribing her to forgive you... get her favorite snacks," she said.

Cemile didn’t think she could do what Jamie did. Honestly, being a mom at fifteen had to be hard. “I don’t know how you did it, but kudos for proving that you can be a young mom and do the job well.” Taking a deep breath and she added with a smile—trying to lighten the mood. "If it were me, I’d end up with premature wrinkles. This is why I’m a better dog mom." Did she want children? Yeah. Someday. But right now, that was the last thing on her mind. "Oh? I'm curious how wild were you? You don't seem like you're super wild."

"it definitely wasn't easy, but her dad's a big help, and my mom taught me a lot. the first few nights, she'd get up with me during feedings - she helped me with my very first diaper blow out... which, thank god, because i had the biggest panic attack and couldn't even comfort my own kid. you really don't realize how overwhelming a diaper change can be until you get the blowout that makes you wonder if it's too late to sign your parental rights over," jamie said with a small laugh. of course she'd never thought of it before, but she did have some difficult moments she definitely wished she wouldn't have had to deal with. "oh, wild as wild can be, i guess. my father says i've been the human manifestation of an 80's grunge playlist since i was born."

Scrolling absentmindedly through her texts, Anita had zoned out from her surroundings, her focus not straying from the lit up screen in front of her until the sound of a woman in her vicinity calling out loudly pulled her out of her daze. It was safe to say she was startled at first, her head turning sharply to lay eyes upon the stranger. It took a few moments for her to put two and two together to realise the pair were mother and daughter, not siblings. “That’s your daughter?” The dark haired woman questioned with a quirked brow, perhaps it was just that the other was rather petite in stature. “I’m sorry, I just assumed you were siblings.” She replied with a stifled chuckle. “And I don’t mean to come across as rude. Either you’re a young mother or just have a phenomenal skincare routine.”

jamie nodded, keeping her eyes on piper for a few seconds before turning her attention to the woman beside her. "she is and i am. had her when i was sixteen. we get questions like that all the time, it doesn't even phase me anymore. i'm not proud of being so young when i had her, but i'm proud of her and myself and her dad. it's rare that kids like me and him defy the odds."

"yeah man, i'm almost thirty - i'm not athletic anymore, i can't keep up with her without almost dying of oxygen deprivation," jamie said with a laugh. "oh, absolutely. imagine my fear when she ran away from me in target when she was a toddler. worst experience of my life - i wasn't worried people were gonna judge me for not having my eyes on her every millisecond, i was scared they were gonna say i shoulda run faster. i swear they have super speed when they're little." she nodded in agreement - she knew she'd leave a kid or two behind. "i'm right there with you. i wouldn't even notice half my kids weren't there if i had that many - until i realize there's not enough chaos."

"Parents are superheroes in my opinion," he declares, meaning every word. He listens attentively to the woman's frustrated rant, nodding his head in sympathy. Although he doesn't have any children of his own, he can empathize with the challenges of parenting. "But you know what?" he continues, "It's not an exact science. Each child is different, and what works for one might not work for the other." He pauses for a moment, reflecting on his own teenage years.  Suddenly curious, he asks, "Who's her mom?" Levi’s completely confused now. He wonders how much of the daughter's behaviour is due to her mother's influence.

"the good ones are, anyways," she said with a nod. she knew that in most cases, the "bad" parents had a story, and sometimes it was an unfortunate story, so she tried not to judge. but the bad parents... she had no sympathy or empathy for them, just strict judgement. "oh, i know. i learned that the hard way. the time out chair worked perfectly fine with her, but my brother would have a complete meltdown. he needed a time out room so he could throw pillows around to get his anger out without breaking any other furniture." the memories now were kind of funny, but at the time, it was overwhelming and she wanted to run away. at his question, she pursed her lips, raising a hand. "me. i'm her mom. i'm the reason for all..." jamie did jazz hands towards piper. "...that."

"no, no, no, you'll have to take no as an answer because when i say i'm terrified of the ocean, i mean i am tremendously terrified of the ocean. i don't touch the water, i'll freak out, exposure therapy is not the way to go for me. i'll end up a screaming, crying ball of an anxiety attack and throwing up all over the place. i'm the same way about the dark. if i'm in a room and it's pitch black, i melt down. can't handle the water," she rambled, speaking quickly. the one time her brother forced her into the water as a teenager, it ended up in a melt down so bad she was vomiting for days after - one of the worst moments of her life. "trust me when i say you don't want panic attack jamie to break out, the thought of being in the ocean is night terror inducing."

"Boo. I mean -- totally valid and I'd pay a lot of money to see you go crazy on an officer, but still boo. We don't wanna get the brother involved. Girls' night only." Dragging her beer towards her, Mikayla blows raspberries between her lips and considers. "Truth, truth, truth... okay, fine: what's something no one knows about you? And I'm talking the super weird stuff. Like certifiably crazy stuff."

"it's not the same when it's my brother. you'd think he'd give me an easy time, but no - he'll do anything to irritate me," she said. she'd had a few run ins with the law - her brother arrested her once when she was younger. but every time she got locked up, he'd be there, standing at her cell and grinning at her. it was never anything too terrible - usually driving violations, but her license had been suspended at the time, so she was arrested for it. "shit, everything about me is super weird," she said. "i talk to my clients like they'll respond back. like i'm having a conversation with a friend. i ask them their opinion on makeup options, hair options. i swear sometimes they tell me."

"Ten siblings?" That was the size of a football team where he was from. This woman grew up with a family the size of a whole football team, Zero couldn't fathom that. "Yeah, okay, that really is wild. Every Christmas must have looked like the McCallister family Christmas from Home Alone for you."

jamie laughed lightly, nodding. "yeah, pretty much. i try my best to keep her from causing them any grief, but she's faster than i am and i'm too old to chase her anymore. i get too winded. and to think i keep wanting another one when i know i wouldn't be able to catch a two-year-old," she said. jamie chuckled at the home alone reference, nodding again. "the sad thing is, i've been left behind during family trips before. i mean, i usually went to a neighbor's house and someone always came back to get me, but with that many kids, i don't blame my parents for losing track of me. at least it was only one kid at a time when it happened. i know if i had that many kids, i would've lost half of them."

Teens these days had it easy. An easier time compared to her own adolescence. She suspected that the stricter laws on discipline might have played a role, though. Since Cemile had no experience with parenting, she was refraining from offering any advice—choosing to keep her opinions to herself. Instead, she shifted the topic to something less personal. "Wow, you look really young." She complimented the woman. The other couldn't have been older than thirty, but maybe she’d won the genetic lottery. "Don't worry, she'll grow out of it." She reassured. 

jamie nodded. "i'm twenty-nine. had her when i was sixteen. she'll be fourteen in november and the closer it gets, the more scared i get. i feel like she's smarter with personal decisions than i was at her age, but the thought's still scary," she said with a small sigh, waving an arm to get piper's attention and signing 'leave the birds alone' before letting her hands rest in her lap. "i kinda hope she doesn't. i don't think she'd be piper without all that... that. i'm still a wild child, i'm just... more responsible about it now, i guess."