2.22 Does Anyone ever Leave this Town?

"I don't need you hanging around me all the time," Kaira whines at her sister. Ever since Kaira started high school, Tatum has been hovering near her all the time. It's so annoying. 

"Plumbob, Kaira, I just wanted to ask you something!" Tatum snaps at her. 

They're too paranoid to talk about her "imaginary friend" at home near their mother and grandfather, who might not believe them or think they're disturbed. Both not great options. "What?" 

"Is Lu still..." 

"Yeah," Kaira sighs, "Still there. All the time. How's it going with you?"

Tatum sighs too. "I'm not far. I don't get how any of the chemicals are supposed to be mixed together. I've been watching tutorials on the internet, but it's a lot of trial and error." 

"How much longer will I have to put up with him?" Kaira sounds desperate and frustrated, causing Tatum to frown with concern. 

"I wish I could say. Honestly, it could take until I graduate." 

"What? That long?" 

"Yeah! I can't work on it all the time and it's complicated! I don't see you spending your study halls reading up on chemical bonds, or staying up late to run experiments!" 

Kaira looks at her sister, exasperated. "I get it, I'm a terrible sister." 

"No, that's not what I meant! I just...ugh, I just meant it'll take a long time. I'm sorry." 

Kaira looks out the window silently. Me too. 

Back at home, Dot has a surprise visitor during her daycare shift. 

"Ume! What're you doing here?" 

Ume smiles guiltily. "To ask for your help?" 

Dot hugs her younger sister but raises an eyebrow. "Help?" 

She looks at the crib in the corner. A baby is inside of it. 

"A baby? When, who-," Dot is shocked, to say the least. The laundry bag in her hand drops to the floor.

The baby starts to cry and Ume rushes to tend to her. 

"Her name is Tamera. She was a...surprise." 

"I don't mean to be rude, but-," 

"The father? I'll tell you everything, but-." Tamera's cries become louder, "Let me handle this first." 

Dot has kids to tend to, herself. 

***

After all the kids are put down for a nap, Dot joins her sister upstairs. 

Ume looks at the controller guiltily, "I'm sorry, I just haven't had a lot of me time lately..." 

Dot waves off her explanation, "I get it. You can keep playing, if you explain everything." 

Ume takes a deep breath. "So you know how I was living in housing from the science lab?" 

"Yeah?" 

"Yeeeeah. Well. I got to know one of my co-workers there. He was kind of spacey, talked to himself a lot, got lost all the time... so I got paired up with him for our experiments. It was supposed to be kind of an initiation since I was new and just an intern. But we actually got along really well! And, um, one thing lead to another..." 

Dot chuckles, "I don't need those details. But who is he?"

"Promise you won't be mad." 

"Ume-," 

"Promise." 

"I promise." 

"Woodrow Bull. Your half-brother." 

Dot doesn't say anything for a little too long. 

"Dot? Please, say something. I know it sounds bad-," 

"Where is he?" she cuts in coolly. "Why isn't he here with you?" 

Ume pauses the game and slowly puts down the controller. "That's the thing, I sorta can't find him." 

"What? What do you mean?" 

"I mean, I can't find him! After I got put on maternity leave, I came back to the office to get my stuff. But he wasn't there. I heard he got transferred to another lab out of town, but he won't pick up my calls. No one from the lab here has heard from him in months. I thought maybe...he called you? Or told you where he went?" 

 Dot sighs, "I haven't heard from him in ages. I tried to call him to meet up for lunch a few months ago, but he didn't pick up. I thought he was just busy. If I had known-,"

Ume waves her hands in a placating gesture, "It's fine! Really. Thanks..."

"When I get my hands on him-,"

"Nooooo, no, no, no! I don't want you chasing him down! I want to deal with this myself."

"But Ume! He's Tamera's father and my brother, we all need to know where he went!"

Ume hangs her head, "I know! But I don't want you getting mad at him, or anyone chasing him to get revenge or whatever. It takes two to tango and all that. I think it'll be better if I find him myself."

Dot shakes her head, "Will you at least talk to a lawyer about your options?"

"A lawyer? Why?"

"Because, Ume, he might not want to come back."

Dot's words hang in the air between them, weighty in the silence.

Dot clasps her younger sister's hand. "Please just consider it. I can find one for you to talk to. You can't just go on a wild goose chase if no one knows where he is."

Ume squeezes Dot's hand in return. "Okay." All of the energy in her body seems to leak out at once. Ume is tired.

"You can stay here for tonight, if you want. You need to get some rest. I'll look up a lawyer while you sleep."

Ume nods, too exhausted to argue. A nap would do wonders.

***

"Uncle Aloiso, wait!" Kaira rushes after her boss. 

"Kaira, I already said no-," 

"But why not?" 

"I can't just replace all of the cream we use based on one beauty vlogger's opinion, that's why. It would be incredibly expensive and we also have never had any complaints about the cream we're using now." 

Kaira scowls at the cobblestone beneath her feet. She thought working at a spa would mean making people look their best, with high quality products. If I owned this place, it would be a way higher end location! 

Aloiso smiles at his niece not unkindly. "I really appreciate your initiative, Kaira. I mean that. Honestly though, this place isn't a luxury spa. Most people living here couldn't afford that."

"So where are the luxury spas, then?" Kaira asks, still angry that her suggestion has been shot down. 

"The closest one to here? Probably in Riverview. The really high end ones, though, are in the big cities or the small but loaded ones. Bridgeport, Hidden Springs, Lucky Palms. Places like that." 

"Then I'll just have to go there!" 

"Really, just because the spa here is lacking?" 

Kaira shakes her head, "No! But everything here is so...old, rundown I mean. Kinda swampy. I want to see something..."

"What? Better? Sorry we don't all live up to your sensibilities." 

Kaira frowns. "I am not a snob! I just...want to see other places. Bigger cities, places with more people! More stuff to do!" she smiles at the thought. 

Aloiso allows himself a smile smile. "Sure. But for now, you live here, in 'old, rundown' Twinbrook." 

"Yeah, yeah. Just let it go already!" 

Now he really beams at her, "Not a chance." 

Uncle Aloiso drops Kaira off at home. She comes into the house to say hello to her mom. 

"Say hiiiii to Kaira, sweetie!" Dot tickles the toddler in her arms. 

Karia watches her mother with a pang of sadness. This town is so depressing. Everyone here is so happy to just...stay at home. Have kids. Has mom even been outside of Twinbrook? 

Pulling herself out of her thoughts, Kaira waves back with an unconvincing smile. 

"Hiiiiiiiii mom. I'm going upstairs to do my homework." 

Kaira trudges upstairs and is surprised to find her aunt sitting on the couch, blinking sleep out of her eyes. 

"Oh, hi Kaira. Sorry, I just woke up. You're home late," she yawns and stretches. 

"Yeah, I just got home from my job at the spa. Uncle Aloiso drove me here." 

Ume perks up at the mention of her older brother. "Aloiso! How's he doing? I haven't called him yet..." 

Kaira shrugs, "He's fine. He's technically my boss now. He seems to get a kick out of it." 

Ume chuckles. "And how are you doing? I haven't seen you in such a long time." 

Kaira shifts uncomfortably at the undertone of regret in her aunt's voice. She barely remembers Ume at all. "I'm fine, too. Just started high school and everything." Kaira runs a hand through her hair, pauses, and then decides to ask. "Didn't you used to live outside the city?" 

Ume nods, "Yes, technically in a neighbouring town but it was just for research. I spent most of my time in the middle of the bayou collecting samples." 

"But didn't you ever go to that town?" Kaira presses. 

"Sure, lots of times. Went out with my co-workers there whenever we needed a break," she blushes, remembering some of the dates she and Woodrow went on there. "Why?" 

Kaira sighs, "There's, like, no one I know here who has really left this town. I just wanted to know what it's like." 

Ume nods. "I didn't realize it until I moved away, but it can be a bit stifling here if you never leave." 

Kaira turns, a twinkle in her eyes. "Yeah, exactly! I want to get out of this stupid town." 

Ume quirks an eyebrow, "It's not that bad here, Kaira. Really." 

"But even the most "luxurious" place in town here is just our tiny spa. The movie theatre is falling apart, the school is tiny-," 

"That's all true. But your family's here. You also have friends here, right? I'm not saying you should never move away or travel. I'm just saying there are good things here too." 

Kaira "harrumphs" and turns back to her homework. Why is everyone so invested in defending this place? It's so boring! Why can't she be an adult already and be able to move away on her own? 

"Thanks for taking care of him so late," Zoe Whelloff-Goode comes to collect her son several hours after Dot's shift has officially finished. 

"Don't worry about it, Zoe. Emergencies happen. I think my niece here was glad to have some company," she jokes. Tamera laughs as Dot lifts her into the air. 

"See you tomorrow, Dot." 

Dot waves at Zoe. "See you."

Just as Dot is sitting down for dinner, Ume slips out of the door with Tamera. 

"You can still sleep over here," Dot says gently. 

 "I know. But I need some time and space to work out what I'm going to do about Woodrow."

"Will you call the lawyer?"

Ume sighs. "I think so."

"It's for the best, you know."

Ume looks down at Tamera. "I know. I just wish it felt that way."

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AN: I didn't expect Ume and Woodrow to hook up at all. While he's a lot younger than Dot and technically the same generation as Ume, he's still a lot older than she is. Their relationship didn't last much longer after this chapter. Woodrow does still live in Twinbrook, though. I hope he appears again later.

2.21 Friends

On days like today, when it's the weekend and everyone else is "busy", Kaira relents and plays with Lucky. 

Predictably, this usually doesn't go well. 

"Rain? Seriously?" Kaira grumbles. 

Lucky is unphased by the rain. "C'mon, keep jumping!" 

"You don't even get wet!" Kaira snaps, "Or sweat! Or get dirty! Of course you'd like a dumb game like this..." 

Undeterred by her crankiness, Lucky picks up the rock himself and plays. He hums to himself as he jumps across the space themed board. 

Kaira feels like the Watcher is playing a prank on her today. Ha, ha hilarious. She thinks caustically to herself. Why can't she have a friend who likes tea parties inside? 

While it's not a friend for Kaira, Dot does get some happy news from Pancho. 

"A baby? Really? That's wonderful!" 

"A bigger house too? I'm really happy for you two. I hope I can come and visit soon!" the prospect of finally having a niece or nephew to spoil brings a smile to Dot's face. 

The smile turns into a concerned frown when Pancho sighs. 

"What is it?" 

Pancho hesitates, "It's just that...me and Marcie have been fighting lately. I don't want to get into the details, but I think she feels....tied down." 

"But why? Didn't she want to try for a baby?" 

"Oh, no, she's thrilled about that! I meant to...to me. I'm the only guy she's ever dated, and she's my first relationship too. I think she wishes she'd dated around before being with me." Pancho's words are hesitant and slow. Dot can tell he's being careful with his word choice. 

"Is she the only one that feels like that?" 

"...No," the admission is softly spoken, but heavy with emotion, "But I want to make this work." 

"It sounds like you really need to talk to her, Pancho. But just remember, the grass is always greener on the other side. I hope you guys think all of this through..." 

"Yeah, yeah of course. Thanks Dot. I didn't mean for this call to get so depressing, but talking to you helped." 

"Of course, any time." 

Pancho has to go for a shift at work and hangs up not much later. Dot shakes her head sadly as she puts her phone away. She hopes Pancho and Marcie don't hurt each other in the long run. 

She doesn't have a lot of time to think about it, though. Guests for Kaira's birthday party start streaming into the house. 

"Aren't you going to join them?" Lucky asks. 

Kaira glares at him. "When I'm done eating!" 

Her face lights up, though, when she sees a familiar face. 

Her lunch forgotten, Kaira squeals with excitement when she hugs her best friend. 

"Janell! Wow, you're so tall now!" 

"Soon you'll be a giant too!" Janell laughs. "This will be awesome! Just imagine all the sleepovers we're going to have, and prom!" she's almost literally bouncing up and down with anticipation. 

"We'll rule the school together, I promise!" Kaira vows. 

"As long as we have fun, I'm in!" 

Tatum, meanwhile, has slunk upstairs. After another explosive failure at the chemistry set, all she wants is to beat some virtual bad guys. Anything has to be simpler than that damn potion. 

Or so she thought. "Stupid cheating AI," Tatum mumbles, watching her character be vaporized for the tenth time. 

When two of her classmates wander upstairs, she gladly switches to a fun racing game instead. 

"Nice house you have here," Felipe, Elias's cousin, says to Tatum. 

"Thanks," Tatum answers, most of her attention still on the game. Jereme swerves his entire body with his controller, subconsciously trying to avoid a crash. 

"Yes, it's a big improvement over the shack it used to be. Even my family never lived in a dump this deep into the swamp." 

Tatum flushes, unsure of what to say. "Whatever." 

"Smooth," Felipe says sarcastically. 

"It really was!" Jereme says enthusiastically, "Props, Tatum." 

Tatum notices Felipe's smirk disappear, immediately replaced by a look of faint annoyance. 

"Sooo, is Elias here?" she decides to change the subject. 

"What would you want with my loser cousin?" 

"He's my friend." 

"So you're friends with a loser?" 

Tatum crashes her car into Felipe's, only damaging his but using her last life. Her player is removed from the game. 

"I'll be downstairs. Have fun," Tatum says in a shaky voice. She leaves the room as quickly as possible. 

"Did you really need to say all that?" Jereme hisses after Tatum has left. 

"What? Everything I said is objectively true." 

 Jereme rolls his eyes. This is what I get for hanging out with Felipe. Words like "polite" and "nice" just aren't in his vocabulary. "Whatever, man. You're bringing down the atmosphere. That's, like, a sin at a party."

Felipe scoffs, "You call this a party? We're in a dirty, musty, disgusting swamp hosted by a woman dressed like a kid's doll."

Jereme puts down his controller, all of his good mood evaporated. "Play by yourself then."

Felipe shrugs. He usually does.

Downstairs, Tatum blinks away angry tears. Our house isn't that bad. Mom made it so nice upstairs. Elias isn't a loser either. Why does Felipe hate us so much?  She kicks herself for not saying anything back to him. Now she just looks like a scared...loser. Wiping her eyes before her mom can see her, Tatum leaves to go to her room and calm down.

***

About thirty minutes later, Tatum is relieved to discover that no one is upstairs anymore. She hesitantly sits down at the bubble machine. Even though it's legal for teens, she still hasn't tried it yet. She looks at the colourful canisters warily but grabs the hose. She wishes she had some friends here to show her how to use this thing. After fiddling with the hose, she takes a deep breath and steels herself. She inhales the fruity gas slowly. 

She tries to release the air just as slowly, but coughs it all out by accident. 

Hey, that wasn't too bad. She forces a smile onto her face and tries again. 

The result is mostly the same. All of it coughed out in one go. Dejected, Tatum decides to do something else. 

After wandering outside for a few moments aimlessly, Tatum sees her grandfather similarly shuffling around. 

"Grandpa, where're you going?"

"To cheer on your sister! She's blowing out her candles, c'mon!" he takes Tatum's hand and tugs her towards the house. 

Not exactly a candle, Tatum thinks to herself. Her younger sister has naturally decided a mere birthday cake would not be a grand enough gesture to usher her into her teen years. No, an entire bonfire was necessary! 

Kaira is now a fully fledged high schooler. It doesn't feel as...dramatic as she thought it would. Her head still dizzy from the sudden growth spurt, she turns around to half-heartedly cheer on Lu as he ages with her. 

"Uh, honey? It's not my birthday yet," Dot says, slightly worried that maybe Kaira's adjustment to her new height hasn't gone smoothly. 

Feeling embarrassed, Kaira puts her party horn away. "Yeah, haha, of course. How could I have forgotten your birthday? Um...thanks for the party, mom." 

Dot smiles at her daughter as she adds more wood to the bonfire. "Anything for your birthday, kiddo." 

"I'm not a kid!" 

"That's the Kaira I know," Dot ruffles Kaira's hair, grinning when she bats her hand away. 

As the party guests trickle out to go home, Kaira leafs through the help wanted ads in the newspaper. What better excuse to not come home and be harassed by Lu than a job?

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AN: Man, I took these pictures so long ago. I had to go back into the game to get everyone's names and personalities again. 

Felipe Bayless is the son of Chase Bayless and Shark Racket. As a young adult, his traits are mean spirited, ambitious, kleptomaniac, family oriented, and perfectionist. Most of his SP notifications from what I remember were him getting into fights and breaking off romantic relationships early on. In other words, a real charmer.