At the end of the day, Tina was about to head toward the auditorium to paint sets when she got a call. The number on her phone said Mom.
"Hello?" she said.
"Tina, I'm outside...after that whole thing this morning...I thought we should have a talk," a female voice said. The last time she'd heard that voice, it had been none too pleased with her.
"I was going to go help paint sets with the theater crew..." Tina said.
"Tell them you can't today," Athena said. "Tell them its a family thing. Five minutes."
She hurried to find Sabrina and told her that her mother was outside, and she'd have to take a rain check.
Then she ran out to the car and slid in. When she'd seen Athena this morning, she'd been tired, mad at her, wearing a pair of scrubs, and somehow looked a bit younger than she'd expected. Now, she looked better rested, and was dressed in jeans and a blouse. Athena waited for her to buckle her seatbelt before putting the car into drive. As soon as they picked up speed and got out of the parking lot. They drove in silence for a few minutes before she pulled into the parking lot of the local market. Athena turned to her and sighed. "Is there something going on with you?" She asked.
"What? No, I mean...yes...but..." Tina said.
"Seriously, why weren't you in school this morning? I haven't worried about leaving you alone when I work a double since you were fourteen." Athena asked. "Do I have to start getting someone to check up on you again?"
"No..." Tina said. She got her real mother back, and now she was mad at her. "I just...want everything to go back to normal," she said.
Athena sighed. "Well, we've been short staffed at the hospital for weeks now. But they said they are good now for a few days, so I can get back on a normal schedule. It would help if they hired more staff. I'm getting too old for these hours." It was hard for her to punish Tina when she so obviously was bothered by the whole thing.
"I'm just glad you're home."
"Well...don't let oversleeping happen again, or next time I won't leave you unsupervised at home, even at your age. I expect you to be on your best behavior for a while."
"Promise," Tina said.
Athena smiled. She still had a feeling Tina wasn't telling her something, but teens were allowed their secrets. And she wanted to be the type of mom who let them have them. If her daughter wanted to talk, she'd be there. "Let's go get some groceries. I checked when I woke up, and we are NOT eating two of those frozen TV dinners I keep for when I'm too tired to make something."
"Sure, Mom," Tina said.
