Sorry, still bad at this. (SEQUEL) (LAPIDOT HUMAN AU)

Chapter 33

A/N: Aight, this chapter is pretty damn LONG but I wanted to give yall this before I close the book :)

When I had been fired from my previous job, my mother still didn't seem to realize that I was the root of all of this to begin with. It was explicitly announced that I was in fact the primary inventor of the robonoids currently sold in that business - at least it was announced when I was still working that job. Now that I look at the current status of the business, my mother has taken off my title for that. She seriously intended to completely erase me from the business, and make the footprint I made known - but she wanted to conceal the fact that the footprint was mine.

However, in Empire City there were in fact several old clients that did business with my mother's workplace when I still had the job. This meant they recalled that I was in fact titled the primary creator of these robonoids. Word got out pretty fast about this, and I ended up bombarded with job opportunities across the city. However, I caught a particularly large business's attention, and they definitely caught mine. Not only does this job pump out nearly more cash for me than my mother's business did, but the independence was refreshing.

I have so much more independence and flexibility with this job, and the risk of burn out was nearly nonexistent. I was still working hard due to my usual work ethic, but I really did not need to. So if something had come up, it most certainly wouldn't be the end of the world like it was when I worked for my mom. My mother's Homeworld Inc. was now only a pesky memory to me - Crystal Gem Inc. was my top priority now, and it was also my entire future (but certainly not in a bad way).

While mentoring Spinel was one of the only upsides of my old job, I'm sure the girl can manage herself just fine. Despite how jumpy or anxious she seemed to be, she's definitely strong in different ways - I'm still not exactly sure what she went through when she was younger, but the fact that she seemed just as optimistic as a typical child to begin with even after all of that, I have no doubt that she'll be okay. Though Lapis didn't care because they never really got along, Steven updated her on Spinel's status, saying that she still has her birthday clown job, and her work still resides with my mother. I just hope my mother won't be too hard on her - if she happens to decide it's too much for her, I could probably recommend her to come work where I currently work - and maybe I could even be her mentor again if she wants.

So anyways, thankfully, I got to keep my wealthy lifestyle, which meant I could effectively pay for Lapis to go to art school in Empire City, while still having a damn good amount for myself. Lapis of course didn't like the idea of me alone paying for her school, but I absolutely insisted. I don't recall ever being in such a great mood in such a long time. Though I told her it was not needed in the slightest, Lazuli insisted she pay me back in full when she becomes a successful art director. We're currently roommates in a roomy apartment in the city, and this all had an unbelievably well turn out. I felt so much freer and happier outside of my old job, and I feel half apologetic still for snapping at Lapis when all she was talking about...was something like this.

The feeling of freedom like this...the life outside of work.

I quietly cursed to myself as I accidentally dropped a tiny screw that I had been wedging into my newest robonoid model. Pumpkin had slightly flinched after she was fast asleep on her dog bed in the corner. I had been working on this for about an hour and a half now, with Lapis's phone noises in the background. She was slumped on her bed, resting her eyes while listening to music quietly. She currently has a job at - you guessed it - a local coffee shop in the city. Except this one had a better pay, due to it being much more popular, and the tips being much larger. However, rewards like these don't come for free; she has quite the long shift all day, and she normally comes home in the evening very tired.