Teen For Hire

Meeting Mother Dearest

"Why would I be embarrassed?"

"I really don't want to talk about this."

"So I guess you do hate it." Eddie frowned again, looking at Reece. "Hate what?"

"No, I don't, I really don't, I'm just surprised you love it. I thought it was a stepping stone. I mean -- right?"

Eddie sighed, "Sure, ignore me again will you?" He took a moment to find where he left off. "Well I find that kind of funny, since this was your idea in the first place and--"

"--I didn't think it'd turn into--"

"--don't interrupt me, Mia, this is not a
one-woman show--"

"--which was your idea in the first place--"

"--well you're an actress, someone's gotta tell you what to do."

There came the part where a dramatic pause went on and Reece was trying his best to concentrate on channeling his inner Emma Stone when he noticed something that kept on moving out of the corner of his eyes.
When he glanced over, he saw the clumsy figure of his mother carefully leaning against the frame of the sliding door with a tray filled with glasses of drinks.

Was she trying to eavesdrop or something?

"Mom!" Reece called out and he saw his mother jerked so hard that she almost dropped the whole tray. "Are you okay?"

He was about to get up when she waved a hand. "No, no. I don't mean to interrupt."

"It's fine, mom. You're not interrupting anything."

"Um, are you sure?"

"Of course. Are you going to stay hidden in the shadows forever or...?"

"Well, if you're sure..." She stepped out of the door, finally letting her face into the light. "I mean, things seemed pretty intense there and I'm really sorry that things aren't going well."

His mother was the kind of woman that wasn't really special in her looks- the same, simple black hair that Reece had, with kind features that could only be described as plain- but carried herself in a way that made people look at her like she had a spotlight on her.

And she hated that.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Reece asked, confused.

"Well, every relationship will have its rock road and-"

The thought finally made sense, and it horrified him. "Mom! We're not dating!" Reece glanced at his friend and he just turned into a shade of deep red that he never knew Eddie was even capable of. "We're just friends."

She didn't seem convinced though. "You don't have to be embarrassed, y'know. I'm fine with it."

Eddie started coughing and looked like he was seconds away from an aneurysm. But he still tried to speak through it. "N-no, Mrs. Alexander. It was just-" He took a deep breath. "Acting."

"Well, you certainly are achieving the higher depths of it." His mother looked more annoyed than concerned. "No need to die over it. How was I supposed to know? Reece never tells me anything." Taking a seat at one of the small stools near the door, she took a sip of the lemonade she brought. "Have a drink?"

"Sure," Reece said, getting back on his feet and rubbing some of the grass stuck to his pants. "But just so you know, I'm really not dating him. He's not my type." He shot an apologetic glance to his friend, who seemed mildly offended by the remark.