for ~cityslicks

It can't have been easy for their mom, raising two kids on her own after their father left her, but she's done a pretty good job. Mostly. Audrey is just over the cusp of teenhood, and she's starting to be A Teen. She's always been a little proud, a rambunctious tomboy following in the path of her older brother, but now she's got the cocksure assertiveness (and the mixture of high and low self esteem) that comes with puberty.

She's wandering down the hall of their home late at night, coming back from the bathroom, when she sees the light coming from underneath her brother's bedroom door.

She doesn't wait or knock, she just opens it. "Hey, nerd, mom's gonna get mad at you for staying up late again."

For Eric

Being a single mom is a chore, there's no doubt about that. The good news for Karen is that even after her husband had walked out on her and their two kids, she'd had a well-paying job as an executive for a marketing agency, and they were understanding of her situation and offered flexible hours and the like to let her do both.

Now that Eric is a little older, she can also ask him to help around the house and take care of his sister, which is nice. She thinks he's growing up into a fine young man, despite the... somewhat frustrating habits of being a teen.

Like sleeping in forever in the morning.

Karen knocks on Eric's door. "Sweetie? You need to get up or you'll be late for school."