I quickly made my way through the streets and arrived home. After putting my gadgets on sleep mode and making sure there were no rips in my leisure clothes, I quietly snuck back inside and opened the front door. Sitting on the couch with a glass of wine in one hand and a TV remote in the other was my mom.

"Hey mom, sorry I missed curfew. I know it's 10:16, but I have a very good reason. I got lost... on the road of life," I said cautiously.

I needed to be on my toes here. One misstep, and I'd be out of the game faster than a troll player insta-locking DPS. I had to choose my words carefully.

"Really, that's your excuse? At least come up with something original," retorted Octavia.

"Yes mom, believe it or not, life is very confusing. I got caught up wondering why we can hear sounds in our memories," I replied. Almost there. Just a couple more lines, and I'd be home free.

"Really, Thyme? You used that excuse last week," came a voice from behind me. Mission failed. How the hell did I not notice her coming down the stairs? I have freaking super senses. Are those the legendary mom powers I've heard about? I thought those were a myth.

"Hello, mother," I happily exclaimed. "I thought you were staying late at work today."

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"Nah, my client bailed on me. His wife found his son's porn collection, and the son blamed it on him," said Jessica, my mother, also known as Jessica V. She's a personal coach who teaches everything from self-defense classes to dance lessons... one could say she teaches various things.

"Don't let it happen again. You know how dangerous the city's getting. I don't want you to get hurt," said mom with her usual flat tone. But underneath it, I could sense the abyss of worry she felt.

"I'll try, but no promises, mom. I can't control my thoughts," I said while heading to the fridge to put my groceries away.

"But you can control how you react to them. Balance your mind and body, and you'll always be in control," she advised sagely. I actually have a dia—a notepad full of mom's advice.

"Go to sleep. Your first day of junior year is tomorrow, and you're not a senior yet, so you can't come late."

Watching me go up the stairs to brush my teeth before bed, Octavia remembered how it all came to this. From finding out Jessica was pregnant...

"Come on, Octavia, I'm sure your parents won't mind us getting married. I'm already pregnant after all," Jessica had said in the car, looking absentmindedly at the road.

"You don't know them like I do, Jessica. Me telling them I was queer was bad enough... but finding out how Thyme was conceived... I don't want to think about what they would do," Octavia had replied with a grimace as she tensely drove down the road, trying not to dredge up the past.

To now, her baby being 17 and a junior in high school. If only her parents could see him, but ever since that day, she hadn't contacted any of them. Not until they apologized.

Whew, I managed to get off scot-free. Now, time to face my biggest hurdle tomorrow: teachers saying my name wrong