'Cuz I'm sick of being immature, I want to be responsible

After everyone in the Master’s Suite enjoyed a delicious breakfast courtesy of Mary, they all went their separate ways. Holly was happy to wait where she was, eager to hear stories about Nick’s date with Ella, while Nick went to go meet her in the lobby. Carly and Dani headed out as well, partially to check up on Marley and partially to spend some time together while they still could be alone.

Which just left Mary and Gina. Something that worked out perfectly for everybody, because Mary wanted to get started on helping out the punk girl after her realization last night.

“I appreciate you being here for me, Mary,” Gina said, scratching her head sheepishly. “I’m still getting used to this whole thing.”

She’d tried her hand at being a “good girl” several times since coming onto this show, and while she’d definitely made considerable progress, now that Mary had decided to make the slacker her personal project, they both had high hopes that she’d really get her life together.

“I don’t think you really need that much help,” Mary admitted, cracking a smile. “You’re not as bad a person as you seem to think you are, Gina. It’s not like you’re consistently doing bad things. You just need to grow up and be more mature.”

Gina had half a mind to make a farting noise with her tongue, but thought better of it. She nodded obediently.

“Right, grow up, be mature. How do I do that?” She asked, looking at Mary with bright, shining eyes.

Frankly… Mary didn’t know how to answer that question. In fact, if she was being honest with herself, she would say that she wasn’t a very mature person either. Even if she was married, there were times when she could be spoiled, or behave like an impetuous child.

So, since she knew that she might not be the best person that Gina could go to for advice, she decided to try another route instead and ask someone else to lend their expertise.

Which was why they were standing outside of someone else’s door. Gina knocked insistently, while trying not to sound rude or intrusive.

On the other side of the door, Dawn was trying to get some sleep in her nice, comfy bed. It seemed like every morning it was harder and harder to tear herself away.

…At least until a rattling, banging noise like someone smashing a sledgehammer against a sheet of plywood nearly knocked her out of bed.

“Ehg!?” She grunted, wiping her eyes and putting on her glasses. Her ears twitched in frustration as the knocking continued.

With a sigh, she dragged herself out of bed and trudged over to see who was bothering her this early in the morning.

Imagine her surprise when she saw it was Gina.

“Hi,” Gina said, with a measured sincerity and practiced maturity. “My name is Gina, and I’m a sex offender.”

Mary swatted her in the back of the head.

“Hey! Come on, I can’t even tell jokes?!” Gina groaned, rubbing her head.

“Not about that,” Mary said firmly, crossing her arms.

Gina muttered something under her breath and rolled her eyes.

Dawn was not amused. She stared blankly at the two of them, wondering what the hell was going on and why these two of all people had come to say hello.

“…Can I help you?” She asked blankly, looking back and forth between the two of them.

Mary elbowed Gina in the side when she saw the punk girl wasn’t saying anything.

Gina winced and then cleared her throat. “Err… yeah, um… okay, Dawn, this is gonna sound weird, but, I was wondering, um… could you give me some advice?”

Dawn’s ears twitched and she raised her eyebrow curiously. “Advice?” Gina never came to her for advice. About anything. “What do you need advice for?”

“Being a better person,” Gina said. “See, um, last night… I had this realization, okay, and Mary and I got to talking, and I realized… I don’t like the direction I’m headed. I want to be better. I want to be a good person, the kind of woman people actually want to be around, you know? When I’m gone… I want people to remember me fondly, with respect, not as some trashy party girl who never amounted to anything.”

Dawn was surprised. Was she still asleep in bed? Was this all a dream? Or had Gina actually decided to join the rest of them in the world of mature adults?

“I… I don’t know how I can help, but… I’m proud of you for coming to that conclusion,” Dawn stammered. Her flicking tail showed just how happy she was. As much as Gina continuously frustrated her, she did have a soft spot in her heart for the punk girl, and she was glad that Gina seemed to be giving serious thought towards her future.

It brought a smile to her face.

“I wasn’t sure how to help, either,” Mary admitted. “I mean, how do we judge maturity? Do we get Gina to start doing her taxes or something?”

“Taxes? Come on!” Gina groaned. “Not that! Shit like that is so boring!”

Dawn sighed in exasperation. Clearly they had a long way to go, realization or not.

“…We’re not going to file taxes,” Dawn said. “I don’t know if there would even be a point on this island, anyway,” she pointed out. “But you’re right, Mary, there’s no magic formula to make someone be more mature. Take me for instance. I’ve been ahead of the curve in that regard ever since I can remember. And my memory is perfect.”

When the other girls were playing dress-up with their Barbies, Dawn had taken hers apart to see how the joints connected together. And she’d also studied the anatomy of her stuffed animals with a pair of scissors.

…

Her parents had made her see a child therapist for a couple years because of that one.

Dawn cleared her throat. Her cheeks flushed a little as she recalled that particular memory. “…Anyway, I suppose I’ve always been ahead of the curve. Straight-A student, honor roll, all that stuff. It just seemed like the practical thing to do. And I think that’s a big part of maturity, if you ask me. Pragmatism! Instead of living in the moment, you should plan for the future. Figure out what you want, and then figure out the steps you need to take in order to get it. Does that make sense?”

“Yeah!” Gina nodded. “I totally understand!”

Then, to the confusion of both girls, she turned and headed over to the lounge area, and got a coke from the refrigerator.

She returned a couple seconds later to the flummoxed faces of her friends.

“Uh, what just happened?” Mary asked.

“What?” Gina frowned, cracking open the coke. “I wanted a soda, so I went to go get it! Maturity!” She took a swig of the carbonated beverage, and let out a refreshed sigh.

Dawn slapped her forehead and groaned.

“No, that… that’s still living in the moment!”

“What, so drinking coke isn’t mature?” Gina frowned.

“That isn’t what I… no, you’re not listening to me,” Dawn said, shaking her head. “I’m saying, Gina, that right now you’re not looking at the big picture. Being mature and planning for the future isn’t about getting a coke, it’s about figuring out what you want to do with your life. Well? What is it? What do you want to do with your life?”

Gina stared blankly at her, and slowly took another sip of her coke. She shrugged as she did and shook her head.

“…Dunno.”

Yeah, Dawn kind of figured that was the case. Still, no need to get frustrated. One step at a time, right? Part of being mature was to approach things from a detached mindset, and not let stuff like this faze you.

Even if Gina could be the most annoying woman in the world sometimes.

She adjusted her glasses and tried to approach this from a different perspective.

“Maybe we’re looking at this the wrong way. After all, on this island, it’s not like we can really plan for the future anyway, right?”

“I suppose you’ve got a point,” Mary admitted. “Who knows how long we’ll be here? Heck- I could be a mom by the time we leave…”

Her voice took on a wistful quality to it, and she had a glassy sheen over her green eyes as she envisioned precisely that.

Gina’s eyes widened in realization. “Wait! That’s it! I know how I can be more mature!”

“Oh?” Dawn raised her eyebrow, ready to hear the exact wrong thing come out of the other woman’s mouth.

“Yeah!” Gina nodded eagerly. “I just need to get pregnant! Once I become a mom, then I’ve gotta mature, right? Out of necessity and shit!”

Mary snapped out of her fugue, and froze in a different way as she seriously considered what Gina was saying.

Dawn’s eye started twitching.

She slammed her door in Gina’s face.

“Eh? Dawn?” Gina looked confused for a moment.

Then the door opened again, and there was Dawn with a cup of water in her hand.

She flung it in the punk girl’s face.

“Bad,” she snapped.

“Aww, you got water in my coke!” Gina groaned, wiping her drenched hair out of her eyes. “…Eh, not so bad.” She drained the can and tossed it over her shoulder. “So I’m guessing that’s a no on the whole mom plan?”

“Gina, a child isn’t going to make you more mature,” Dawn snapped. “There are hundreds of thousands of mothers and single mothers in the world who are the picture of immaturity, who had kids too young, and weren’t prepared for them. You shouldn’t have a child if you’re not ready for it. Right, Mary?”

She looked to the redhead to back her up, and Mary stared blankly at her.

“…Mary?”

“Huh? What?” Mary blinked, snapping out of a mental haze again. She’d been imagining what Gina would look like pregnant and nursing.

Dawn wasn’t impressed. “You agree, right, that someone shouldn’t have a child if they’re not prepared for it?”

Mary blinked. “Well…”

“Mary!”

“Sorry, sorry, yes, you’re right, Gina shouldn’t be having kids if she’s not ready to be a mother,” Mary agreed, wincing a little. “You don’t have to snap!”

Dawn sighed in exasperation. It seemed Mary didn’t have a much better grasp on what it took to make mature decisions, either. Then again, that wasn’t really surprising. The girl was a sweetheart, and probably a much better person than Gina, but when it came to being a mature, functioning adult?

Neither one of them were going to win any prizes in that regard.

“I’m sorry for messing around, Dawn,” Gina said sincerely. “I am trying, I really am. And I appreciate you being there to help me out with all this.”

Dawn paused, and then nodded. “It’s important,” she said plainly. “I want to make sure that you understand that. I don’t want you to get discouraged and backslide into making bad and self-destructive choices.”

“I won’t!” Gina said firmly, shaking her head. “I haven’t had anything to drink in days, actually!”

Dawn was surprised to hear that. “Really? Yeah, I guess I didn’t see you drinking at the party. I just figured that you would wait for night.”

Gina winced, and tried to hide it with an awkward smile. “Well… last night wasn’t exactly the best time to drink, you know…”

Mary nodded sympathetically.

Dawn could tell that something was up, but she didn’t want to pry. She did think that Gina deserved some consideration for her efforts to improve, though.

“Well, I’m not going to tell you to never drink, but I’m glad you’re taking better care of yourself,” she said, crossing her arms. “What about you and Nick? How are things going on that front?”

“What do you mean?” Gina asked.

Dawn cleared her throat, and her cheeks flushed. “Are you still… mm… addicted to his… you know? Stuff?”

“What, his semen?” Gina bluntly asked.

Mary blushed and Dawn bristled. Her tail stood out straight and she clenched her teeth, feeling her face heat up.

“…Yes, well, I wasn’t going to say that, but…”

Gina nodded. “Yeah, uh, I do kinda feel that itch in my throat,” she said, scratching at her studded choker. “But I can get through it. As much as I want to go after him right now and suck him dry, trading one addiction for another wouldn’t help anybody, right?”

Dawn nodded. She couldn’t agree more.

“I think that she’s making great progress already, right?” Mary said cheerfully, pleading to Dawn with her eyes to back her up on this.

Dawn nodded again. “Yeah, she is… that’s a good sign.”

“So I’m doing better?” Gina brightened. “Aw yeah! Badass!” She punched the air in triumph. “Okay, what’s the next step? What should I do to be more mature?”

Dawn shook her head. “It absolutely doesn’t work like that,” she replied. “There’s not a ‘next step’ for maturity, this isn’t some 12-step program or checklist you can mark off to say ‘okay, I’m mature now’ you’ve gotta just… I don’t know, grow up.”

She could come up with all sorts of things Gina could do to become more mature, but at the end of the day, there was a limit to how much she could help.

After all, Dawn had always just naturally drifted towards making mature, respectable decisions. She wasn’t the kind of woman who would have ended up the way Gina did in the first place, so she wasn’t sure what sort of advice she could give to help the other girl out.

Maybe if she did, she would be more help.

Then she had a thought.

“…Why did you come to me in the first place?” She questioned. “If you wanted to be more mature, wouldn’t it have been better to ask Amelia? After all, she’s older than all of us, and she’s probably got a lot more experience with this sort of thing.”

The way Gina bristled in response to Dawn’s question was an answer in and of itself.

“Err… I… I didn’t want to bother her, that’s all!” Gina said, scratching her head and averting her eyes swiftly, unable to look at Dawn or Mary.

Mary frowned. “Gina… it’s not very mature OR good to lie to people,” she reminded the other girl.

Guilt flashed across Gina’s face and she nodded reluctantly. “Yeah… you’re right,” she relented with a sigh. “You’re right…”

“Is it because she used to know you so well?” Dawn asked gently. “Is that why it feels wrong, to go to her about stuff like this?”

Gina bit her lip and nodded. “Amelia… look, I’m not going to go as far as to say that she was like a second mom to me or anything, because it definitely wasn’t like that. But back when I was little… well… she used to know me back then, okay?”

Whenever Amelia looked at her, Gina couldn’t help but feel a wave of disapproval wafting off the slender blonde. Like everything Gina had done in her life was wrong, and Amelia was disappointed just looking at her.

And that really hurt, even if Gina completely agreed with that conclusion.

“I’m sorry you feel that way,” Mary said, patting Gina on the shoulder. “It must be hard, having someone who you used to know judge you like that.”

Gina nodded glumly. It really was.

Dawn frowned. “…I think… I think you should still talk to her, though. Instead of me or Mary, I mean.”

“Eh?” Mary tilted her head to the side in confusion.

Gina’s jaw dropped.

“Wh-what!? You… you want me to talk to Amelia?! Why? How would that help? She’d just judge me, like my mom does!”

“Gina, a big part of maturing as a person is doing things you don’t want to do, but know you have to do,” Dawn pointed out. “Instead of running away from your problems, it’s important to face them head-on, wouldn’t you agree?”

Gina bit her lip, finding it hard to argue with Dawn’s conclusion.

“W-well…”

“I know you’re worried about what she might think of you, but facing that will still help you grow,” Dawn continued. “You don’t want to be stuck shying away from her forever, right?”

That was the thing. Gina would hate that.

“…You’re right,” she admitted, hanging her head. “I am still just running away, aren’t I?”

For all her talk about wanting to grow up and behave more like an adult, Gina’s first instinct when faced with an unpleasant confrontation was to run away.

She needed to do better. Maybe talking to Amelia would help her figure out how.

“If it’ll help, I’ll go with you,” Mary said, patting her friend on the shoulder. “You know, for moral support! So it isn’t so intimidating!”

“I’d be willing to go with you, too,” Dawn agreed, shrugging. “You know, if you want to, that is. No pressure or anything.”

Gina looked back and forth between the two of them, and her eyes watered with appreciation. “You guys… that means so much to me, thank you!”

“Hey, what are friends for?” Mary flashed a grin.

Dawn was a little more reticent to use that label, but she still nodded. After all, if Gina needed her support, then she would offer it.

“Keep in mind, Gina, that you’re going to need to do a lot more than this,” Dawn stated. “Don’t think that just because you had a talk with Amelia that you’re suddenly done with growing up.”

“I know, I’m not going to do that,” Gina scoffed, rolling her eyes. The gesture of exasperation and defiance kind of proved Dawn’s whole point about her not having matured much.

“I’m serious, knowing Amelia, whatever she has to tell you will probably be difficult,” Dawn said firmly. “If you want to grow as a person, then you need to listen and really try and embrace what she’s telling you. That’s another part of being mature, knowing that you aren’t always right about everything.”

Honestly? That was something that Dawn herself could have trouble with sometimes. But at least she was aware enough to recognize that in this instance, she didn’t have all the answers, and the foresight to encourage Gina to seek out someone who might be able to help her better than she could.

And it seemed like Gina appreciated that offer, because she was actually smiling when the trio went to go find Amelia for some advice on how to be more mature.