New day New choice.

After dinner you briefly hung around with the Chapman family for another fifteen minutes before saying your goodbyes and exchanging your number with the mayor. Ideally you’d have liked to spend more time with Stacey, but you could tell that her father was watching closely, so contented yourself with a simple kiss on the cheek before walking home.

On your way back you texted Tina and Marcus, telling them everything that had happened and your new opportunity. There was some banter back and forth, but eventually you got home and put your phone away.

“How’d it go, sweetie?” Your Mom sat up on the couch, a half-eaten bowl of popcorn at her side.

“It was good,” you answered. “Stacey’s parents were…nice.”

Your Mom snickered. “Nice?”

“Ok they were a kinda weird,” you admitted, “but they were friendly enough. The mayor offered me a job, actually.”

Her defensive, mama bear posture was quickly adopted, her eyes narrowed. “Eric Chapman offered you a job?” Her lips pressed together. “Doing what?”

“Working at the historical society, part time.”

She hummed thoughtfully. “Your grandpa helped build that place…”

“I think it’d be a good thing. I’ve always liked history, and I’d get to learn more about the town and Grandpa still has a couple of friends working there, doesn’t he? It’d be a way of honouring him.”

A sigh escaped her lips and she nodded. “Yeah, yeah that’s right. Just…be careful around the Mayor and his friends, ok?”

“Sure, Mom.”

—

The next morning you woke to buzz from your phone, and glancing at the screen you saw a number of texts from numbers you recognised, and felt the ring on your finger grow warm and your loins stir.