As I had expected, Robert gifted me with a car for my birthday. This meant that I'd now solidified my agreement with Jude to pick him up for summer school everyday (we were still figuring out what we were gonna do for the normal school year since everybody else goes to school then too). But unfortunately, there were only a couple of weeks left and then after that I'd barely get to see the Fosters at all.
I made my way out to my new car (a red Volkswagen bug) Monday morning. I got in, and began my way to the Adams-Fosters house, tapping my fingers on the steering wheel along to a song on the radio that I wasn't really listening to. Ever since Aaron had talked to me about getting emancipated, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I mean, it had crossed my mind before, but I just figured that it would be too expensive or something and I wouldn't be able to actually do it. But I'd never thought about asking the Fosters for help. But now that I was actually considering it, if they wanted me to be with them as I did, then I figured they would help me.
After a few knocks at the front door, I heard the noise of quick footsteps approaching me. A moment later, the door was swung open by Mariana, mouth half full of toast.
"Hey! It's only 7:30, aren't you supposed to be here at 8:00?"
"Oh, yeah. But I wanted to talk to Moms before for a second."
"Totally, I'm pretty sure they're in the kitchen. I think Mom might be on her way out though."
"Awesome, thanks." I made my way to the kitchen, where Jude and Moms greeted me in the morning commotion.
"Hey love, what are you doing here? You're 30 minutes early." Stef asked, wrapping me in a hug.
"Yeah, I know. I wanted to talk to you guys before Jude and I go."
"Of course."
"Okay. Well, the other night at my party I was talking to Aaron." I paused for a moment, Stef and Lena looking at me expectantly. "Uh, do you think that I might be able to get emancipated?"
They looked at me, slightly shocked. "Is that something you really want Cal?" Lena asked. "I mean, it's not the easiest thing to do, and I don't want you making huge decisions like this just because some boy thought it would be a good idea."
"Yes! And I'm not just doing it just because Aaron said something. I've thought about it before, but until Aaron mentioned it on Saturday, I'd always figured it'd be too expensive. I never thought about asking you guys."
Stef looked over at Lena, both of them still looking surprised. "We'll talk about it, love. But, you know, it's not going to be easy. You're gonna need to be able to get a job that could support you on your own. You'll need to show the judge that you're better off on your own. And you're gonna have to try to do it without Robert finding out, which I don't like, but he'll try to shut it down as soon as he catches a whiff."
"Okay. Yeah, okay." I said, nodding.
"Okay, now go find your brother. I swear, if he's playing video games again, that kid is grounded for a month."
Upon coming home, and after a quick hello to Sophia and Jill who were playing cards in the living room, I made my way to my room, to look for a job. Even though mom's still hadn't approved me getting emancipated, I figured I may as well get a head start. A lot of my teachers had been suggesting that I look into internships, as they could increase my chance of getting accepted into colleges, especially since I wasn't really the extra-curricular type student.
I scrolled through the pages filled with job openings in San Diego, many of them unpaid, and the ones that weren't were things that I never would've even considered taking if I hadn't been in my situation. Business. Ecology. Management. My ideal job would be something arts related, maybe social work, but I was close to positive that they wouldn't take me back at the drop-in center, and there wasn't a single art internship that'd pay even a cent. There were a few that did somewhat catch my interest though. No dream job, not that I was expecting one, and they did seem to be looking for somebody "with enthusiasm and good interpersonal relationships," which weren't exactly my trademark characteristics, and there was, of course, the problem of actually getting the job. I'd only previously had 2, and I'm sure there were going to be other people that are a lot more qualified than I am, but I figured it was at least worth a try.
Another problem, which crossed my mind at dinner, was that I'd never really had an official interview before. Daphne had helped me get my job at the restaurant I worked at, and I'd gotten my job at the drop-in center through a recommendation from Bill, my social worker. I sat, poking at my leftover green beans, before deciding to bring it up.
"Hey, Robert?"
"Hmm?" He looked up from his plate.
"Uh, I'm thinking about applying for some internships, and I was wondering if you might be able to help me put together a resume and prepare for some interviews." I felt kind of bad, asking Robert for help with something that I would just use to get away from him. But if I wanted even a sliver of a chance of getting a job, I wouldn't be able to all on my own, and seeing the Fosters every other weekend wouldn't be nearly enough time to prepare for a job plus work on all the legal stuff.
"How come?"
I wasn't really expecting follow-up questions, so I gave the most believable answer I could come up with, trying not to stumble over my words. "Oh, um, I mean, ever since I lost my job at the drop in center, I've kinda been meaning to look for something new, and some of my teachers say that they'd help with college applications."
"Sure, I'd love to help."
So, that's one problem down. Well, kind of down. If I can actually get a job, then that's one problem down.
Thank you for continuing to read, and, as always, I'm open to suggestions for anything you'd like to see in this story. :)
