Chapter 2: New Hope
Kimberly had a hard time trying to get a job without her high school diploma. She was rejected a lot, no matter hw long they looked at her resume, they would ask for her high school diploma, she would tell them that she didn't have one, and right away her resume was in the garbage.
One day, Kimberly walked into an office wearing her best clothes and her hair was put up. She sat down and handed her resume to the manager. "Your resume is really good, Miss Hart," he commented.
"Thanks," Kimberly sighed.
"You say you have a child, Miss Hart?" He asked.
"Yes, her name is Kylie and she's six months old."
"Well, everything seems to check out. May I see your high school diploma?"
Kimberly's heart stopped. The worse words she heard during the past few weeks. "I...uh...don't have one. I dropped out of high school so I can have my baby," she informed. She watched as her resume was thrown in the trash.
"Miss Hart, your resume was impressive, but you can't work without your high school diploma. If you're truly serious about working, I would suggest going back to high school to get your diploma," he informed.
"I don't have any money to go back to high school. I'd be lucky to get my baby something to eat. Please, you have to at least give me a chance.
"I'm sorry, Miss Hart. I can't hire you without your high school diploma. Have a nice day."
Kimberly's heart shattered. She got up and got ready to leave. "Miss Hart, if you really need help going back to high school, have your family support you," he advised. Kimberly nodded sadly and left the room.
She sat in her car and banged her steering wheel with tears falling down her face.
Later that afternoon, Kimberly was sitting in the park playing with Kylie. Kylie was giggling and acting like a baby should act. Not knowing that her mother was having a hard time trying to provide for her and keeping her. "Miss Kimberly Hart?" A voice asked. Kimberly stood up with her baby in her arms and looked over at the person behind her. A man stood there with a comforting smile.
He had dark brown hair cut close to his head, a mustache, a small scar on the right side of his face, and he was wearing a uniform.
He walked over and held his hand out to her. "Miss Hart, I'm Captain William Mitchell. I'm Dana's father," he informed.
"Oh! Dana, such a nice girl," she complimented.
"She's a good girl. She also tells me you're having a hard time providing for your daughter?" He asked.
Kimberly sighed as she held her daughter to her chest. "It's true, Captain Mitchell, I am having a hard time trying to provide for my daughter. My family thinks I'm in a mental hospital so I can't go back to school to get my high school diploma to get a job," she explained.
"Why does your family think you're in a mental hospital?" He asked.
Kimberly realized she said too much and quickly put Kylie in her stroller and packed her things. "Kimberly, stop. I'm trying to help you," he informed. She sighed and looked at him. "If it's classified information, it'll stay classified," he assured her. She nodded and followed him as they started walking around the park. "Tell me, how did you end up in Mariner Bay?" He asked.
"Well, I'm from Angel Grove really. I went to Miami to compete in the Pan-Globals. I would see my friends and boyfriend during the holidays. Well, after Christmas, I went back to Miami and I was attacked. I was almost killed and when I woke up, I had found out that I was pregnant. I wasn't sure if she was my boyfriend's or my attacker's baby. So, I dropped out of high school to have her. I was told to be put in a mental hospital because I started hearing things. I can hear people's emotions. I got hit in the head during the attack so that triggered this gift. I was trained to control it and at the same time, I gave birth to Kylie. She was my boyfriend's daughter, but I kept her from him because I didn't want him to give up his dream for us. I moved to Mariner Bay because I wanted to start over with my life," she explained.
Captain Mitchell listened to her story. Unbeknownst by Kimberly, he was interviewing her. He wanted to meet the real Kimberly Hart that his daughter was telling him about. He found her. After a few more questions, Kimberly stopped. "What's going on?" She asked.
"I'm interviewing you, Miss Hart. I have decided to hire you as my personal assistant on the Aqua-Base. You can get your high school diploma on your spare time on the Aqua-Base, you can bring your child with you if you feel more comfortable with having her with you. Congratulations, Miss Hart, you're hired," he informed.
Kimberly's heart stopped. She was finally hired to raise her baby. "You can start as soon as you can," he informed. He shook her hand before walking away. Kimberly scooped her daughter from the stroller and swung her around with a big smile on her face. There was hope after all.