vividandsmall:
@hcngthemoon || nomi and june
It was rare that Nomi was late. Not unheard of, but rare. When it did happen, like today, it was generally due to circumstances beyond her control. Such was the case today, where an accident on her way from work had her sliding into the school building a full 30 minutes late. Of course, by the time she arrived, couples had–well–coupled off, leaving her options for seating limited. She could sit next to Scott Lambrin, the father of one of the boys in Toby’s class, and a notorious creep. Or next to Greta Veil, insufferable, self-righteous homophobe.
Or, she could sit next to June Sun. All things considered, not her ideal spot, but better than the remaining options. She crept across the room quietly and slid into the seat next to the woman, and pretended not to hear the whispers behind her. “Sorry,” she muttered, pulling out a notepad and doing her best to listen to the headmaster drone on and on about nothing interesting or important. It was a challenge normally, but made more so by the fact that June was next to her. For some reason, that was especially distracting today.
When the headmaster finally stopped bloviating and parents were released into the courtyard where drinks and hors d’oeurves were waiting for them, Nomi looked to her side. Was it weirder if she said something, or said nothing? Nomi couldn’t tell for certain, but she felt as though she had to decide quickly. “Sorry,” is what came out of her mouth–not a great start. She paused, feeling as though she’d already made a mistake. But, as they say, in for a penny, in for a pound. “About being late, I mean.” And about sitting next to you and also about this conversation. “There was an accident. On the road, I mean. And I wasn’t in it. I was just stuck waiting because of it. Sorry.”
if it weren’t for the rigorous scheduling of her assistant, june would quite possibly never leave her studio. it had been one of those weeks when her mind was reeling with endless possibilities and her hands itched to enact its vision, a burst of productivity that relegated mundane things like grocery shopping and admin tasks to ignorable background noise. her only real tether to the outside world came in the form of her kids. she’d be the first to admit that she had never been the sort of parent who would drop everything if her children needed her, it had been the downfall of her marriage after all, the fact that she had never fully found the balance between her creative process and her family life, but she always tried to make the effort. more so now, when custody was divided between the two of them, her failings made more obvious when there was no one there to fill in the gaps.
june was never early but somehow not often late, so she got to the school exactly on time, perfectly avoiding having to speak to any of the other parents who were already starting to file into the theatre. she slid into a seat on the aisle and the next man who aimed for the same row left a seat between them, clearly assuming that she was waiting for someone. she didn’t have the heart to correct him, so the chair remained mockingly empty, its shiny plastic seat reflecting the harsh overhead lighting. june hadn’t dared look around the room as she arrived, knowing that her eyes would immediately start scanning for her ex wife among the crowd. instead she focused on the present, the headmaster waffling on about gcse choices and how crucial the next few years of education were for their children. it was, almost word for word, the exact same speech he had made three years ago when they had been sat in the exact same room for their eldest son’s options evening.
nomi’s sudden arrival broke her out of a daydream, right as the droning, monotonous tone of the headmaster’s voice was threatening to put her to sleep. it was so unlike her to be late that june itched to ask what was wrong, concern that she was completely ill-equipped to suppress scratching at her throat. but that wasn’t her place anymore and the ongoing presentation was the perfect excuse to say nothing, so she merely offered her a sheepish smile. “ you haven’t missed much, ” she whispered almost conspiratorially before turning her head back towards the stage.
june had originally intended to make a quick getaway once the presentation ended. she had played her part, made an appearance and shown an interest in her children’s education, she absolutely drew the line at mingling with other parents, most of whom she didn’t even like. the only person she did like was now sat next to her, unknowingly trapping her with indecision; she wanted to run back to the safety of her studio, but it seemed rude now that they had been pushed together like this. most of all, selfishly, she really just wanted this excuse to talk to her. “ like i said, you didn’t miss much. do you reckon he has it all memorised by now ?? ” it was easier to deflect her emotions by seeming casual, but she feared her words came out cold and detached. there was once a time when nomi had been the only person in the world that june didn’t struggle to talk to, who she could share her every thought with. they never talked like that anymore, in fact they scarcely spoke at all beyond things relating to the kids. shaking off that depressing thought, she stood up and nodded her head towards where everyone else was filtering out into the courtyard, shoving her hands deep into the pockets of her coat to avoid the reminded that she would have once held a hand out instead. “ shall we ?? someone should ruin greta’s fun by taking all the pinwheels before she gets her slimy hands on ‘em. ”
Nomi’s hand seemed to be attached to some unseen magnet. Surely, that was the reason for it hovering awkwardly at her side. That, or she’d almost reached out to hold her ex’s hand. Utterly unacceptable. She shook out the offending hand, as though there had been some cramp in it, and then made herself conspicuously busing shoving her notepad back into her bag. “God, I hope so. Either that, or he can’t remember what he’s written and rewrites the same speech every year, from scratch. Like some time-loop.” She shook her head--at the thought of the time loop, not at June’s very polite offer--and then realized how it might look.
“Are you sure?” she said. “I mean, I’m happy to snack but if you have...Denise said...you know what, that sounds great.” There was a reason Nomi rarely spoke to June--she always tried too hard not to say the wrong thing, and somehow looped back around to saying the definite wrong thing instead. It made her feel muddled. “I hate Greta and I love pinwheels. Let’s do that.”
With her possessions gathered, she paused the faintest moment before turning and heading toward the courtyard. “I promised Callum if he kept the other two out of trouble, he could have that new camera he’s been on about. You weren’t saving that for some other bribe, were you?” That he’d begun to show interest in art--after his other mom--was a source of equal parts relief and worry for Nomi. On the one hand, at least it was art and not whatever trouble kids could get themselves into these days. On the other hand, being an artist hadn’t exactly made June’s life easy. Or maybe she was projecting. June being an artist hadn’t made her own life easy. This entire train of thought felt like the start of a fight, and she hadn’t even said any of it out loud, though. The point was, she was bribing their kid. That was alright, right?
They reached the bar first--wise, to put that before the food--and Nomi turned before ordering. “They’ve got that wine you like, I think. Red, bright, notes of currant.” She gestured vaguely toward the bottle she’d recognized. Nomi had a good memory for wines. Part of the job, she told herself, and not a sign of her descent into wine-mom-territory.
