Destiny's End

School And Work

         They enjoyed a nice dinner, and talked while they ate, "Lanae, you said on the phone you wanted to get your diploma and a job."
         "Yeah, I want to get my GED, and I want to work. Not just because it would be wrong to expect you, or anyone else, to support me. I'm separated from my husband, and will likely be divorced soon enough since he already has another woman in his life, so I figure I better get started on making a life of my own."
         "Well, I know you don't like to have people interfere and do things for you, so I hope you're not mad. But, I remembered you talking about it on the phone and today at work, on my break, I went over and talked to Betty in the Career Learning Center and she said you can do everything right there. They have adult classes and study material you can use and when you're ready to test, they do that right there, too."
         Lanae looked up from her plate, "How much does it cost? I would need help to take the classes and test."
         "Betty said the classes are based on income and she could help you fill out the paperwork and everything anytime. The test costs forty dollars to take, but there are some options you may qualify for. For now, it would get you started, you could take the classes and use the study materials. From what I understand, it's a self-paced program you take, and you could go in with me in the morning and take the course. It would mean waiting for me to get done, but you would have a ride and if you wanted, you could come over here for coffee and study, it's only a block and a half to walk."
         Lanae smiled, "That would be great, Mom. I do want to do this, and I don't mind waiting. When do you work?"
         "I work weekdays, except for Thursday. I go in at nine and get done at three, so it's not real long for you to wait, and they have very good rolls and coffee here. I come over for my lunch break sometimes."
         "Then I guess I start school tomorrow, if that's alright?" Lanae was excited, she wasn't sure how she was going to do it, but she had her mind set on getting her GED as soon as possible. "I'd like to start right away, so I can get my GED, and because I get bored with nothing to do all day. I would wear your carpet out vacuuming."
         They both laughed and the conversation went over to small talk, this person did this, and did you know about so and so. It had not been that long since Lanae had left town, but everything had changed so much.
         "You should look up some of your friends when you get a chance; see what they are up too and what they are doing. I bet you would enjoy getting together with some of them."
         Lanae had thought about some of her school friends, but she really had not had any real close friends, and once she started going down her road of destruction, she pushed most of them away. Then, once Gary had come along, he finished off any hopes of friendship for her. She had not seen it at the time, but he had worked her into not trusting them, and when they warned her and tried to convince her to leave him she had turned on the few friends she had left.
         "No, I don't really have any friends, I didn't stay in touch and they didn't like me once Gary was in my life. I might in time, Mom, but for now I want to get to be friends with you, get my GED, and find a job. Maybe we can get a paper to look through see if there's any place hiring?"
         Phyllis took a bite of coleslaw, then said, "Just keep the idea open, about the friends. In case you change your mind, or if you bump into one of them. I don't think the paper would have much in it until this weekend, the Sunday paper is pretty good we'll get that. I can ask around at work, too. Just remember, it's going to be hard without the diploma, so don't get discouraged. Once you have your GED, things will go better."
         "That sounds like a good plan. I'll get things going tomorrow for my GED, and then we can look at ads on Sunday. I know there's not much chance, but it won't hurt to try."
         They enjoyed a nice evening, then returned home. Phyllis took a bath and Lanae played some old records in the living room. "I like to listen to these old records in the evening, they relax me. If you want, you can pick some out. I don't know if you will know any of the bands or songs, most of them were from before your time. Big band stuff from when I was about your age."
         Lanae didn't recognize any of the bands but she did know some of the songs. She was enjoying listening to them, they were very relaxing. The next thing she knew she was being gently prodded, "Lanae! Are you awake not? You fell asleep out here. I was going to cover you and just let you sleep in the chair, but I thought you may get stiff and sore, and you sure wouldn't sleep very well. No, you better get to bed, you have a busy day tomorrow.
         Lanae rubbed her eyes, "Goodnight, Mom." She stood up and gave Phyllis a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
         "Goodnight, Lanae."
         The next morning Lanae was up early; before her mom was even up. She looked in the cupboards and found the fixings to make a pot of coffee. While it brewed, Lanae took a quick shower. She had just stepped out of the bathroom when her mom's alarm went off. "That's good timing, so far it's looking like a great day," she thought.
         She had toast and a cup of coffee with her mom, then she went and got dressed. Soon she was walking through the door of the Learning Center. A pleasant woman smiled at her from across the counter. "Can I help you, miss?"
         "Yes, my mom talked to you yesterday about me taking some classes for a GED? I'm Lanae, Phyllis's daughter."
         "Oh yes, I remember. It's nice to meet you Lanae, I'm Betty. I have a packet all set up for you. Your mom said you're not working anyplace, right?"
         "No, I'm not working. I just moved back to town."
         "That's great, then we don't have to even figure out income, since you don't have any. You do know, you may qualify for some kind of assistance."
         "I don't want to go on assistance, I would prefer to find a job."
         "That's fine, I'm just giving you some options. If you do find work, the cutoff is pretty high, so you would have to make quite a bit before you would have to pay. The test is another story, however. If you're on assistance, they will help out, but if not, it's $40.00."
         "Hopefully I can find work before the test, then I will have the money. If not, we can discuss it more later, but I really would prefer to not go on any assistance."
         "That's your choice, Lanae. Here's the packet, let's sit over here and I'll help you fill everything out. I'm sure you will qualify for the course at no cost."
         They went through a mountain of papers, but finally they had them all done. "It looks like everything is in order. When would you like to start taking the course?"
         "Right away, I guess. How does it work? Where do I go?"
         "One thing at a time. First of all, it's done right here in this office. We have class on Mondays, Wednesday's, and Fridays. Tuesday and Thursday you can still come in and work, but there isn't any counselors here. I can assist some and answer questions. The course is a work at your own speed course. You will be assigned some books to study from, but they have to be turned back in after you pass your test. You will also be given some workbooks. The texts are from the school to assist you, and the workbooks are yours. You just work at your own speed, and when you complete a section, you can take a practice test. The counselors are here to work with you one on one if you're having any problems, and they also give classes in the mornings."
         Betty opened the packet and took out a paper, "Here is a list of what classes are given, and when. She took out a workbook, this is one of the workbooks; you can browse through it and see how it's set up. There are packets for each subject needed to pass your GED test, you can take them one at a time or all at once, whatever you're comfortable with."
         By lunch time, Lanae had all her subjects, and had started reading in one of the textbooks. She had to go sit in the lobby when the Learning Center closed for lunch, and soon she was interrupted. "What are sitting out here for?"
         Lanae looked up and seen her mom. "They closed for lunch, Mom."
         "Well they sure did, I just got back myself. If I had known you could have gotten a ride over to the cafwith me. Did you have more to do with Betty?"
         "No, not today. The classes are on Monday's Wednesday's and Fridays, the other days I can use the office and the books there to study, but only in the morning. I'll have to study here in the afternoons."
         "Why not go over to the cafand study over a cup of coffee. It would be much more comfortable to sit in a booth and have the table to put your stuff on."
         Lanae blushed a little, "I don't have any money, Mom. I have about five dollars stashed away, and that's it."
         "You don't have to be ashamed to be broke, Lanae. I knew you didn't have much money, but I thought you had more than that. You will have to walk over there, now, and if you want, you can put some of your books and stuff in my car."
         Phyllis dug her keys out of her pocket. "You'll have to run them back up to me, and then I'll pick you up at the cafafter I get done work. I'll call over and tell them you can charge on my account, but please, don't bankrupt me."
         "You don't have to buy for me, Mom. I can sit here and study till you get done. I will take you up on putting some of this stuff in the car, though."
         "You will, and then you will go over to the caf I don't mind helping out as long as you're trying to get things started over right. As long as you don't go eating steak every day I can afford to help you along. AT least until you get going good."
         "If you're sure about this, then alright. I'll get some coffee and study in a booth, it would be easier. But, I want you to tell me how much it costs you and when I get a job I want to pay you back. Ok?"
         "Ok, that's a deal. But pay me back only after you have the rest taken care off."
         "Deal, Mom. And Mom, thank you."
         Lanae put most of her school supplies in the car, but kept out one workbook. After bringing the keys back, she walked to the cafand sat down with a steaming cup of coffee and started her first lesson.
         The waitress stopped back a little later to see if she wanted a refill on coffee. "Yes, you can top it off, thanks."
         The waitress was back in a minute with a pot of coffee. "What are you reading?"
         "I'm working on my GED, I just started the course today, and I'm waiting for my mom to stop and pick me up after she gets done work." Lanae realized how lame that sounded after she had said it.
         The waitress didn't seem to notice, "Your GED, huh? I took mine a couple of years ago, it was easier than I thought. I guess I remembered a lot form high school. So do you live close by? I don't remember seeing you around before."
         "I just moved back a few days ago. I'm staying with my mom until I find a job and can get a place of my own."
         "I see. What kind of work do you do?"
         Lanae chuckled. "Well, until I get this GED, I'm going to be lucky to do any kind of work." She blushed, but continued. "I never had a job before, so I'm not sure what I want. I would take just about anything, though."
         "Have you ever thought about being a waitress?"
         "No, not really. Why?"
         "This may sound kind of funny, but we need another waitress. The girl who normally works now quit just last week. I work mornings, but until we get another person hired, I have to cover half the afternoon, and then the night waitress comes in and picks up the other half. It's not bad working this time of day, but the afternoon is slow, not much to do except clean up and serve coffee. It don't pay much for tips, either."
         "How much does it pay? What days and hours?" Lanae was all questions.
         "It pays minimum wage plus tips, you would have to start at 10:30 and I stay and help with lunch, then I'm done at 1:00 and you are on your own until 3:30. It's just part-time, but it's a job."
         "How do I, um - how do I apply?"
         "Just a minute" The waitress left and was soon back with an older man in a white apron. "This is Jim, the owner and cook." She turned and left.
         "So, you want a job?"
         "Yes, I do. The waitress told me the hours and stuff, and that would work great for me."
         "It's only Monday through Friday and maybe a weekend here and there if someone calls in sick."
         "That would be terrific." Lanae was so excited she could hardly sit still.
         "When can you start?"
         "Whenever you want."
         "Right now would be fine with me, if you want the job."
         "Ok, yeah, I want it."
         "I'll send your application and tax forms back out and we'll get you training this afternoon." He put out his hand and they shook. "Welcome aboard, lass."
         "Thank you so much, you won't be sorry, I promise."
         "We'll see; I hope not."
         The waitress returned with some papers and sat down and helped Lanae fill them out. "I'm glad you took the job, I'll train you in and help you out. I'm Heather, by the way."
"I'm Lanae, nice to meet you, and thanks."
They finished the paperwork and soon Lanae was serving coffee and following Heather around learning the ropes. She didn't even notice her mom coming in, until she went over to the counter and asked, "Can I get you so.... Mom, guess what?"
         Phyllis just looked at Lanae for a second, "What did they do, put you to work to pay for your coffee? I forgot to call over, I'm sorry."
         "Mom, I have a job, I'm a waitress and I'll be working in the afternoons until," she looked at the clock, "3:30. I hope that won't be a problem."
         "You work here? That's great, um no that's actually not a problem at all. Normally I don't get done until about a quarter past, by the time I get everything put away."
         "I'll be done in a few minutes, then. Do you want a cup of coffee or something?"

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