Selena nodded, sighing. "My mother's an invalid, so she doesn't get out much...she usually spends all of her time at home...she has a bad attitude, and she says I do, and I don't...I don't get it, really..."

"Can't choose your family, I guess," Glory replied. "Things'll get better, I know they will. You'll be eighteen soon enough, right? You can move out then."

"If I have enough money," Selena added, miserably. "I was hoping Viktor would help me out, but...I don't know now, after all that's happened, if he will..."

"The only thing you can do is ask," Glory said. "I'm not planning on moving out, since I know Nana will need living assistance, eventually, so if I'm already here..."

Selena sighed, looking a tad concerned. "...I guess I'll just have to talk to him..." she whispered, feeling helpless. She didn't want to have to rely on Viktor for everything.

"Do you have a job or something?" Glory asked. It almost seemed like a stupid question, but she still wanted to know. "Every little bit helps, you know."

"The only place around here that pays well is Viktor's restaurant. I've never been fond of waiting on anyone or anything, because I can't deal with rude customers..." Selena muttered, scratching her head. "I could wash dishes or help cook or something..."

"I don't mind waiting on people," Glory said. "I have a job there already. Apparently, I'll clean tables for two weeks before I'm allowed to wait on people, which is fine with me. It's good mindless work."

"Yeah, I guess so..." Selena mumbled. It seemed like she'd never had a job before in her life...perhaps Viktor had been paying for most of her expenses?

"You know..." Glory mused, "you seem like the kind of person to enjoy playing with cars. If you want, I could call one of my friends and ask if they need any go-fers or assistants in the garage..."

At the mere mention of getting dirty, Selena quickly shook her head. "Um...nah..."

((I'll be back in a bit--I have to head home from this family gathering I'm at.))

((that's fine))

"You might like it," Glory pointed out. "And mechanics are good skills to have. I worked with them enough to know when certain sounds in my car are good or bad, and what's probably causing them. I'm just not so great at fixing them without Hector's help."

Selena wrinkled her nose a bit. "I guess it's a good skill to have, but I just can't stand getting my hands dirty...even if I have gloves on. I won't even garden for that reason."

"I can't garden," Glory said. "I can't keep a plant alive to save my life. Nana keeps some little bamboo plants in her room, but I never touch those."

"Everything I touch in my mother's garden seems to die," Selena echoed, grinning. "I don't know if it's me or what, but she doesn't let me near her garden anymore."

"I managed to drown a cactus plant," Glory replied. "I'm not sure how, since I barely watered it at all, but still."

Selena chuckled. "That's pretty bad. My mother grows exotic fruit--she has a greenhouse. That's where all of our money is pumped into." She rolled her eyes. "That and bills..."

((Gaaaah, as soon as I get home...I gotta take a shower, now--I'll be back in a few minutes.))

"I'd be happy to be able to grow a pot of lilies or wildflowers or something," Glory said. "I love waterlilies... They're so pretty."

"I like Swiss edelweiss flowers..." Selena replied, rather dreamily. "My mother thinks they're ugly, so she won't grow any for me..."

"Maybe one day you'll be able to grow them yourself," Glory suggested. "Like I said, I'm no good with plants, but I kind of wish I had a cat or something. I like pets. Or a snake, I like snakes."

At the mention of snakes, Selena got a little antsy. "Eeehhh...I used to like snakes, but that was before I met Viktor's cousin, from England. He owns two reticulated pythons...probably illegally. One of them bit me."

"Then be glad pythons aren't venomous," Glory replied. "I have a soft spot for red-tailed boas, though rainbow boas and rhino rat snakes are good too."

"I'm glad they're not poisonous, but they hurt...so much...when they bite," Selena complained, shuddering just remembering the bite. "It also tried to wrap around me when it bit me. It was awful."

"The snakes that I took care of were nice and mellow," Glory said. "In my last school, I got to take care of a snake three feet long, and she was perfectly happy to rest on my shoulders and warm herself up."

"Lucky...I either had really tiny snakes or giant snakes...no in-between," Selena informed her, finishing up the last of her fish. "Wyatt's snakes scare me. That's Viktor's cousin, by the way. Really, really weird kid..."