Page 125 of Derivation

“I’m going to work in my room. I need to see it bigger,” Arlowe said, removing her headphones just as Gabi carried her plate and her coffee out to the garage.

“What?” she asked.

“My TV; it’s bigger than the monitor in here.” Arlowe nodded to the screen that was mounted to the wall. “I need to see what I’m doing bigger, so I’ll work there, then probably pass out for a few hours, and wake up to keep going.” She stood and picked up her laptop. “I might come back out around four or five.”

“Okay, I’m calling it,” Stella stated. “Do you all need Violet anymore?”

“Not really,” Arlowe replied. “Why?”

“Because if you don’t, I’m taking her home.”

“Babe, I have to stay. It’s not fair.”

Sarai took her headphones off and asked, “What’s going on?”

“Arlowe is going to work in her room, nap, and work some more. Stella is going to take Violet home,” Gabi said.

“Oh, okay.” Sarai looked down at her desk then. “You made me a sandwich?”

“Babe, you watched me set it down,” she replied with a little laugh.

“I could use a nap, too,” Enya said. “Sarai, do you need anything else right now? If not, maybe I could get a little sleep and come back in a few hours.”

“Yeah, go for it. I’m good here. Honestly, you can all go,” Sarai said. “I would’ve worked in my own room, but I’d just pass out in there. I have what I need, though.”

“Great,” Stella replied. “Let’s go, my love.”

“She calls you that?” Arlowe teased.

“Make fun of me when you get a hot girlfriend,” Violet retorted as she stood up.

“Are you two okay to drive?” Gabi checked.

“We’re good,” Violet replied. “I’ll drive since Stella kind of hates it, but we’re not that far away. We’ll be okay. I’ll come back around seven, but if you need anything, Sarai, you’ll go through my do-not-disturb, so just call.”

“I’ll be fine, but I have to send them the file by eight, so don’t be late. We need to all look at it and approve it at seven in case I need to make any quick changes before I turn it in.”

“I should stay. Stella, I should stay.”

“No, we’re leaving. Sarai says she’s good, and she could use some alone time to focus, so we’re all going to give that to her. If she needs you, she’ll call. Right, Sarai?”

“Right.”

Gabi watched the whole thing more than participated in it. Arlowe left first and quickly, and Violet and Stella followed after her. Enya checked one more time, but when Sarai told her that it was fine, she took off, too.

“Did you really need them all here, but you were being nice?” Gabi asked once they’d both eaten at least a few bites of their sandwiches.

“Nope. I wanted them gone. Violet is pretty annoying when she’s exhausted, and I could tell Stella wanted to leave. Enya was wiped but trying to hang in. And while Arlowe was fine since she’s usually still awake at this hour anyway, not having her in here is better for me, too.”

“What can I do?”

“Get some sleep. You don’t need to stay awake. Even if Arlowe checks your thing in an hour, you don’t have to do anything with it tonight. You don’t even work for us, babe.”

“Technically, I do.”

“Not for this, though.” Sarai leaned over and gave her a quick kiss. “Go to sleep. You have to work tomorrow, too.”

“I’d rather be out here with you, unless you really need me to go.”