By the time Maya slammed her bedroom door, her chest was tight and her head was buzzing.
Future. Career. Choices.
The words followed her everywhere lately. Breakfast. Dinner. Car rides. Even silence somehow turned into another reminder that she was supposed to know what she wanted to do with the rest of her life.
She didn’t.
“I don’t know what I want to do!” she shouted from the hallway. Her voice echoed louder than she meant it to. Great. The neighbour would definitely hear this one.
She spun back toward the kitchen. “I’ve told you a thousand times that I don’t know,” she said, heat rising in her face. “Most of my friends don’t know either. Why do you keep pressuring me? I don’t want to just pick something and get it wrong!”
Before anyone could answer, she stormed upstairs, her thoughts racing.
Why does everyone else seem so sure?
Why does it feel like I’m already behind?
Downstairs, Laura sank into a chair at the kitchen table and rubbed her temples. “Did we push her too hard?” she asked quietly.
Matt stood at the stove, flipping omelettes. “Maybe,” he said. “But we’re just trying to help.”
Oliver burst into the kitchen, already hungry. He was two years younger than Maya and somehow taller, which Maya hated but would never admit.
“What’s wrong with Sis?” he asked.
Matt slid an omelette onto each plate and sat down. “What do you want to do when you grow up, Oliver?”
They had asked this question many times before, and the answers were always different. Sometimes the kids wanted to be teachers, nurses, or police officers. Other times they wanted to be stay-at-home parents or Generals. But now Maya was heading into Year 9, and she had to choose her elective subjects. Laura knew how important those choices could be. She had made a mistake when she was young and had spent three hard years fixing it. She did not want Maya to go through the same thing.
“I want to be a tradie! Jay’s dad’s a plumber, and they go overseas every year.” Oliver grinned.
He took a massive bite. “And I heard tradies make heaps of money and don’t have to study that much.”
Laura raised an eyebrow. Matt chuckled. “Sure, that can be a good job. But they work in all kinds of weather. Hot. Cold. Rain.”
Oliver shrugged. “No worries.”
“Also,” Matt added, “they unblock drains. And toilets.”
Oliver froze. “Unblock toilets?”
“That’s why we pay them so well,” Matt said with a grin. “They do the jobs we don’t want to do.”
Oliver stared at his plate, suddenly less enthusiastic.
“Brekky time!” Laura called.
Maya came downstairs with her school bag slung over one shoulder. She kept her eyes on the floor. Laura didn’t want to set her off again.
“How’s Amy doing?” Laura asked carefully.
“She’s good…” Maya hesitated. “She’s organised her work experience at her dad’s company.”
Maya shifted her weight. “What can you do to help me with mine? School requires us to have a 2-week work experience in Year 9, and I don’t want to be a nurse.”
Laura felt a small sting, even though she understood. When Maya was younger, she’d wanted to follow her into nursing. But now Maya wanted choices and options.
“We just want to help,” Matt said gently. “Give us something to work with.”
Maya sighed. “But I still don’t know.”
“What’s Amy doing at her dad’s company?” Laura asked.
“She’s just doing office stuff,” Maya said. Then, after a pause, “Maybe I could do something like that.”
Laura’s face lit up. “That’s a great idea. we’ll ask around.”
Maya felt relief wash over her. At least, for now, the career questions might stop.
A week later, Laura came home smiling. One of her old school friends had agreed to take Maya on for work experience.
To Maya’s surprise, she felt a spark of excitement.
Shopping for business clothes made it feel real.
“How do you feel?” Laura asked while Maya tried on a jacket.
“It’s good. Perfect, actually,” Maya said, studying herself in the mirror. The jacket made her look more grown up.
“No,” Laura said gently. “I mean, how do you feel about Monday?”
Maya looked at her mum, then back at herself. “I’m good. I’m ready.”
On Monday morning, Laura drove Maya to the office. A friendly HR manager welcomed her, gave her a laptop and an ID pass, and walked her through the onboarding process like she was a real employee. Maya had not expected that. Actually, she did not know what to expect. But the induction made her feel welcome and important.
The HR manager then took Maya to the boss’s office and introduced her to the CEO, Lydia. Lydia welcomed Maya and introduced her properly at the staff meeting.
To her surprise, Maya had meetings booked with different employees over the next few days. Each one lasted half an hour. Everyone explained what they did, how they started at the company, and how Maya could help. By the end of the first day, Maya was buzzing and completely exhausted.
That night, she told her parents everything. Who she met, how welcome she felt, and the first job she had done: filing and shredding.
Matt looked shocked. “You actually enjoyed that?” he asked. His daughter never volunteered to do anything at home.
“Of course!” Maya said. “They needed me. They were so busy, and there were two huge piles of paper waiting to be sorted. Lisa was so grateful when I finished hers.”
She grinned. “I’ll finish the shredding tomorrow, and John has more work for me. I think I like working in an office.”
The two weeks flew by. Maya could not believe how quickly five o’clock arrived each day. It felt good knowing she had contributed.
On her final day, the CEO praised her work ethic and offered her an internship during the school holidays.
Later that night, over dinner, Maya leaned back and smiled.
“I still don’t know what I want to do,” she said. “But I know I like learning. And working. And figuring things out as I go.”
Laura reached for her hand.
That was enough.
This was the beginning of a new chapter for Maya.
