Hugo tried to delay the inevitable personal talk that comes with meeting a parent for as long as possible. He loved his mother, but he’d much rather talk about cars for the nth time rather than how he is doing. Ms. Byron also loved Hugo and wasn’t the type to give up before a status update. In fact, she had shown her stubborn streak back in her racing days as “Lady Dragon,” but that’s a story even Hugo doesn’t know. Like it or not, this quiet cafe was about to become the site of a grisly interrogation.

“Haha, that’s enough about me though. What have you been up to Hugo?” 

“I, uh, went to a reunion with classmates last night. It’s was nice to see them again.”

“What are you talking about? You couldn’t stand your high school classmates. That girl must have been there~!”

Hugo blushes a little at his moms teasing. Grisly indeed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I had friends. Dave was there too.”

"Okay okay Hugo, so there wasn't a girl." Ms. Byron wisely didn't point out Hugo's slip of the word 'too' and shifted her assault to be from a different front. "So when will there be a girl? I'd like to hold my grandchildren before my hands are too shaky to hold them properly."

"...You're still really young mom. It'll be more than a decade before that's a worry."

"Then what about my great-grandchildren!"

Hugo's face darkened. "I'm still young too, I'm not ready to settle down yet."

"You still don't have a real job do you? Still 'streaming' or whatever? There isn't a future for you in that. What will you do in 10 years when you still don't have an education and things just didn't take off for you? I really worry."

Hugo sighed. He wanted this to be a fun day for both of them to celebrate the holiday. "I still take on other work to get experience, but it's going really well."

"Oh, what kind of work? Grocery stores?"

"No... actually I have a model shoot on tuesday."

Ms. Byron snorted. "What will that help you with? If you want to be a celebrity, why don't you go to Julliard... or, or... I don't know something? A major in fine arts at a local school or even an associates to show you are educated and willing to work hard." She launched into a full lecture. "Luck and looks work for some people, but it's a gamble. People these days care more about what capabilities you already have than what you might have in the future."

Hugo cuts in before she can fully explore this tangent. "Streams are a way I can prove myself and my skills with real live results if that's the path I decide to go. I can build a fan base and show what I can bring to the table for advertisements." 

"What about when people ask you to advertise something you've never even tried or used, but it's the only work you can get? What if you want more than 'doing advertisements' out of life? People toss out a lot of applicants simply because they don't have degrees."

Hugo voice pitches higher with emotion. "I didn't even say that's what I want to do for sure. It's just one possibility. Maybe going to school to learn more about math would give me a better chance at starring in a movie, because I got a degree. I don't know. What I do know is that if I got an offer I didn't like, I can turn it down because I'm making ends meet. I have a huge debt pressuring me to get fast results if I go to school mom. Any kind of success takes time. Degrees get a foot in the door, but real life experience gets you a career."

"You are one sickness away from true poverty Hugo... I don't want to hear that you're only making ends meet." 

Hugo sighed again, the fight leaving him as he started to comfort her. "It's not that bad mom. I'm only 24 and some of my old classmates I talked to yesterday aren't even managing that. I'm also lucky enough to have a wonderful mother who would support me in a worse case scenario. I'm not alone in this world. I'm working really hard to do even better, but I know you have my back. You wouldn't let things come to that mom." 

They grasped hands in a moment of silence. Ms. Byron suddenly broke it with a laugh. "I think our food might be cold."

"I don't know about the food, but I'm really hungry haha."

She gave him a big smile and said, "Let's eat!"

pastalady

Do you also feel like Hugo, that polite conversations with your parents are like an interrogation?

I've also juxtaposed his mom's previous experience of her parent not supporting her into what they perceived to be a stable career path onto her lack of support for Hugo. Sometimes parents worry, they know how hard life can be and just want what is best for their children. This can make them hypocritical even if it's for the right reason. On the other hand, their kids often admire the work they've done and want to similarly take a thorny path. Parents can be our biggest heroes. This obviously isn't always the normal, especially in today's world of instant gratification, but I wanted these characters in particular to have this kind of relationship. It's an important experience for Konoshira Mai who found it very easy to disconnect from her previous life before she started the simulations. Experience is what gives people perspectives. Feel free to disagree with me in the comments. ;) 

Fun fact: I originally imagined her pushing for him to get a girlfriend after pushing him to get a more stable job and home, but the reunion felt like a more natural segway.