My question involves criminal law for the state of: Virginia

Recently a friend & I stole merchandise from a Wal-Mart store in Virginia. Her stuff added up to $25 & mine added up to $36. A store employee witnessed us take the tags off the items & place them in our purses. When we tried to walk out the door, we were stopped by an employee & he said he wanted to talk to us about the items in our bags. At first I was calm because I had received false information that Wal-Mart doesn't press charges unless it's $50 or more. The actual limit is $25. We were taken to the back room & asked to remove the items from our bags. They also asked for our IDs & other information, & wanted to know how much money we had on us. My friend had no cash but she did have her debit card, & I had $5. (Don't know if that's significant.) I asked the worker if I could just give the items back & he didn't respond. Another worker then went to ring up our items to see the total amount of what we had stolen. I was still hoping it wouldn't be enough to be charged or that they would let us off the hook because we did not have previous criminal records. However, the items added up to at least $25 & Wal-Mart policy requires that at that price you have to press charges. The police arrived, & went through the same questions as the Wal-Mart employees. A Wal-Mart worker also took our pictures.

We are scheduled to appear in court in a couple months. This will be eating me up inside until then. This was totally out of character for me. I knew it was wrong & that if I was caught I could face stiff penalties, but yet I foolishly didn't think it could happen to me because I was more "careful" than that. & I also believed that I would never shoplift again. But one time is enough.

My concerns are
1) How much is a typical fine for a misdemeanor charge of petty theft in VA? I have read that it can be up to $2500, but that is the maximum.
2) Is jail time likely? This is my first offense.
3) Is there anyway to go through a diversion program or have this expunged from my record? (I cannot afford a lawyer. I am a college student & I have been unable to find work since January.)
4) Will the impact of a shoplifting charge diminish over the years? I am a nursing student, & although I realize I should have valued my future career over some clothes, I'm now worried that I will not be able to obtain a job when I'm finished with school.
The Wal-Mart employees were surprisingly 'nicer' than I thought they would be to a shoplifting suspect. The guy walking me out said that a misdemeanor would probably not affect my nursing career because he had one himself before, for assault I think. I hope he is right.
5) Is the court going to call my house & send a bunch of letters in the mail? I don't want my mom finding out, it would kill her.

Thanks for any help.