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Scarlett
When I got home, I slumped into my couch, irritated. The whole day had been wasted. What was the point of having a Master’s degree if I couldn’t do anything with it?
Today’s interview had been a disaster. I’d really thought I had this one in the bag, but it turned out I was overqualified. I knew too much for the job. Who the hell had decided that if you knew too much, it was just as bad as knowing nothing at all? I would have worked for the salary. It wasn’t like I’d demanded more money because I had more than just a bachelor’s degree. It was absolute bullshit. If I had known that getting a Master’s would ruin my life like this, I would never have done it.
It was too late now. I spent years of my life studying for a fabulous degree that would get me nowhere in life. Awesome.
I walked to my kitchen and put on the kettle for coffee. I would spend my night searching for a job again. I didn’t have better things to do with my time anyway. No man, no personal projects, and all my friends had jobs, so they wouldn’t go out on a week night.
How was I going to create a life when I couldn’t get my foot in there? I missed the days of college when I was working toward something that mattered–at least, something I’d thought had mattered at the time. My biggest worry had been exams that were coming up, and being an adult had been nothing more than a distant dream. Now, I had bills to worry about and nothing to pay them with.
When the kettle boiled, I made myself a cup of instant coffee. I would have preferred the freshly ground stuff, but expensive tastes fell away when I failed to find a job. When you had to change your way of life, you knew you were in a bad place.
Was I feeling sorry for myself? Yes. Was I being a little brat? Probably. I guessed every
one had to start somewhere, which I would do if someone would just give me a chance. This really wasn’t my fault. Life was a bitch, waving my damn Master’s degree in my face.
What I really needed was to find myself a rich man so that I could sit at home all day and eat chocolate and drink tea, or go shopping and spend his money. I would let someone else worry about bills being paid. But that wasn’t going to happen any time soon. The only relationships I’d ever had were flings. To get married, I would have to have a meaningful relationship, and for that, I would have to find someone I could get along with.
It wasn’t that easy for someone like me. I’d always been a little different than my friends. They’d been with the guys in college, fucking around, getting into serious relationships, only to get their hearts broken. Everyone was looking for true love, but I’d never been able to see it in the guys around me.
They were all so immature, so unstable in their lives. They had no direction. I couldn’t relate to that. I’d always been more serious. Too serious, some had even told me.
So, I fucked around, didn’t stay after the deed, and lived my life without someone to answer to.
The only friend I could really relate to was Lily. And that was only because we’d been friends since fifth grade. She was the only one that understood me. I had practically grown up in her house, and I felt like we were sisters.
I considered calling Lily to complain to her about my life, but I’d done that often enough, and I didn’t want to burden her again. I knew what she would say, anyway.
“You’ll find something, Scar.”
It was easy for her to say, with her emerald green eyes and long blonde hair. With looks like that, she could do anything. I had dark hair and eyes, and even though I was pretty, I wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Beautiful, blonde, and sexy was everyone’s type, and I just wasn’t that.
I carried my coffee to my computer and sat down. I opened my Internet browser and pulled up Craigslist. It wasn’t the first place I would look for a job, but sometimes, there was good stuff there.
I scrolled through the ads, looking for something, anything, when an unusual ad caught my eye.
Surrogate mother needed. Available immediately. Between 23 and 30. $1 million.
I stared at the screen, unsure of what I was seeing. A million dollars? Right here in New York. How was that possible? Who had that much money to spend on having a child?
If a couple was willing to spend that much money on having a baby, I had to cash in on it. They obviously had money to spare, and I desperately needed some.
I hovered my mouse over the advertisement, not clicking it right away. Was this how far I had fallen? Was I going to have someone else’s baby for them? It sounded absurd. But I really needed the money, and I couldn’t find anything else. I clicked on the button before I could stop myself and applied to the job.
I didn’t keep looking. I powered down my computer before I could do anything else that was stupid and went to bed. Tomorrow was a new day, and I would try again.
When I woke up in the morning, I checked my email out of habit. I’d forgotten about the crazy ad that I’d applied to, but an email waited for me in my inbox. Application for surrogate mother, it read.
I was nervous again. I swallowed hard and clicked on the email, opening it.
Dear applicant,
Thank you for considering my offer. I would like to meet with you to discuss the terms of my contract. Let me know if tomorrow at lunchtime would suit you.
I look forward to hearing from you.
EB.
