Page 2 of Tough Luck

When the professor reached the part about my “feral” crush on the “star pupil in row three,” Caleb slowly turned around.

I buried my face in my hands until I felt Caleb’s eyes leave me.

The look on Professor Higgins’s face wasn’t anger. Instead, there was a mix of pity and gloating as he finished reading the last words I’d typed.

I was pretty sure he lived for these moments. His love of humiliation was, after all, one of the key points in my essay.

“Ms. Ferreira,” Professor Higgins said loudly enough to get everyone’s attention. His voice was terrifyingly calm as he adjusted his glasses. “Since you find my teaching style to be ‘intellectual spaghetti,’ perhaps you’d prefer to spend your time at a different establishment. I believe the dean has a few things he would like to discuss with you on your way out.” He motioned toward the doors. “He’s waiting for you now.”

No doubt my face was beet red. I always turned red when I was embarrassed. Without a single word, I scrambled to pick up my bag, then I turned and bolted for the door. Except my foot caught the edge of a desk. Of course, me being me, I didn’t just stumble; I did a full-body, flailing-arm lurch that ended with me face-planting just inside the doors. Before the laughter could ring out again, I got up and ran.

I was halfway across the quad, the cold Colorado air biting at my lungs, when Nova finally caught up to me.

“Sofia, wait! Stop!”

I spun on my boot heels. “I’m done. I quit.”

Her eyebrows rose. “Quit? School?”

“Yup.” I turned and started marching toward my dorm room.”

“Okay, so that was… a top-ten disaster.” She caught up with me. “Maybe a top five.” She grabbed my arm to stop me. “But you can’t just quit. You only have a week to go until the end of the year. Have a talk with the dean. Tell him that you had a hormonal caffeine-induced psychotic break.” She threw up her arms. “The school loves those excuses!”

“No, I’m done this time for real. The universe is literally screaming at me to leave this place. I can’t go back in there. Not after that.” I sighed heavily, raised my face to the sky, and closed my eyes. Fresh snowflakes landed on my face. “I think I’m going to move back home.” I almost whispered the idea into the wind.

I’d spent the last few years shuffling from downtown Denver for school and dorm life to my hometown of Golden for the part-time summer job that had helped pay for it all. I loved city life. Lived for it. Golden wasn’t that far away, but the plan had been to make city life permanent after graduation.

Nova’s expression softened as she looked at me. She knew my looks. Knew my moods. Most importantly, she knew that I was serious.

“Fine. I can’t stop you if you’re really going to leave. What are you going to do?”

I threw my hands up. “I don’t know. Maybe ask for a full-year part-time position at work?” I groaned.

She stopped me by putting up a hand.

“You just wrote one of the best two-page essays I have ever read on why Professor Higgins might actually be a real troll. You’ve got writing skills,” she joked, leaning in. “We’ve been working at Gold Standard Marketing for how many years now?”

I shrugged and tried to count how long it had been since we’d graduated high school.

“My point is, James Mylonas would be a fool not to let you have a crack at something more permanent. And full time.” She nudged me.

She was right. We had both worked for Gold Standard Media every summer for years. We had needed the extra cash to pay for some of our classes, and James Mylonas, who owned the biggest marketing firm in Golden, was a friend of Nova’s family.

James had been kind enough to let us work there in the summer, and he always brought us back when we weren’t in class.

Most of what we were doing there was filing, printing. It wasn’t glamorous, but the paper cuts were a small price to pay for a boss who welcomed you back each summer with open arms.

Nova’s goal was to get her degree and then get hired full time as a Chief Marketing Officer.

My goal? I don’t think I really had one. Yet. Other than surviving the next few weeks of school.

“A full-time job at Gold Standard Media?” I thought out loud. “If I can get hired on full time, I guess I can always figure out the next step later. Do you really think that’s possible?”

“I’m sure of it. He was just telling me the other day when he had dinner at our place that he needed a few more marketing people. And last summer you helped out with web designs.” Nova brushed the snow off my shoulder. “He’s desperate for someone who can actually handle the digital side of things, someone young who can bring fresh ideas for some of his younger clients.”

I looked back at the brick buildings of the campus, where the destruction of my dignity had been projected in 4K resolution for the whole class to see. The thought of stepping foot in another lecture hall made my stomach do a slow, agonizing roll. My departure had been coming on for a while now. My normally perfect marks had been growing more pathetic, forcing me to see the truth.

I was done. I was bored of chasing the grades. I wanted something more. Something… real.