After Class

Chapter 1

Applications cluttered the laptop in front of me. Grad school, jobs, apartments, not to mention the amount of bills I would have to learn to pay. 

Then there was my phone, buzzing next to me. Everyone had advice for me on how to be an adult. Friends wanted me to move back to school, or around school. My mother of course wanted me to do what was best for me, but I knew she really just wanted me to stay with her for a while. 

I had known that graduating from college would bring some change. Moving home was a big deal and finding an adult job wasn't as easy as it looked, but I was surprised by the amount of loose ends lying around me. 

Friends that I once saw everyday now rarely even texted and I almost missed the city. 

I stared at the screen, willing all these responsibilities to disappear. The words blurred for a moment, but they still were in front of me. 

Finally, I set to work, typing over and over: 

Penelope Adams, 2772 West Waverly Drive, Bridgeman MI 49106 

Grad school, check. Four different jobs, check. Apartments.... that would wait until I got a job I guess. 

My phone buzzed again. I finally picked it up to see that I had messages from Kayden, Edward, Leigh, and quite a few other people. I scrolled through messages, working through Snapchat, then Instagram, and then my texts. 

Part of me would always be a little surprised by how many people did choose to stay in touch with me. Not to be sappy or say woe is me, but I never really appreciated the people who were there for me. 

Mom stepped into the kitchen, "How's the job hunt?"

I shrugged, "I don't know. I mean, if I don't get a job at the school, I can still take classes. It'll just take me longer, right?"

Mom nodded, "Absolutely. You might as well get started." She smiled at me, her brown eyes mirroring my own.  A little fear, sadness, and pride mingling together, "Penny, I am so proud of you." 

I smiled, "I know." I reached out for a hug, "I'm proud of you too, Mom." 

She grinned, pulling herself away, "I've got some stuff to work on, but then we'll get dinner, okay?"

I just nodded and turned back to my phone, surprising myself with the first person I texted to tell them that I had applied for grad school... Edward.  

Edward, how do I describe Edward? Looks definitely gay, but he's not, super smart, kinda a douche, and yet somewhere along the line he became one of my best friends. I hardly ever saw him after he graduated, but before that we had a lot of classes together. He was the most irritating person I'd ever met but deep down I knew he had a good heart. 

I didn't tell anyone else that I'd applied. Maybe I was scared that they would laugh. After all, Penny Adams was never known to be the best student.  Maybe I just wanted to make sure I got in before I told anyone. 

Whatever it was, Eddie made up for it with his excitement. Before long the conversation shifted to getting apartments, joking about getting one together. After all, if we dragged one of our other friends along, we'd be a gender bent New Girl.