Gilded Obsession

Chapter 2

Clarke plops down on the old, secondhand couch that had seen better days with a tired groan before pulling off her sensible kitten heels and rubbing her feet.

"Well, good evening to you as well, hot stuff," Octavia, Clarke's roommate since freshman year says before adding, "I made us dinner. Join me at the table and tell me all about your first day at your fancy new gig."

With another groan, Clarke pushes herself up from the couch, picking up her shoes and making her way to her room to quickly change into ripped jeans, a plain V-neck, and a flannel. Then, she neatly hangs her slacks and blazer in her closet before tossing her button down into the laundry pile and joining Octavia in the kitchen once again. Her stomach growls loudly at the smell of the homemade lasagna that's steaming on the table, Octavia's specialty and Clarke's favorite.

"Gods, I love you. And this lasagna. I don't know what I'd do without you," Clarke says dramatically while gripping Octavia's head in her hands and pressing an obnoxiously loud kiss on the other woman's forehead.

"Ew, you and your affection. Gross," Octavia complains, frantically wiping the spot Clarke just kissed.

"You love my kisses, don't pretend otherwise," Clarke jokes, puckering her lips at the other woman as she takes a seat at their wobbly kitchen table with four mismatched chairs around it.

"I most certainly don't. I should take that lasagna away from you just for that. You don't deserve it," Octavia complains, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

"No, I beg of you, not the lasagna. Anything but the lasagna," Clarke pleads, protectively wrapping her arms around her plate with a big chunk of lasagna on it.

"I'll let it slide just this once. Now start talking. How was your first day?"

Clarke takes a big bite of the lasagna, burning her mouth in the process, then she chugs down half of her glass of water before groaning again and speaking, "It was okay. I am but a lowly intern, so most of my day consisted of running around the office and the city to fetch coffee and documents or making copies or relaying messages that could have been emails. I'm sure it'll get better though once I have proven myself, but I swear I must have walked at least ten miles today. My poor feet, Octavia..."

Octavia chuckles, patting Clarke's hand in mocking sympathy.

"I can't believe it's only my first day though and I spent over ten hours at work already. And now I have to rush to get ready for my job. Gods, this is going to be a tough year," Clarke sighs.

It's true, she landed her dream internship at one of the most prestigious law firms in the country, JP Law LLC, and she was ecstatic. This was going to be an amazing experience, and it would open so many doors once she graduated college at the end of the year. Maybe she'd even be offered a job at the firm if she performed well and put in her all. But that didn't mean the year would be any easier. This internship, like most others, was unpaid. An unpaid position where she'd spend well over forty hours every week running errands for the country's most notorious lawyers in hopes of learning a thing or two from them. On top of that, she still had a full year of classes to complete, be it that the load would be slightly lighter than during her previous years since the internship counted as a class. And then she had her bartending gig, the job she couldn't drop because while most of her tuition was covered by a scholarship, she still needed to pay rent and eat. And then there was the upcoming bar exam. Somewhere in between her internship, classes, homework assignments and regular exams, and her job, she'd have to find the time to study for the most important test she'd ever take in her entire life. The test that would determine the rest of her career, because if she failed or didn't perform well, she'd either never actually practice law, or she wouldn't be able to work at any of the prestigious companies.