Somewhere Along The Way [English]

California Dreaming

Six months later....

Zooey stood in front of the university and watched the students went by entering or leaving the building. So this was it. This was her first quarter at uni. It went by so fast. Now she already had her first exams at the end of December and had finally some time off. Not much, but at least a few weeks. She was checking her phone while a female voice was yelling her name.

"Zooey!" she heard from far away. It was Olivia. The black haired girl whom she met at her first day of uni. They set next to each other in their very first lecture and Olivia asked her if she could lend her a pen. Zooey could. Now they were friends and saw each other nearly every day.
"Jesus, I'm sweating like a pig, let's get out of this fucking Californian sun" Olivia moaned.

She had such a pale skin and hated the sun. Zooey was the opposite. She loved the beach and loved sunbathing, so she obviously was at the right coast. Although her skin was pale too she tried to go to the beach in every free minute she had. This was the positive side of studying in Santa Barbara: the beach wasn't that far away from the campus. Zooey loved to spend some hours there, no matter if with friends or on her own. She just loved the ocean. And she started liking California more and more. Studying in California meant sun for almost 12 months a year so this was definitely a good place for her. Moving from the Northwest to Southwest was a hell of a climate change – but Zooey loved it.

"Why are you looking so mad my love?" Olivia said with a highly voice while the girls were chilling among the shades.
"Yesterday I opened up Myspace at night" Zooey started telling her friend. Myspace was THE social media tool for Zooey and her friends. Everyone was using it. And everyone was loving it. Especially the fact that every account had an own profile song was the best feature ever for Zooey.
"Oh well, this is usually always a bad decision to open Myspace at night" Olivia laughed.
"I know..." Zooey sighed.
"What happened?"

"Well....as usual I stalked Eric's Myspace profile. Usually he's not very active. He barely changes his profile pic or even his profile song. It's still this New Found Glory song he already had six months ago."

"Ugh, boring"
"Yeah....whatever....yesterday night he did change a thing on his profile" 
"What did he change?"

Zooey hesitated but she couldn't keep it for herself. She HAD to tell it someone. And Olivia was her new best friends since she moved to Santa Barbara, so she had to tell her.

"He changed his profile pic....now there is a girl in his pic...."
"What???? Do you want to say he has....he has a new chic?"
"Maybe, I don't know. At least it looks like that"
"Ugh, honey, please stop thinking about this twat! He never deserved you"
"Well, we were quite happy....at least until..."
"Until he broke up with you right after you moved to California, yes I know this story so well. You told me about it for like....hundred times? You were so heartbroken. And now that he seems to have a new chic, you still care? Please, stop caring. He isn't worth it. We're going to college now, we're here to have fun, aren't we?" Olivia grinned.
"Yeah, but....it's not that easy Olivia"
"But give it a try"
"Hmmm...."
"Okay, show me" Olivia told her friend. "Show me this new chic"

So they went to the computers room where Zooey logged into Myspace and showed Olivia Eric's probably new girlfriend.
"Okay, she's a boring east coast girl. Looks okay, but not very pretty or remarkable at all"
"Well, if he's happy with her...." Zooey sighed.

She had to think about the day when Eric suddenly called it quits. It was totally unexpected for her. One day prior they even talked on the phone and she asked him when he would come over to Cali to visit her. They agreed that he would take a flight two weeks later right before his first classes would start. And then, just one day later, he called her again, just to tell her that it's over. He couldn't do that. He couldn't live in a long distance relationship. It's not what he wanted in life. And anyway, he wanted to focus on his studies without thinking of a girlfriend miles away. Zooey was shocked. She never heard such words out of his mouth. He always seemed so careful and sensitive. But this time he wasn't. Maybe he changed during the first weeks in Boston. She didn't know. All she knew was that it hurt. It hurt her so much. She couldn't even cry. Imagining living her life without Eric was the worst nightmare she had. Who would reason with her when she was feeling down? Who would be there when her family was a mess again? Who would support her studying film and media if even her family didn't supported it since it was "nonsense" for them? No one. From now on she was all by herself. Just like Celine Dion sang in her song.

Zooey cried for three days afterwards. It took her five more days until she finally left her room again. Then she got drunk, kissed a total stranger at a campus party just to realize that Eric was probably the best kisser she ever met. But she didn't want to feel sad for her whole life. Olivia was the one who supported her. They watched movies, cooked and went to every college party on their campus. Although Zooey wasn't in the mood to meet new guys, she was approached a few times. Of course it felt good and made her a little bit more self confident. But at the end of the night she was still lying in her bed, all by herself, crying herself to sleep. That's what the first weeks after her break up were like. The only good thing about it was that she didn't have to see Eric since he was living in Boston.

The quarter semester went by and Zooey tried to live her life as good as she could. She had many phone calls with her sister Madison who was four years older and already doing her masters degree at NYU. She listened to her heartbroken sister and tried to cheer her up. Madison also had a high school boyfriend with whom she broke up after her first year of college. But the difference here was that her sister decided to break up. In Zooey's case, she was the one who was dumped. She didn't want to leave Eric. She never ever thought about it before. He was the one who ended their relationship. He decided how her life should be like in the next months. Of course she didn't really think they would live their happily ever after – how could she be sure about that at the age of 18? - but she definitely thought they could move in together when he would move to California for his master in three years. Of course, three years are a very long time, especially when you've just graduated from school....but Zooey believed in them. She believed that their puppy love was true love.

"But believe me honey, you will find someone again who will love you the way you love this person"
"I hope you're right....at the moment I don't believe those words"
"Well, maybe you should stay single for a few more months. I mean, look at how great it is being single?" Olivia grinned and pointed at herself. "You can go to every party you want, you can leave the party whenever you want and with whomever you want....it's just fabulous!"
"Maybe you're right..." Zooey sighed.
"So, now that our first quarter is over. What are we going to do with our break?" Olivia changed the topic. "It's your birthday on Saturday!"
"Well, before my break starts, I have a job to do" Zooey reminded her of the semester closing parties this weekend where Zooey had to work at the bar she was working at every weekend.
"When do you have to work? On Saturday?"
"No....but Friday until night"
"Hm....whatever we'll be there and touching our glasses at midnight!"

"Really? Do you want to come?"

"Of course....I ask Noah if he joins me and we'll be there"

Noah was the third person in their exclusive group. They met him in a history seminar and fell in love with his huge knowledge about everything that happened in the past.

"He'll definitely be there" Olivia assured her friend. "Are you working at the bar?" she asked.
"I don't know yet. I only know that there are three bands playing"
"Okay, so at least there is music. There could be jobs much worse" Olivia laughed. "Are there any famous bands playing?"
"Not really. The first band is a local school band, the second is a band from England. But I've never heard of them before. And as the headliner there is a local band from LA, but don't ask me who it is....I don't know any of them"
"Well maybe they're hot" Olivia joked.
"Who knows" Zooey grinned.
"I guess Noah and I will be there on Friday. Are you allowed to drink while working?"
"Of course I am" Zooey laughed. "I mean, I'm working at a bar. No one even cares if I'm 21 or not....so....of course I can drink".
"Great, then we'll have a date!"