Aubrey, the Star

16: ozone layer

Aubrey

★

ozone layer - "a part of Earth's atmosphere that absorbs lots of the sun's ultraviolet radiation."

I'd reached a consensus.

After going back and forth with myself and growing tired of looking at the $2.50 that I had to my name - I decided to get a job.

I flipped through the city newspaper, picking away at the chips Lincoln had sat between the two of us. Believe it or not, I was actually in the cafeteria eating for the first time since that dreadful party two weeks ago. There was nothing new. Aside from people being shocked to see me show my face over escaping to the library.

The library had become a silent sanctuary. The cafeteria, on the other hand, was too boisterous for me.

Mickey couldn't hide her smirk when she saw me follow Lincoln from the lunch line. There were no amends for any of us to make since Mickey had emphasized to me how she was over the angst between us entirely. And I had a cellphone for the first time ever. It would be nice to have friends to make it useful.

Thomas, sporting a fresh buzzcut and eyebrow piercing, had colored pencils spread around him while he shaded in a drawing on his sketchbook. It made sense that he was creative. I was so caught up in the realization of everyone having money at Chellgren, I forgot to remember that we were teenagers who had hobbies and skills too.

He was drawing a landscape. That's what it looked like from my vantage point. A bridge was overlooking a waterway. The drawing looked all too familiar and I shuddered away the distant memory. Thomas was drawing the bridge that I jumped from. Everything was always so coincidental.

What about this?" Lincoln nudged my arm and I looked back at the job listings. He pointed at the position for a clothing store associate. I balked at the idea of helping someone pick out an outfit.

"Absolutely not," I protested, grabbing one of Thomas' colored pencils and marking a giant X through the description. "Do I look like I enjoy style?" He took a look at the uniform that I never bothered to personalize. Today I was in a white dress shirt, maroon button-down sweater and khaki pants. It was comfy. Not the Vogue standards of Charlotte and Mariah.

Lincoln pushed his glasses back up his face. "I think you'd manage," he said, shrugging.

"How much would it pay?"

He looked at the listing. "$8.50 an hour."

I gasped, scribbling the job out completely. "Fuck no! Next."

Thomas tucked two colored pencils behind an ear and halted his work. "The art department is always searching for live models," he said, smiling. I didn't like how deviant he looked. "You know...in the nude."

Mickey was quick to raise a hand to smack the back of his hand. Thomas caught his girlfriend's other hand mid-air and kissed the palm. Their love made me sick sometimes. It was nice to see my friends happy, but still, I wanted to vomit at the constant joy.

Mickey tilted her head at me. "Why do you need a job anyways," she asked. "You're the richest student at this school."

"I mean," I threw my hands up in exasperation, "that's his money. Not mine. I was brought up by a parent working paycheck to paycheck. If I wanted something, I had to work for it. Job experience looks good on a resume anyways."

Especially now since Charles planted the idea of college in my head.

"Still, what's the point of working when you literally don't have to," Lincoln said. "Save those openings for the people who really need it."