Because of that Night (Book1)

chapter 4: Zooey

Zooey had big plans for what she would be doing once she was done with her masters program. But somewhere along the way – it may have been when she flopped down on her bed that first night back at home – she lost a lot of ambition. She did everything in her power to avoid the inevitability of having to begin a whole new set of job applications. She unboxed her entire room, finding a place for everything in a room that was simply too big for all of the belongings she had. She went to the Lucky Mart and bought Twizzlers that made her stomach hurt, and she tried her best to avoid running into anyone from high school that was still hanging around Borne.

On Thursday, Callie came knocking on her door. "You haven't left this room in twelve hours, have you even eaten anything?"

Zooey looked up from her laptop where she was re-watching New Girl for what had to be the eighth time at this point. "Of course I have," she responded and motioned towards the now empty Twizzlers package beside her bed.

"I mean real, actual food," Callie said, her arms crossed in front of her. She motioned for Zooey to follow her. "Come on."

The two got into Callie's car and started driving. Zooey had almost forgotten that Callie was at the age now where she could drive on her own and didn't need to depend on her older sister to get her to every place she needed (or wanted) to be.

"Where are you taking me? You know I'm trying to avoid people," Zooey asked, a fake scowl on her face. 

Callie laughed slightly and then said, "To Chester's. I figured you could use a coffee... and a job application," though this last part, Callie mumbled.

"Are you trying to say something?" Zooey asked.

As they pulled into a spot in front of Chester's Coffee, Callie turned off the car and looked at Zooey. "I know you, Zooey. You finished your masters on time, you didn't actually walk at graduation once you knew mom wasn't coming, and the only reason you're back here is because you ran out of money in Chicago."

"How do you" – Zooey began to ask, but Callie interjected.

"You always meet deadlines, especially graduation ones, you have pictures solely of you in your cap and gown and none of your friends, and your lease ended at the start of September on your place."

Zooey looked down at her feet, feeling caught in a lie. She hated feeling as though she had hurt her sister for staying away for so long. It wasn't that she didn't love Callie, but that to be back in Borne felt like being back in a past life that no longer belonged to her. And worse, to go back to Chester's and grovel for a job that she had every summer she lived in Borne felt embarrassing. Wasn't she smarter now? Didn't she have skills and experience that could get her a job she really wanted? It's not that she didn't try. She must have sent up to fifty applications in the time she was still out in Chicago living out the end of her lease. She hadn't wanted to give up, it felt so much like failure.

"You're lucky college is still ahead of you, Callie," Zooey sighed. "The real world is so much more depressing than I thought it would be."

Callie leaned over and gave Zooey a hug. "Come on," she said. "Coffee's on me."

Sally Baker was at the front counter when they walked in the front door, the familiar bell chiming as the door swung closed behind them. Sally's eyes lit up as she spotted Zooey, and she came right out from behind the counter to wrap Zooey in a tight hug.

"It's like seeing a ghost," Sally laughed, pulling away from Zooey and looking her up and down from head to toe. "I was sure I wouldn't see you again once you jetted off for Chicago."

That makes two of us, Zooey thought in her head, but instead she smiled. "I finished up school and decided to take some time off, swing by the old stomping grounds."