A Closer Look

Chapter Three: Looking Ahead

Each time Sam received a rejection email from a company, it stung just as much as the first.

She crossed off Hansen Consulting on her spreadsheet. Another one down. All she wanted -- no, needed, was one acceptance email and she hadn't managed to land it. She tried to ignore the fact that her sister, Kate, had already secured multiple job offers back when she was in this position.

She tried to ring Tom but she was taken straight to his voicemail. It was rather early in the night; he should still be up. Nonetheless, she put her phone away and began writing an outline for their upcoming lab work. One hour had passed before her phone buzzed with Tom's name on it.

"Hey, you," Sam said, smiling to herself.

"Hey, how's my future engineer doing?"

"I'm okay. Just got rejected by Hansen Consulting, which kinda sucks. But there's still time so I'm trying not to freak out," she said, spinning slowly on her swivel chair. "What's new with you?"

"Sorry to hear that, Sam. I'm sure you'll find something soon," he said, and she almost rolled her eyes at the generic response, but remained quiet. Tom updated her on his life; his new job as a biological technician had a rocky start but was now going well, he had made a few new friends in the field.

Sam waited for him to ask about her, but he didn't. She volunteered the information, regardless. She talked about her new group, Jess and Blake. She also mentioned Haley and how she had transferred to nursing. It wasn't long before Sam noticed his short, distracted responses.

"Tom?"

There was a slight pause before he replied: "Yes, yes, you were talking about your group?"

"I was telling you about Haley quitting engineering -- she is in nursing now. Isn't that kinda crazy? Good on her, though. I think she's enjoying it."

"Yeah, that's cool," he said.

Sam bit her lip. "Is everything alright, Tom?" Her heart sped up in her chest as she anticipated his answer. She wondered if she and Tom's relationship was going to be another statistic of the many failed long-distance relationships, after all.

"What? Nothing's wrong," Tom said. "But I have to go now, Sam -- sorry. There's a drinks thing tonight that I said yes to."

At this hour, on a weeknight? "Whatever," she snapped. "Goodnight." She didn't wait for his reply before she hung up. Feeling stupid, she wondered if Tom would call her back to explain, or even send a message -- but there was nothing.

A sob escaped her chest, followed by another. Hot tears blurred her vision and rolled down her cheeks and she started gasping for breath. She wiped away her tears with an aggressive swipe of her arm, but there was no stopping them -- so she simply embraced this catharsis and let her heart mourned for her loss.

.

The first sip of her iced tea felt like liquid heaven in the midst of Melbourne's blistering summer. "Amazing," was all Sam could muster as she took another long sip.

Chatter and laughter filled the warm Saturday air at St Kilda beach. The little cafe that Haley picked out was in reasonable proximity to the action, but far enough from the noise that it made a perfect brunch spot.

Haley and Sam traded the latest life updates, as was tradition. Haley's first few weeks in nursing school had went well, although she mentioned the lack of boys compared to engineering was a culture shock.

"If it means I never have to put up with Fourier's law again, so be it," Haley said. "Speaking of boys, how's it going with Tom?"

Sam looked away. "I'm not sure what's happening with him, to be honest."