Page 17 of June

“Okay,” Viv replied and returned her attention to her book.

A few hours later, Caroline was done with studying and needed to take a shower. Viv was still reading a book in German and had been quiet all afternoon, so Caroline didn’t say anything when she changed into her robe behind her closet door and grabbed her towel and toiletries.

The thing she hated the most about having a roommate was the absence of real privacy. Viv was nice, but she was practically always around, so when Caroline needed a little stress relief, she rarely had the chance to get it in her own room. The shower was the only place where she could do what she wanted. It wasn’t thesame as the small vibrator she kept hidden in her desk, but her own hand worked well enough.

She didn’t always do this in the shower, but more often than not, it was part of her routine, so after she washed her hair and body, she rinsed and pressed one palm to the wall in front of her, letting the water continue to run over her, and reached her hand between her legs, spreading them as she began to stroke. Usually, whenever she touched herself, she thought of nothing in particular. This was meant to relieve the tension so that she could get some sleep. Tonight, though, she had someone on her mind, and that someone had hazel eyes.

CHAPTER 5

Enid had agreed to run the booth for her professor, but only because it gave her a leg up in class. He’d been looking for volunteers to try to attract some top talent for their graduate program and the careers that came along with it. Enid had offered because she’d had nothing better to do, and she wanted to have contacts from school once she graduated. She had set the booth up an hour in advance of the career fair and thought it was a little ridiculous to have actual brochures and catalogs sitting on the table. No one would actually read one of these. At most, they’d just ask questions of Enid and then look things up on their phones or computers later.

Deciding that she didn’t need to wave people over or try to actively get their attention because her professor wasn’t there and wouldn’t know if she was trying to sell the program or not, she sat in the chair and waited for her two-hour shift to be over. The fair went on for four hours, but another grad student would be here later to relieve her and tear it down. Enid needed to finish several articles before her next class, so she pulled out her phone and began reading one of them. When thirty minutes had gone by and no one had stopped by the booth, she was ready to keep reading for the remainder of her shift and not talk to anyone, but then the first person walked up and grabbed a brochure.

“Hey,” Enid said.

“Hi,” the guy replied and said nothing else while he read the brochure. “This is for a program, not a job,” he noted a few seconds later.

“Yes, it’s for the master’s program,” she said.

“But this is acareerfair,” he replied.

“True,” she said, unable to argue. “But this program is one of the best in the country. We’re in the top ten nationwide. We offer an advanced program and a standard one, so two or three years, depending on which one you pick, and you’d come out of it with connections and likely be able to find a job easier and with a higher salary.”

Enid heard herself say the spiel she’d been instructed to tell anyone who expressed interest and only hoped that was true because she had a year left and needed those connections, a job, and a higher salary.

“What do you mean, advanced program?” he asked.

“There’s a two-year program where you’re taking classes over the summer, but you’re done sooner. The three-year one has no summer sessions. You’ll take more classes, but it requires a lower GPA and GRE test score to get into.”

“You’re in the program now?”

“Yeah, the advanced one,” she replied. “You need three letters of recommendation and an essay, but you don’t have to take the GRE or any other graduate entrance exams.”

“I’m only a sophomore,” he revealed.

“Not a bad idea to start thinking about this stuff now. What’s your major?”

“Poly sci. I couldn’t decide, so I just picked it.”

“It’s a good major,” Enid said. “If you think you might be interested in a program like this, but you’re not sure yet, next semester, try to take an advanced econ or stat class. If you canhang there and you like it, you might want to think about the grad program.”

“Okay. Cool. Thanks,” he said before he left the brochure he’d picked up and walked away.

That sophomore guy was the only person who had approached the booth, so when her two hours were up, Enid stood and was ready for her fellow grad student to relieve her. She wanted to wander around a bit before the fair ended.

“Um… Hi.”

Enid turned to see a woman standing there in front of the table. She looked a little familiar, but Enid couldn’t place her.

“Hi. Are you interested in learning more about the program?” she asked.

“Uh… No,” the woman replied.

Enid looked around, not sure what she should do.

“You don’t recognize me, do you? Sorry, I thought–” The woman turned to go.

Enid recognized the voice then and said, “At the bar.”

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