Chapter 2

Chapter 2 — Zoe

The alarm had been ringing for nearly five minutes before Zoe finally reached for it. She yawned as she got out of bed, her hair completely messed up from sleeping. Grabbing her towel, she headed straight for the bathroom to brush her teeth and jump in the shower. As the warm water ran, she started singing one of her favorite songs.

After a while, she looked at the time. Her eyes widened.

“Crap!”

She quickly turned off the shower, grabbed her towel, and hurried out.

“Crap, crap, crap.”

Zoe rushed to her closet, grabbed something simple to wear, and quickly changed before snapping on her self-made watch. Just as she was about to leave, her roommate, Claire, came in.

“Zoe, are you okay?”

“I’m gonna be late!” Zoe grabbed a piece of fruit. “Well, talk to you later. I gotta go.”

“Okay, bye!” Claire said.

Zoe quickly ran out of the house and grabbed her scooter. It wasn’t an ordinary scooter; Zoe had made it herself, modifying the engine so it ran much faster than average.

She rode through campus, passing students heading to class and groups of people talking along the walkways.

She checked her watch again. She was running out of time.

Pushing the scooter faster, she finally reached her class building, rushing through the entrance and slipping into the classroom just as the heavy doors began to slide shut.

“Hi, Professor G.”

Professor G looked up from his console, checking his clock.

“Zoe. Squeaking in with three seconds to spare. A new personal record.”

Zoe gave him an awkward smile.

“Yeah…”

She quickly took her seat.

Two hours passed before the class was finally over.

Professor G stood at the front of the room.

“Alright, everyone. Your homework assignment will be posted on the homepage online. Make sure you check it.”

The students began packing their things, but Professor G raised his hand.

“Before you leave, I have one important announcement.”

The room became quiet.

“The college’s next tuition payment deadline is approaching. If you still have an outstanding balance, make sure you’ve spoken with Financial Aid or the student accounts office before the deadline.”

Zoe’s expression changed.

Money.

She was already worried about it.

After class, Zoe stopped by the Financial Aid office. She waited in line for a couple of minutes before her name was called.

“Zoe?”

She looked up.

“That’s me.”

She headed into her advisor’s room and sat down.

“Hi.”

“Hello, Zoe. What can I help you with today?”

Zoe explained that she was worried about her remaining college balance.

“Okay. Let’s check.”

Her advisor turned toward her computer and started checking the account.

After a while, the advisor turned back toward Zoe.

“Your current financial aid doesn’t cover the full amount.”

Zoe was shocked.

“What?”

She had thought all of her college expenses would have been covered already.

“I’m sorry,” her advisor said. “You’ll have to pay the remaining tuition on your own.”

Zoe frowned.

“Is there anything I can do?”

“There are some options. You could look into additional grants, payment plans, loans, or other forms of financial aid.”

Zoe nodded.

“Okay.” She sighed. “Thank you for your help.”

“Of course.”

Zoe got up and slowly walked out of the room with a frown on her face. She headed out of the building, grabbed her scooter, and rode back home.

One thought kept repeating in her head:

What do I do now?

When she got home, Zoe put her scooter down and walked inside.

Claire looked over.

“How was class?”

“Good.”

Claire looked at Zoe’s face, easily telling that something was wrong.

“Okay… what’s really up?”

Zoe sighed, opening up to Claire about her financial situation.

“I’m sorry about that,” Claire said. “Can’t you call your parents?”

“My dad’s in the military right now, off world, so he’s busy. And my mom’s been busy too.”

“What does your mom do again?”

“She’s a senior aerospace engineer, and she’s raising my little sister too. I don’t want to ask her for money and put more pressure on her.”

Zoe looked down.

“I have to handle this on my own.”

Claire nodded.

“I understand. You’ll figure out something. You’re one of the smartest people I know.”

Zoe smiled.

“Thanks.”

Claire suddenly remembered something.

“Do you want some help?”

Zoe looked at her.

“With what?”

“I do know this job website my old friend told me about.”

Zoe’s expression brightened slightly.

“Thanks. That’s a start.”

She rushed toward her room.

“Let me go get my laptop.”

Zoe grabbed her laptop and rushed back to the living room, sitting down to search the website.

Hundreds of job listings appeared, and Zoe started looking through them.

“Assistant engineer…”

She kept scrolling.

“Technical support specialist…”

She continued scrolling, but a lot of the jobs were already full.

“Position filled.”

She scrolled again.

“Not accepting applications.”

Zoe frowned and kept looking until one listing caught her attention.

J Detective Agency

Position Available: Technical & Engineering Assistant

Zoe stared at the screen.

“What’s that?” Claire asked.

“I don’t know.”

Claire looked at the listing.

“I’ve never heard of this job before. Are you sure you want it? I mean, you’re not really a detective.”

Zoe looked at the requirements.

“Sure.”

She pointed at the page.

“They’re not looking for a detective. They’re looking for a person who’s great at technology and engineering.”

Claire looked over the listing while Zoe continued reading.

“And look at how many credits they’re offering.”

Zoe smiled happily.

“That alone would be enough to pay off my tuition.”

Claire nodded.

“Okay, I get your point.”

Zoe tapped the hiring link.

She filled out the application and sent them an email listing her résumé, education, skills, and credentials.

After sending it, the website displayed:

Application Status: Pending. We’ll get back to you with a response soon.

Zoe closed the laptop and sighed.

“Okay. That’s done.”

Claire smiled.

“Now that that’s done, do you want to watch the new Space Queen movie that just came out?”

Zoe’s eyes lit up.

“Yessss!”

“I’ll get the blankets,” Zoe said.

Claire smiled.

“Foods already covered.”

A knock was heard at the door.

Claire opened it to find an alien delivery worker standing outside holding two bags of food.

Claire paid for the delivery.

“Have a nice day,” the alien said.

“You too.”

Claire closed the door, lifting both bags to show them to Zoe.

“Is that wings?” Zoe immediately smiled.

“Yeah.” Claire laughed. “I had a feeling something might happen today, so I ordered these in case you needed to feel better.”

Zoe hugged her.

“You’re the best.”

“I know.” Claire laughed. “Now come on, before these get cold. I’m hungry.”

They both laughed.

The two friends spent the night eating and watching their movie together.

For the first time that day, Zoe wasn’t thinking about tuition, financial aid, or finding a job.

She could just relax.

The next morning, Zoe checked her email.

She suddenly jumped up.

“Claire!”

Claire woke up.

“What?!”

Zoe looked at her laptop with wide eyes.

“I got hired!”

Claire stared at her.

“Wait, seriously?”

Zoe nodded excitedly.

“Seriously!”