The Editor's Favorite

“I can’t believe this is happening,” Claudia says as she stretches her tired muscles and looks around the room at all the boxes she needs to unpack.  “What?” Lindsey shouts from the living room.  Hmmm, Lindsey has no need to be in the living room. Maybe she’s taking a snack break, grabbing a glass of water....or watching the movers haul in a bunch of the bigger boxes. Probably the movers.  “Wow. That box is really big and looks heavy, it’s impressive you can carry it all by yourself,” I hear Lindsey say in a flirtatious voice.  Definitely the movers.  I walk out of my new bedroom, thinking about how much life can change in the span of a month. A month ago, I was a poor college senior staring down the barrel of graduation with no options lined up and nowhere to go. I’d been freaking out - where would I live? When would I find a job? How was I going to pay back these crazy student loans? And then Andrea the residence hall director had walked in with the best news I’ve received since my acceptance letter to Rutgers. “Hey, Di-Di got some mail for you here. Apparently, the campus post office has been backed up, so it’s quite a bit.” She handed off a stack of letters wrapped in a couple of rubber bands. “Thanks, Andy, it’s probably all junk,” I said, grabbing the mail. “Who wastes the cost of a stamp when you can send an email?” I planned to dump it all until one of the return addresses caught my attention: The State of the Empire.  “No way,” I say out loud as I drop the rest of the mail on the couch and start to rip it open. I have a bad habit of talking to myself when no one is around, probably a symptom of being an only child. “I applied here months ago and never heard back.” Dear Ms. Claudia James,  It is our utmost pleasure to inform you that your application for the internship program at The State of the Empire. Out of the sea of applications we received, we have shortlisted 10 individuals to be accepted as the Empire interns for the year 2019 and you are one of them.    Please confirm your acceptance of this position by signing below and returning this document in the enclosed self-addressed envelope. You must confirm your decision to join us within 30 days of receiving this letter. In case you fail to reply, the admission shall stand withdrawn and passed on to someone else. Looking forward to your reply.  Thank you.    Sincerely, Susan Cartwright   That was the beginning of a whirlwind month. It’s a paid internship, right in the heart of New York City. It was a new publication covering the nitty-gritty of New York politics and crime. Though it has only been around for a scant 10 years, it had developed a reputation that rivaled some of the bigger, nationally printed outlets and staff often moved onto big, lucrative jobs with those same publications when it was time to move on. But word on the street was the internship was… demanding. But I didn’t mind. I didn’t have a life: No boyfriend, my father lived across the country and I lived with my best friends. I had time to spare.  As I walk toward the kitchen to grab a glass of water, I can hear Lindsey closing the door behind the last mover.  “Di, I never would’ve guessed you had so much stuff!” I laughed, caught off guard by the comment.  Today I was moving in with my best friends; my former college roommate and my childhood best friend. Lindsey Edwards is how she introduced herself four years ago when we met on freshman moving day. She’s gorgeous: long strawberry-blonde hair, blue eyes, and legs for days. Men were forever panting after her and women wanted to be her. I know my first thought had been, “Great. We probably have nothing in common.” I was so wrong. We ended up bonding over romance novels on a rainy Saturday afternoon and the rest was history.  It wasn’t fair that not only was she slim, pretty, and nice - she was also smart and wealthy. See, Edwards is her mother’s maiden name, her last name is actually Schumer. She’s pretty closely related to a Hollywood actress and a New York Senator. Her dad is an entrepreneur who made millions on the tech boom and is now working to give back to his community. After graduating with a double major in business and fashion, Lindsey has an apprenticeship with one of the leading fashion houses in the world. She decided she wants to revolutionize the fashion industry. Samantha Telesca, my childhood best friend, and I met on my first day of first grade. I was sitting on a bench by myself, trying to avoid the mean boys who kept pulling on my pigtails. Samantha came over and just started talking to me like we were already friends and in the way of children, suddenly we were inseparable.  Samantha’s got this beautiful olive-toned skin, striking hazel eyes, and curly hair that looks like it belongs in a shampoo commercial. She dreams of becoming an actress on Broadway, always taking one class or another to sharpen her skills. Her parents are doctors who immigrated from Italy and don’t support what they view as a ridiculous dream. I fit in pretty well with the two of them. I have a girl-next-door vibe going. I have green eyes, long brown hair with auburn highlights that I kept up myself, and a nose ring to put a bit of edge to the whole look. I’ll never be a thin girl, I just love my cake and cookies too much to ever have that happen, but I was a solid size 8 and proud of my curves. At the average height of five-four, I am solidly the “normal friend” in our threesome. It felt that the three of us had been friends forever but actually this came together a lot more recently. My first weekend on campus, Samantha came to check out my college dorm and after meeting Lindsey they hit it off better than I could’ve hoped. Eventually, it was clear that the three of us were really suited for each other and we plotted, planned, and dreamed of moving in together after graduation.  For Lindsey and Samantha, moving to New York wasn’t a huge deal. But for me...Well, I wasn’t kidding when I said I was dreaming of moving to New York. I’d been petrified that I was going to have to go back to Bisbee, Arizona. Don’t get me wrong, the weather is great, but everyone knows everyone else. If you’re not related to your neighbor, you’ve dated their son. And I had dreams of something...bigger. Even if I wasn’t quite sure what that was yet. “Surprise!” I startle as I enter the kitchen, seeing both of my best friends gathered in the kitchen holding bottles of champagne, beaming happily. My mouth opened in amazement. I hadn’t expected anything like this. "Samantha! What are you doing here? I thought you were working today. What's happening?!" "We have to celebrate with you!" Samantha says as she puts the bottles down next to a chocolate cake that I failed to notice them earlier. "This is your last weekend of freedom before you enter the workforce as a college graduate, so we have to have to party!"  "How many bottles did you get?! Are more people joining us?" I asked, glancing around the mostly empty living room. "Are you trying to get me drunk?!" I raised my eyebrow and laughed. Samantha grinned at me, continuing on her task of pouring the champagne while Lindsey nodded with a grin on her face. "I got us onto the list for Haven tonight," Lindsey says as she sips her champagne. "We're going to put on our sexiest dresses...well you're going to put on one of MY sexiest dresses, and we're going to dance like we haven't any care in the world." Her eyes dared me to tell her no. I didn't take her up on the dare.  I seldom went out, preferring quiet nights at home with a book. Or that's what I told myself. Truly, I didn't have the money to go out and have fun the way my best friends did. No matter how low key Lindsey was with her spending, her father still paid her tuition and gave her an allowance. Samantha wasn't rich, her parents were retired and splitting seasons between Florida and New Jersey. Her side-gig as she worked her way to the Great White Way was a part-time makeup artist at Sephora and she’s a cater-waiter in her off time. And though she didn't really have money to spare either she knew so many people in the city that she often went to events for free or in exchange for doing someone's makeup. "A night out sounds fun," I said, surprising everyone in the room. Gosh, was she really that much of a stick in the mud? Shaking my head I asked, "What am I wearing?"