I Fell For My Nemesis

Jocelyn wasn't expecting Keith to ask her for career advice. That wasn't the sort of relationship they had. They talked about little nothings and he frequently teased her or tried to make her laugh but that was about it. 

Coming to her for advice was real friend territory. She had never had a real friend before so she was excited but simultaneously nervous about messing it up. 

What if she gave bad advice? What if he realized he didn't like talking to her for more than a few minutes at a time? What if she accidentally offended him? She knew she wasn't the best at sugarcoating things. That didn't matter in her job but it did in her personal life. 

If she could even call what she had a personal life. She didn't do anything for herself. 

Jocelyn had colleagues not friends. Except for Keith. She couldn't afford to lose him so she had to do this right. 

This meant she wouldn't be able to go do hero work tonight until their meeting was done. She couldn't risk getting caught up in something and being late. That meant she had time to kill for the first time in ages. 

She wasn't sure what to do with herself. Should she just do paperwork off the clock? Though if she got caught doing that her supervisor wouldn't be happy. 

What else could Jocelyn do? She hadn't had time to read a book since finishing her master's degree so she didn't have any on hand. She supposed she could sit around messing with some of the games she had in her office for her child clients but that might be difficult without any additional players. 

She had some puzzles too but she had done them all before. She supposed that was better than nothing. No one would know she was still hanging out here after hours if she hid in the bathroom or something waiting for everyone else to leave. 

She didn't want to get in trouble because her boss was very strict about billing hours and not going overtime. John was never happy when sessions ran long for one reason or another. 

Jocelyn made it through the rest of the day by pushing thoughts of tonight out of her head and focusing on her clients. Once the last one left and she was certain the coast was clear she snuck back into her office and pulled out a puzzle. She could lock up when she left but for now she had nowhere to go for an hour and a half. 

She was meeting Keith at a nearby café twenty minutes after he got off work. In the meantime she had nothing of substance to do and it was unsettling. She wasn't used to having nothing to do. 

She finished two puzzles in less than thirty minutes before giving up on that. She decided to check her phone for any emails and was sidetracked by an ad for a game. There was never time for things like that but she supposed it wouldn't hurt to try it out just for now. 

The game involved matching dots to complete levels and was surprisingly diverting. She breezed through the first twenty or so easily before getting stuck and losing a life. She had to be a bit more creative the next time to pass it. 

Jocelyn spent the rest of her time like that, surprisingly enjoying herself. She always enjoyed a good mental puzzle. When she was younger she used to buy crossword or Sudoku puzzle books for a dollar and spent hours on them alone in her room. Eventually, she mastered them to the point that she would create her own in notebooks. 

She hadn't had time for anything like that in years but this game sort of reminded her of it. Maybe she should download more of them to do on her commute instead of just sitting there thinking. 

When she arrived at the café she was slightly less nervous than she had been earlier because of how diverting the game had been. She was able to greet Keith normally when he arrived and act like this wasn't her first time getting dinner with a friend. 

"Hello! How was work?"

"It was fine. You?" he asked as they got into the line. 

"Also fine. So what did you want to talk about exactly? Career advice isn't very specific," Jocelyn pointed out. 

"Well…I'm not quite sure. All I know is that I can't be a deliveryman forever. I need to start thinking about my future and I don't know where to start. Anything would help at this point, really."

"Do you have any specific goals in mind? That might help narrow things down."

"Uh…having my own apartment would be nice. I'm getting pretty sick of having roommates. And having benefits and some sort of retirement plan. Sorry. That's really generic."

Jocelyn shook her head. "Not at all. Anywhere is a better place to start than nowhere. A lot of jobs these days offer benefits including 401ks but the pay might not be enough for your own apartment. If that's your goal you're going to need to make a certain amount per month. 

"Studio prices vary depending on what part of town you want to live in. Most places require you to make three times the rent to live there or have someone stable as a cosigner. Where do you want to live?"

Keith blinked at her. Apparently, he hadn't thought that far. "I live in Brooklyn now. Staying here wouldn't be the end of the world."

"It also depends on how much space you need. Micro-studios are much cheaper but they're little more than places to sleep. If you want to have a proper living room and kitchen you can still probably find something under $2,000 a month in a sketchier part of town."

"How can someone live without a proper living room and kitchen?"

"If they're rarely home," Jocelyn said, thinking of her own living space. "I assume that's what you want then?"

"Yeah. I can handle sketchy areas," Keith replied confidently.

"You should aim for a career that offers a salary of $65,000 a year or more then. If having an apartment, benefits, and a retirement plan is all that really matters to you it shouldn't be too hard to do some research and pick what sounds the most doable."

"That does narrow things down a bit. But is it even possible to get jobs like that without a master's degree? If I go back to school I'll only be able to do it at night after work so that will slow me down." 

Jocelyn thought this over. She hadn't looked into other career options since she always knew she wanted to be a therapist. She had taken her classes during traditional hours and dealt with hero work in snatches when she wasn't working on homework or studying. 

"I wouldn't know. You would have to look that up yourself. I'm sure there are plenty of jobs that would do that with either a bachelor's degree or going to trade school but I can't name any off the top of my head."

"Huh. I never thought of trade school as an option. Do they really have things like that that would make enough?"

"As I said, I don't know. But it's worth looking into," she said with a shrug. 

The conversation stopped there because they had to order their food. He got a large bowl of macaroni and a side of bread. That actually sounded pretty good so she did the same. She couldn't remember the last time she had macaroni that didn't come in an individualized microwaveable cup. The difference in quality was staggering. 

Jocelyn sighed in satisfaction and Keith noticed. He let out a small laugh. "Is macaroni your favorite food then?"

She honestly didn't know. She did like macaroni but it had to be done right. The kind that came out of a box wasn't the same as when restaurants used real cheese. 

"I don't have a favorite food," she admitted. 

He had been very vulnerable with her earlier by asking for advice when they hardly knew each other (daily conversations aside) so she was able to do the same in return. She didn't like admitting she lacked opinions on most things because people always thought she was crazy and wanted to know why. 

She would rather not talk about the why. She was self-aware enough to know the reason for it but that didn't mean she wanted to bring up her dark past. 

"Huh," Keith said in response. "I did wonder." 

And he left it at that. Why did he leave it at that? No one else ever did. She had been bullied mercilessly when she was younger for not having a real opinion on anything. That was where all of the Ice Queen commentary started. 

Jocelyn regarded him curiously. Did he not care? Was he truly able to accept it at face value and move on? That was new. 

She felt the need to explain herself further regardless of his seeming acceptance. "Food is fuel. Whether it tastes good or not doesn't really matter when you're hungry." 

"I get that," Keith said to her surprise. "There have been times I could have eaten cardboard and been satisfied. Though that doesn't really have any nutritional value so I doubt it would fill me up." 

Jocelyn laughed. There he goes being ridiculous again. Was he trying to make her feel better? If so, it was working. 

"Cardboard wouldn't make anyone a good meal. Except maybe a pig. I've heard they can digest every part of the human body so cardboard wouldn't be difficult for them." 

Keith nearly choked on his macaroni. "What?! Where did you learn that?" 

"One of my clients told me. You would be amazed by the things kids say when they want to avoid telling you what's actually on their minds," Jocelyn said with a shrug.. "I know all sorts of random facts about a variety of subjects."