Futures Part Four....

fiction

Futures Part Three (Summer Heat)

"What would your superpower be?"

Olivia thought for a moment, "Like if I could have another one, or what is my superpower right now?"

Jayde laughed, "Oh you already have a superpower? You mean you can fly and you've just not ever mentioned it?"

"Not fly, but I'm really lucky."

"Who was that in the comics? Domino! So you are like Domino?"

"I don't know if I'm that lucky, but yeah, like Domino. I'm extremely lucky. And I know it. I think maybe knowing it might actually be my superpower. I've met a lot of people who have been really lucky in life and like to pretend it's all skill or hard work."

"Okay, regale me with tales of your extreme luck. Because the Olivia I know is a really hard worker."

"I do work hard. I do like to be prepared, but I also know there is a ton of luck involved. Okay, college. You know Emily and I met as roommates freshman year right? Actually, wait, let me go back even farther than that. I wasn't even going to go to that school. I already had plans to do junior college then see what opened up. I had a few scholarships, but they only covered base tuition. If I did junior college I could live at home.

So senior year, after everyone has already declared and accepted and made plans I bump into my guidance counselor in the hallway. Literally bump into her because she's reading a letter. She looks up at me and says, 'Hey, I have information on applying for a full ride scholarship, tuition, room and board and a stipend, I think you meet all of the requirements, come with me and we can get you set up.' I applied and I got it. That late in the game."

"Okay, that is lucky. But also, you were prepared for it. You had the grades the extracurriculars right?"

"Like I said, yes, I have worked for it all too, but still. That's luck. And even when things seem unlucky they always work out. I get to school and settle into my dorm room and my roommate is terrible. She burns incense that I am incredibly allergic to and will not stop even though I've asked, pleaded, with her not to. The most she is willing to compromise is not to burn it when I'm actually in the room. And she says she has to burn it as part of her religious practices so the school can't make her stop."

"Oh that's terrible."

"And it gets worse, my dorm is full. There is nowhere for me to go. I stopped by my RA's room to ask about something else and she had a friend with her. Her friend, who is an RA in another dorm, asked what was wrong with my eyes, I told her about the allergies and she said that there was a girl in her dorm whose roommate never showed up. I could move in with her."

"And that was Emily."

"That was Emily. But again, luck. Emily had her own room, do you know how coveted a single is? And as a freshman? She could have been pissed that she was going to have a roommate but instead she was excited. She's an only child and wanted a roommate, in fact she and the girl that never showed up had been talking all summer about how great it was going to be, they had agreed on who brought what and really seemed like they were going to hit it off. When she didn't show Emily tried to get in touch with her and nothing. She just disappeared."

"So instead she got you and you brought nothing with you."

"Nothing but the lingering stench of incense."

"So two lucky things."

"Those are two things. But there are more things. It's constant. Little things like always getting a good parking space when I'm running late. Big things like finding my best friend after being completely incompatible with my first roommate. My internship, most don't pay. I couldn't afford that, but a classmate knew about one that did. The Senator wanted to open up her office to more diverse voices, and one of the best ways to do that is to pay your interns. That led to this job. Again, paying well enough that I can afford to live in DC. Even if the apartment is small and doesn't have AC, it's still close to the office and I don't have to share with ten people. Which finding it was lucky. I could tell you the story, but it's all the same stuff. Just lucky."

"And me!"

Olivia laughed, "You are making a joke, but yeah. And you. How odd is it that we met in New Orleans when neither one of us was from there? I was already in DC, and you were on your way. That's another lucky break right? We might have met, hit it off, and then never seen each other again, but instead we both worked in the same city a thousand miles away. And, I only went in to that bar because the place I had been looking for had closed."

"Well I went in to that bar because I saw you sitting there and thought I'd regret it if I didn't."

"See? I'm just lucky."

"I might be convinced. As long as you keep doing the work to keep me."

Olivia laughed. But she did know it was pure luck that she had run into Jayde in New Orleans.