Today,
Isabelle thought, will be a perfect day.
She
set upon an isolated road, trying to keep her mind off of work. Her
supervisor and especially her manager might as well not exist. The
smell of early morning dew, the way the sunlight splintered through
the leaves overhead: this was a world that would let Isabelle be.
After so many articles she’d read saying that life in a city would
lead to stress and sickness, Isabelle had decided a day-long hike
would be what she needed.
The
road became

“Kara’s such a
pushover,” Lola said, with a smug smile, “how could I resist?”
She stretched out on the sofa, wiggling her toes and sighing as she
held her phone between her cheek and shoulder. “So how about you,
how was your day?” The television was on, but the volume was down
far enough that it was practically silent. Lola felt sleepy. It’d
been a good day.
“Not as fun,”
Lola’s friend said. “I got through class and that’s really all
that’s important, right?”
Lola s