hello again :) this book will be written in all lowercase for aesthetic purposes and also my keyboard is permanently in lowercase mode so here we are. i figure if people can throw grammar out of the window on wattpad then we'll say goodbye to uppercase letters too. if you hate it i totally get it but i swear it grows on you.

you do not have to read the first two installments (snowed in and trapped in) but you will get more references or little jokes if you do. your choice my guy.

college absolutely sucks.

you kick your own butt to make deadlines and work even harder to keep your social life alive only to have some guy hand you a piece of paper, wave you off as you step onto the streets with heaps of student loan debt and no clue where to find a job that actually makes use of the degree you just works multiple years for.

i don't necessarily consider myself a pessimist yet sometimes my inner luke danes creeps out and i've just got to grumble under my breath. i do not, however, relate with luke and his hatred for caffeinated coffee. meaning, i need coffee. i've somehow obtained this mad addiction to it somewhere between my third all nighter cram session and the time where i fell asleep on the toilet in the public restroom during professor peterson's lecture on the importance of...whatever he was talking about that day.

i would also like to say that i am very grateful for the opportunity to go to college and to actually not being stuck with all of that debt because of my ridiculously wealthy parents. i say "ridiculously wealthy" with no feeling of pride because i don't see a cent of it. not unless my parents deem it important to indulge me. what i'm not grateful for is the fact that they chose my school, gave me no choice in the matter, and very slyly manipulated me into staying home instead of living in a dorm and having a real college experience.

don't get me wrong, my parents are great. they've taken me on trips, blessed me beyond measure, and they truly love me. i know they do. however, they have also chosen the sports i played in elementary school and through high school, practically hand picks the very few guys i've dated, and haven't allowed me to have a job. they insisted that i had to focus on my grades but now there's nothing they can do to stop me from growing up.

the only problem is actually finding a job.

"symphony!" i hear a deep voice behind my as i push the glass door to the coffee shop outside, an iced brève in my hand. taking a sip, i turn around to see conner, a smiley dark skinned boy who has on more than one occasion saved my backside in class by taking notes as i napped accidentally.

"conner!" i respond with the same enthusiasm, "hey, i haven't seen you since graduation. how are you?"

"i'm great. i just started at my new job. it's alright but the shifts start out way too early." he chuckles, holding the door open for me as i step outside into the fall air, pulling my jean jacket around me tighter.

my spirit deflates slightly. yet another person who has managed to be employed before i even have a chance to fill out applications. "that's great." i tell him with a genuine smile, "where at?"

"it's actually in the city. i'm just here visiting family before i go back to my apartment and unpack. it's not fancy but at least i found someplace." he shrugs with a sigh, his hot coffee steaming and dancing in the wind as it floats upward. i am now very much regretting choice of a cold drink.

"in the city? really? how did you find something?" hopefully he has connections because, at this point, i'm desperate and i will obnoxiously as him for contact information.

he seems to sense my desperation, raising a brow. "you still haven't found anything? you'd think with your family's reputation, someone would have snatched you up." conner chuckles with a slightly flirty smile and i roll my eyes in return, knowing that's just the way he is.

"i'm trying not to use the fact that my parents are loaded to get hired. i want to earn it." i explain for what feels like the hundredth time.

conner sighs, checking his phone briefly. "well...maybe consider it if you don't find something soon, okay? i know how frustrating it can be to be stuck between college graduate and real life functioning adult." he smiles, "but hey my uber is here so i'll see you later. it was great to see you."

"you too." i smile softly, nodding at him as he jogs away, pulling open the door of a white chevy before waving through the window and driving off. i look down at my coffee, sighing before taking another sip and walking in the direction of my car.

as soon as i walk through the door of my house, i hear the familiar yapping of my mother's small cotton ball of a dog. i resist the urge to kick her away as she jumps at the backs of my legs, scratching my calves. "i hate you." i mumble to her through my teeth just as my mother herself rounds the corner in her favorite silk top and a pair of calvin klein jeans.

"symphony, back so early?" she smiles, leaning forward to kiss me on the cheek.

"hi mom." i tell her, not answering her question.

"i see you got coffee...again." she smiles sweetly, picking up her dog. "you know that we have everything here that the coffee shop in town does, right? we could just have darius whip the same thing your drinking up for you in the kitchen." at the menton of his name, our one and only butler peaks his head out from behind the double swinging kitchen doors and i quickly wave him off subtly before my mom notices him.

"it's not the same, mom." i tell her, "it's the vibes of the place and getting to meet with my friends."

"who did you meet with today?" she asks me curiously.

i pause, sliding my shoes off, "no one."

"you know, i'm beginning to feel concerned for you, sym." she tells me, sitting on a lounge chair in the foyer as i pretend to check my phone, hoping this conversation isn't going where i think it's going.

"why?" i ask blandly.

"well..." she begins before sighing, "your father and i have been thinking and we feel that maybe it may be best if you take the job at his office just temporarily just so you can get some experience before going out and finding something else. you'd get to work with customer service and deal with technology plus you'd get to spend more time with your dad, doesn't that sound perfect?" her bright white teeth are almost blinding with the reflection of of the light coming off of the practically all-white furniture and decor.

"mom..." i groan, "we've talked about this. i need real experience. working with dad would be...well it's not what really what i had in mind."

"well i don't exactly see many opportunities knocking at your door, symphony." my mother speaks sharply, causing me to close me eyes and breathe out of my nose in frustration.

"i'm not talking about this with you right now. i don't see why i have to explain every single life choice to you. so i'm going upstairs and i'll see you later, okay? i love you." i tell her calmly before passing her shocked expression and walking through the large hall to get to a staircase which leads upstairs to my room.

"i love you too!" she calls after me before releasing a loud sigh and mumbling something under her breath. i pause mid step before shaking my head and trekking the rest of the way to my room.

these are the moments where i miss my best friend the most. lillian and i have been friends for what feels like eternity and she's the only one who understands my situation with my parents. unfortunately, she is traveling with her fiancé, dakota, and has been for the last few years. i had the pleasure of flying all over creation with them for a few months but, after a while, i missed home and wanted to start on the rest of my life. lillian and dakota, however, will always have a case of wanderlust. right now they're in a small village in haiti digging wells and loving on children. no one is prouder of those two than me. however, that doesn't make me miss her any less. my two years in college without her were especially hard but i adjusted eventually.

for a moment i think about facetiming her but i soon realize she's probably busy because she usually gives me a call when she's free. her weekends are especially jam packed so with it being a saturday i hardly expect a call before tomorrow.

"back to work it is then." i mumble, sitting at my desk and sinking on the dark leather seat as i open my laptop, the tabs already open and ready for another vigorous night of job hunting.

i'm embarrassed to say that i've never had a real job. so i'm not entirely sure how to time the right one. at this point, i'm not too terribly picky. i just need something that will give the experience i need and will pay the bills so i can get out of my parents' house. call me greedy but i would really like to have a job that doesn't make me want to die.

my finger glides across mouse pad on my macbook as my eyes glide through the job offers online. glancing in the mirror hanging on the wall to my right, my spot my bored and tired expression, feeling the weight of all of the days i've done the same exact thing to a t. i wake up, i go job hunting and of course get some coffee. then i usually run into someone who makes me feel like a failure and drive on home to job hunt some more. i'm beginning to feel like i'm reliving a nightmare. a nightmare involving delicious coffee and crippling impatience.

"a dog poop scooper. looks promising." i say with a sarcastic pep in my voice, my finger clicking the link, "a whole eight dollars an hour. wow, things are really starting to look up now."

"sarcasm doesn't flatter you." a voice speaks from the door. my head turns quickly, feeling startled.

"sorry, dad, it's my stress mechanism." standing up from my desk, i fall into my bed with a groan, "i've been looking for a job for weeks and the best thing i've found is a factory job that requires twelve hour shifts and agonizing pain. my dreams are dead."

my father pauses in conversation, shoving his hands into his dress pants pockets, his suit jacket flowing behind his wrists just past his belt. "symphony, you know you always have a place with me at the office."

closing my eyes, i release a long breath. "dad..." i begin sitting up, my hair framing my face as my eyes meet his regretfully, "i appreciate that, i really do. it's just...i need to do something for myself. i need to do this on my own."

giving me a small smile, he nods once. "i understand. if you change your mind, you know where you can find me." he chuckles.

"thanks dad."

"see you later, kiddo."

i watch him leave with a half effort smile and as soon as i hear his footsteps on the stairs, it falls from my face. my dad is a pretty easy going guy when he's not stressed or angry but i know that if i don't find something soon he's going to very nicely "offer" me a job with him again and it won't be so suggestive next time. no, i expect full dad pressure power here within the next couple of weeks. i have got to find a job. working with my father in his stiff corporate office is the absolute last thing i want to do.

i look in the mirror with a sour expression. "poop scooping it is."

☆★☆

hi it's lyss. hopefully you don't attack me for the lowercase thing but you know me...always trying out new writing methods.

thanks for reading ;)