be optimistic. A low blanket of clouds covered the sky, shading the afternoon gray. Thin fog hovered at the ends of the streets.
A honking horn drew my attention and a giant red van pulled up beside me. Joy had rolled the window down and leaned over to shout at me. "Where are you going?"
"Home."
"I'm going to Oceanview Drive," she said. "Want to come?"
I shrugged and hopped in the van, having nothing better to do than finish my self-portrait assignment. "What do you need on Oceanview?" I asked, trying to sound friendly and interested. Maybe Joy would finally start to like me after we hung out, just the two of us. Maybe she wanted to be friends after all.
"I thought I'd check out that new psychic shop."
I had been to that shop several times, having been known to buy gemstones and incense, perhaps a pretty scarf or two, but it seemed much too metaphysical for Joy, who had always struck me as pretty firmly grounded in reality. I couldn't see what use she would make of anything a psychic shop had to offer.
"Why?" I wondered.
Turning to me, Joy gave me a puzzled look. "I thought you liked that store. I thought you were into the whole Ouija board thing."
"I am . Well, maybe not Ouija boards. But I didn't know you liked that sort of thing."
"I don't, really. But I've been doing a paper on séances."
"Your teacher let you write about séances?"
"Well, it's really about frauds in history. Mediums would hold séances and they could really get over on people trying to contact dead relatives and stuff. Anyway, everyone got a different topic."
So that was the type of stuff people in honors history classes got to do. It sounded interesting. More interesting, at least, than my government class.
"I'm just going there for additional research," Joy emphasized. "I'm not actually going to buy anything."
Oceanview Drive was a street that ran along a cliff above the ocean. With its long row of shops facing the water, it was the most popular street in Victoria, especially in the summer. Tourists could park in the overlooks and snap pictures of sea lions sunbathing on offshore rocks and spend enough money to keep the town's economy strong. But, like everywhere else in town, the street was quiet this time of year.
After parking, Joy and I walked past the quaintly, carefully lettered windows of a mermaid-themed tavern, charming cafés, overpriced gift shops, an ice cream parlor where Chris worked in the summer, and a clothing store that appeared to specialize in stuck-on jewels. Finally we arrived at the psychic shop, greeted by the spicy burn of incense as we entered. A middle-aged woman with long, curly orange hair looked up from a book she had been reading at the counter to smile serenely at us.
Joy headed straight for a city of colored candles. I found myself browsing the fringe of colorful purses hanging from the ceiling. I thought about buying one, then remembered I didn't have any money. It would be a good idea, I decided, to get a job. I might even be able to save some money for whatever my bleak future held. This store would be a good place to start applying.
I walked confidently to where the orange-haired woman sat behind the register. "I'd like an application, please," I announced.
She handed me one with a wordless smile, along with a pen. I busied myself filling it out while Joy continued to browse, taking notes on a little pad. I wondered if I'd ever feel as passionate about something as she did about research.
After I'd finished with the application, I waited for Joy by a display of crystal necklaces. Soon she joined me and we left for my house. I asked her if she wanted to come inside, not really thinking she'd accept, but she did.
We settled into my family's comfortable but overly brown living room. Joy hoisted her messenger bag onto the couch and began to sort through her many notebooks.
"So what were you doing in the library today?" she asked.
"You saw me?"
She rolled her watery blue eyes. "Yeah. I saw you go
Erin Kelly, Chris Chibnall