Empty couches circled around a low coffee table to one side of the common room, the last streaks of daylight reflecting off of their shiny vinyl surfaces. At the other side of the room, long tables sat abandoned, their chairs neatly pushed in.

Compared to the common room at Kaitlyn's old college, the one she knew before coming to Hartland, this one was practically a wasteland. The most people she'd ever seen here had always been for her Wednesday night Kate's Kitchen pickups. Aside from that, there had only been occasional instances of two or three others utilizing the space at any given time. It always felt unnaturally quiet for a college dorm. Though, judging by the sounds and voices she could hear from either side of the building, perhaps people just preferred the privacy of their own rooms. Or they had better places to be.

The toaster oven dinged pleasantly. Finally. Kaitlyn finished cooking her last tortilla and stuffed it into a clean kitchen towel with the others. Then, she pulled the oven door open and checked her fish. Golden brown and delicious.

Satisfied, she transferred the filets to her plate and brought it and the tortillas back to her table. Then, she started assembling her tacos. Forkfuls of fish were quickly piled onto the corn tortillas, followed by a spoonful of her avocado-orange salsa. She'd even saved a bit of extra cilantro to garnish them with, for extra presentation. Scarra would have been… well, maybe not proud, but he'd have given it a grunt of approval at least.

She bit into the taco with a sigh of contentment. Just right. Bright, summery, and refreshing with just a bit of spice. This wasn't her most frequently made dish over the last dozen or so loops, but it certainly was one of her favorites. Even if it was a personal indulgence.

As she enjoyed her meal, Kaitlyn thought about the looming Algorithms project. As she'd feared, it wasn't pulling any punches. How anyone was expected to take this class in combination with any others was beyond her understanding.

Still, she couldn't complain too much. The assignment wasn't completely unmanageable thanks to how much of her free time she could afford to dump into it. That, and Philip. He was truly a lifesaver.

If he still thinks he's taking advantage of me after this, then he's full of it. Even with how much time and effort I'm putting in, it still feels like I'm dragging him down with all of these questions and misunderstandings. I just hope he doesn't mind too much.

"Hey, Kate! Ooooh, what'd you make?"

Heather swept into the room with her usual bubbly smile, perfectly straightened locks of blonde hair fluttering behind. Kaitlyn had no proof for it, but she was fairly certain the girl had some sort of sixth sense for food. It was the only thing that could explain how frequently she showed up when something was cooking. Or maybe she just had a supernatural sense of smell.

"Hey, Heather." She swallowed a bite of her meal. "Fish tacos. Want some? I made extra."

"Omigosh, of course! Wow, thanks so much!" She practically skipped toward a chair and accepted a helping of fresh tacos. As she took her first bite, the girl wiggled in absolute delight. Her voice came out muffled through the mouthful of food.

"Kate. This might be the best thing you've ever made. Like, where did you even get these tortillas?"

"I made them."

Heather had the decency to swallow before her mouth dropped open. "What?! You can do that?"

"Yeah," Kaitlyn shrugged. "It's not as hard as you'd think, really."

"I can't believe it." Her roommate shook her head. "If you sold these, we'd make a killing. You could easily sell 'em for… $5, no, maybe $7 a pop. Especially with how filling they are! Like, you don't even have to make that many!"

Kaitlyn shook her head with a chuckle. "I wish. It's way too much time and effort, not to mention the ingredient costs. You were the one talking about how expensive avocados were, remember?"

She'd considered the idea before, and not just because Heather had pitched it in previous loops as well. The problem was scaling the recipe. She could maybe make enough fish for two people at a time in the oven, tops. And the tortillas? Those alone would take her half a day to mix, press, and fry. Not to mention they wouldn't be half as tasty by the time her customers actually got them. No, this was a treat specifically for her. And Heather, apparently.

"I guess…" Heather sighed dramatically. "Still, I can't believe you're keeping something like this for yourself! Kate, you really need to open a restaurant or something. For real, though."

Her expression turned thoughtful. "I've been wondering about that. It doesn't sound like something I could do anytime soon, though… maybe one day. But for now, I'll just make what I like."

Heather continued munching on her tacos as Kaitlyn got to work cleaning up. She didn't have much to take care of, since she'd been careful to wash up as she cooked. However, there was the matter of leftovers. Specifically with the salsa. She'd made extra for the express purpose of sticking it on anything and everything she could for the next day or two. Specifically, she wanted to see how many dishes she could salvage at Cappy's with the stuff.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Oh! Are you going to the career fair?"

Kaitlyn glanced back at Heather. "Oh yeah. That's on Wednesday, right?"

"Yup!" The girl nodded. "It's not really my thing, honestly – it's all tech and STEM people, y'know – but like, that's totally up your alley, right?"

That's right. She hadn't really thought about the event in a long time. Ever since she'd scored a lab position, she'd found her time better spent there than talking to the biotech people at Theranuc. Though with how much she'd learned, perhaps it would be worthwhile to check in.

At worst it's a waste of time. At best, it'll be a nice gauge of how far I've come. Who knows, maybe I'll even learn something else new while I'm at it?

As she finished rinsing her plate, another thought struck. Wait a minute… I have an even better idea.

"Kate? Whatcha thinking 'bout?" Heather cocked her head questioningly at the grin that spread across her roommate's face.

"Just the career fair. I think I might know someone else who's interested in going…"

***

"Are you certain about this?"

"Positive. It'll be worth it! If it puts us behind on the Algorithms project, then I'll take responsibility."

Kaitlyn and Philip walked down the broad thoroughfare toward the Bara Ballroom. Dappled sunlight streamed through the oaks arching overhead as their leaves rustled gently.

For once, Kaitlyn didn't feel underdressed next to the guy. Her standard outfit for the career fair – a lacy white blouse and black business slacks – did a good job of making her look a bit more presentable. Philip, of course, had chosen to wear his usual blue dress shirt and black vest. Though now that she looked at it more closely, Kaitlyn was certain this was at least the third unique dress shirt she'd seen on the guy.

"I am less concerned about that and more about the event itself. I expect that my skillset may not yet be developed enough to compete with candidates in a similar demographic. Though events such as these usually offer a number of internships, which may present a lower barrier to entry and a clear path to a full-time position."

"I kinda doubt you'll have any issues," Kaitlyn dismissed the objection. "I'd be surprised if these companies aren't crawling over themselves to snap you up. Even if I'm wrong, it's good practice for interviews and the like anyway."

Kaitlyn quickened her pace a bit. Despite Philip being about the same height as her, he walked fast. Keeping up with him required her to maintain an awkward half-jog constantly.

"...True. However, I was not intending to actively seek out positions until I'd met the minimum qualifications."

"Well, it's never too early to try!" Kaitlyn shot him a thumbs up. "There it is. It shouldn't be too crowded yet, since we're early."

Together, the pair approached the front entrance. Two members of event staff stood to either side of the double doors, checking ID's as students streamed through.

Kaitlyn absentmindedly pulled hers out as she walked. She only made it a few steps before noticing that Philip wasn't there. Looking back, she saw that he'd stopped a short way back and was now standing in the middle of the paved path.

She quickly backtracked to stand next to him. "Philip? What's wrong?"

"It seems I'm unable to enter."

"What?"

He nodded at the doors. "They are checking ID's, which suggests this is a student-only event. I will be barred from entry."

The color drained from her face. "Oh no…"

It wasn't that she'd forgotten he wasn't a student. That wasn't it. She'd just completely missed the detail about the ID check. Of course he wouldn't be able to get in.

"What if we try anyway?" She suggested hopefully. "Maybe they won't really care?"

"I doubt that." Philip shook his head. "I appreciate your thoughtfulness in inviting me, Kaitlyn, but it seems I'll have to decline after all. I wish you the best of luck in your search for viable positions."

"Wait, Philip–" Kaitlyn reached out to stop the guy before he turned away. "I-I'm sorry…"

He shrugged. "It's no matter. As I said, I appreciate the intent."

Kaitlyn's mind whirled. Was there a way to salvage this? Despite his words, she knew that Philip had been looking forward to this – he'd set aside time for it, after all. Plus, they were already here. There had to be something she could do.

An idea struck her. She bit her lip. Will he be ok with it though? I know he's got his principles and everything…

"If we could get in though… would you still want to go?"

Philip's eyes narrowed. "If you are implying that I commit fraud…"

"No, I don't mean that! Promise."

He hesitated, a conflicted look flashing across his gaze. "A job fair like this presents a wealth of opportunities. Therefore, if there was an opportunity by which anyone could enter freely… I would take it."

Good enough for me. Kaitlyn tugged on his sleeve. "Come on. Follow me."

"Kaitlyn–"

"I know, I know. We won't do anything too shady, I promise. But I want to go, and I'm not making you come all this way out for nothing." She crossed her arms. "Besides, these aren't just for students. They're also for the companies to find good candidates, right? And I know for a fact that you're a better candidate than half the people coming here at least."

With that, she started walking. To her relief, Philip followed close behind.