Working as a mailroom technician was not very exciting, but it left me with enough money to afford going out every once in a while. I loved one of these event restaurants, Bernard’s Botanical Diner. It was fun, but not too expensive.

And it was where I met Jon.

It turned out that the anonymity of the big city was just what I needed. La Fiesta Tech had been tiny and gossip spread faster than you could imagine. Here in Sim City I wasn’t the jilted girlfriend or the poor, naive small town girl. I was a nobody and I loved it.

I just lived my life on a day-to-day basis and didn’t think too much about the future. I always thought that I had it all figured out: get my college diploma, find a nice job, get married, have three children and live happily ever after… but Matthew had pulled out the rug from under me. Time would heal all my wounds, but right now I didn’t want to think about what my new future would hold in store for me.

 I did keep up with Monica and DJ, though, but whenever they told me the newest gossip of “La Tech”, I was just happy to be no longer part of it.

I even managed to get a job as a mailroom technician at a local branch of a big financial firm. Nothing special, but enough to pay the bills- and the only job that didn’t require a college degree.

I took a cab to the train station and from there a train to Sim City. I had no family left, and to disappear in the bustling metropolis of SimNation sounded very tempting. It could be a truly fresh start.

I found a small apartment in a run-down neighbourhood.

It wasn’t pretty, or big, but I didn’t have a lot of money- I was a college dropout- and the landlord had been more than understanding of my situation. I was incredibly lucky- he had actually waived my security deposit, otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to afford it at all.

Plus, the apartment was furnished, which was a big plus considering that I didn’t own any furniture.

Maybe I really would be fine. Someday.

A few hours later, I sat in front of the vanity in my room that I shared with Monica, the fourth and final member of our sorority, and listened to her babble on about the decision I just made.

“But you can’t just leave! What about your scholarship?”

I didn’t care about my scholarship. Or her. I had just found out that Matthew had been cheating on me. With Jessie. They had been “sneaking away” for the past semester, without me noticing. I felt so stupid. About everything. The “happily ever after” I had always dreamed about. My naivete. The whole damn relationship with Matthew had been a mistake. And I just knew that I had to get out of here. 

And so I left. Just packed my bags and left La Fiesta Tech in the middle of the night. I couldn’t stand living with Jessie any longer. And I didn’t want to see Matthew ever again. It had been my whole world, and now I would have to figure out how to exist outside of it.

Everything was fine before the pool party- or at least I thought so.

I was outside by the pool with my friends when I noticed that someone was missing.

“Hey, has anyone seen Matthew?”

“I think I saw him head inside with Jessie.”, my sorority sister DJ purred, lazily stretched out on one of our sun loungers. It was unbearably hot that day. We had just reached the peak of a three-week long heatwave.

“Jessie?” I didn’t trust her. The way she always danced around Matthew when he was over… I felt my heart sinking…

“Matthew? Matty?” I went inside and upstairs to our rooms. I could hear faint noises coming out of Jessie’s bedroom at the end of the corridor.

“What the plumbbob-”

As soon as Matthew noticed me, he wrestled himself free and practically jumped out of the bed, trying to pull me into a hug.

“It’s not what it looks like! Sarah, let me explain!”

I pushed him away.

“Shove it!”