ied as Jessica' s attempts to att

to its name, made Jessica

Brenda pushed her int

made her conversatio

y put off by her lack of opinion and seeming

another fruitless outing. "This charm is supposed to

essica morphed into renewed

Brenda declared one evening, ignoring Jessica' s mi

jobs aren't cutting it, Sarah. You need to find some

gest how. She

dience. "I'll

e late nights, more intense

sn't just about intellec

s Brenda coul

ols or "sensible" office jobs with low ceil

ion, miles away, with

cape

alousy, meanw

d from my jobs, yet she a

I never possessed

r, watching me count my meager earnings at the kitchen table. "Look

her bait. I just

low, her envisione

was becoming more passive, more reliant on Bren

couldn't see it. She only saw Jes

his own home, offering n

nstant affirmation o

e in the shadows of

a shield. My secre

lication deadlines

off-hours to write my essays, the libra

y transcript requested, was

was managing my lif

to find out ho

doors of opportunity; it showed me how