The Intern

Chapter 3

Thanksgiving break was over in a flash and next thing I knew, I was back on a plane to Chicago. The flight was long and bumpy and by the time we landed, I'm pretty sure everyone wanted to kiss the snowy ground. Grabbing my carry-on, I exited the plane and booked it towards the doors. The wind bit my neck as I pulled my coat tighter, waiting for Jess to pull her old beater around to pick me up. Maybe after New York I would actually buy my own car. At least Jess got free coffee for this.

Eventually I saw her car pull over to the side of the lane and I shuffled over, hurriedly hauling my luggage into the trunk and entering the vehicle.

"It's way too cold here," I muttered, warming my hands against the radiators.

"You're such a wimp," Jess laughed and I noticed she was barely wearing a coat.

"I just got back from eighty-degree weather. This isn't good for my health, I'm sure of it."

Jess was still snickering at my complaints before we settled into a comfortable silence. I could hear music playing, but it was just enough to fill the empty space.

"Oh, I love this song!" Jess said, turning it up all the way as she begun to sing along. "Baby, we were laying on the beach watching the sun go down! It was you and I, we were forever! Those other girls, they don't matter!"

"What the heck is this?" I asked, appalled at how awful it sounded.

"Forever by Braden Crew. Obviously. Have you been living under a rock?"

"If I was, I'm glad. What kind of garbage is this?"

"You can't diss it, it's good!"

My eyes widened in shock. "Jessica. Do you know what good music sounds like?"

"Yes, like this." She reached for the volume knob again and turned it up, singing more. "Let's go crazy, my baby! We gonna have so much fun tonight! We need to let go, hit the flo'! Let's just do it all over again!"

"Turn it off!" I yelled, covering my ears. This kind of music was too familiar. Absolute rubbish and then it got stuck in your head all day.

"I cannot believe you don't like it," Jess pouted, switching the station to some more mellow music.

"I can't believe you do! Jess. That guy is awful. He sounds worse than most teenage pop stars."

"He's not a teenager, Tal. Braden Crew is, like, twenty-four, I think."

"He's older than me?" Disbelief was evident in my voice.

"Yeah, and he's like... super hot."

"Of course he is," I said as if it was obvious. "He'd have to be to be selling records that terrible."

"They're good songs," Jess stressed and I shook my head adamantly.

"No. No, they are not."

"You are officially crazy," she concluded, but I ignored her. I'm definitely not the crazy one in this vehicle.

"Sure I am. Anyway, how was your break?"

"It was good. My gross step-cousin, Peter, was there and, oh my gosh, Talia, I thought I was going to slap him. He kept stealing my green beans, I mean, who does that?"

"That's an excellent question. The most dramatic news I had was that John and Leslie announced they were pregnant."

"You're going to be an auntie?" Jess squealed, momentarily taking her hands off the wheel to clap her hands.