Amanda laughed again. Then she became serious and said, “Hey, are you going to look for something else? You seem pretty unhappy.”

“Ehh, I don’t know. I’ve looked, and I usually end up feeling pretty overwhelmed and under-qualified for all of the interesting jobs, and then I have a thought spiral, and then I feel like I made a bad move somewhere back in middle school, and then I feel like there’s no hope at all for me and then I contemplate suicide.”

Amanda rolled her eyes in a friendly way and said, “I know what you mean, but it’s not that big of a deal. You just apply for stuff. And fake it.”

“I’m just trying to live pure,” said Megan. “Ambition’s for the devil.”

At that moment, Carrie walked up and gave Amanda a hug and said, “Oh my god, girl!” Megan opened another beer and put the empty back in her purse. “I’ve got to show you this llama my boss and I bought off a homeless guy.”

“Hahaha,” said Amanda, taking Carrie’s phone. “It’s enormous! Megan, have you seen this?”

“Yeah, I’ve seen it.”

“Hey, can I get a cigarette?” asked Carrie.

“Oh sure,” said Amanda. “You want one?”

“Yeah, thanks,” said Megan.

“I quit,” said Carrie. “I quit smoking and I quit coffee, and I feel so much better now.”

“How long have you been not smoking?” asked Amanda, handing Carrie her lighter.

“Like, three weeks. Have you ever quit before?”

“I take breaks sometimes,” said Amanda.

“It’s just this really clean feeling, like I can feel everything that’s dead inside of me coming to life again. I can feel life flowing through me.” Carrie held her hands out, palm up, and flexed her fingers like claws. The cigarette was between her right pointer and middle fingers. Megan raised her eyebrows at the floor.

“Except when I’m drinking, then I can’t help it,” said Carrie.

“You’re fine just as long as you don’t buy your own pack,” said Megan.

“Exactly,” said Carrie, looking at Megan for the first time all evening. “Hey, do you have anything to drink?” she asked Amanda.

“No, I got this beer from Megan.” Carrie looked at Megan with a dumb expression.

“Take your pick,” said Megan, holding the bag out to her.

“Oh my god, there are like twelve empty cans in here.”

It was true. Megan smelled like beer and had been trailing a little dribble of lukewarm beer behind her all night.

“I’m from Michigan,” said Megan. “I take them back across the border for the deposit money.”

“Hahaha,” said Amanda.

“That’s disgusting,” said Carrie, but she reached into the sack anyway. “So, what is that, like, a dollar-twenty in cans?”

Megan shrugged.

“So, how have you been?” asked Amanda.

“Pretty good, pretty good,” said Carrie. “I have so many projects going on right now that my head is like,” she bugged her eyeballs and held her hands on either side of her head.