Nerd (R. Heffley)

It's been four years since I've been permanently back home. Sure, I've came home to Plainview for Christmas and summer holidays, but this is the first time I'm fully back for good. It feels strange, but also nostalgic. It's sort of like greeting an old friend, and you're able to immediately reconnect as if there was no lost time at all. 

College was where I really grew as a person, and I learned to love and understand myself. I met some really great people, and some not so great people. I fell in love, got my heart broken, and had a lot of different experiences (like mixing Redbull and vodka at a frat party - which by the way, I do NOT recommend.) All in all, college was an experience that I will never forget - and now I have a bachelors in Psychiatry. 

My mother was ecstatic that I've come home, complete with a bone-crushing hug and my favorite dinner she makes, cheeseburger macaroni, which is literally just cheeseburger Hamburger Helper with ketchup and relish (can you tell I grew up poor?) 

It's been exactly one week since I've been home, and I've done nothing but submit job applications to therapist positions. So far, I've gotten no responses, but I'm hopeful. I was told that finding a job after college can be a little rough, but I've been trying to remain positive, even if it's a struggle.

"Lia, it's Saturday night, you should go out. You've just been staying in like a hermit for an entire week," my mother tells me as she sits down beside of me as I revise my resume for the hundredth time. 

"I know, but I just can't relax until I get at least one interview set up. Mom, what if no one wants me? I'll end up living with you until I'm forty..." 

"Lia, baby, you went to Yale. It's been one week, just give it time. Go out and have fun, you're 23. Enjoy your youth while it lasts and you aren't on a cocktail of blood pressure medicines and having to use wrinkle cream." My mom laughs softly as she watches me tediously rereading my resume. 

"I don't even have anyone to go with, I've grown apart from most of the friends I made here. Also, most of them wouldn't even go out. My friends were chess players and outcasts," I tell her calmly as I stare at my resume on the computer screen. 

"There's an open mic night at the local Grill tonight, you should go. Even if you are alone, maybe you can meet someone new. You've just been sitting in front of your computer for a week, Lia," my mother lightly scolds me. 

"I don't know..." I say quietly as I steeple my hands together. 

My mother reaches out and closes my laptop, sliding it away from me. 

"Go. Take one night away from job hunting and go socialize." My mother tells me sternly. I raise my eyebrow at her authoritative tone. I sigh softly and finally nod with a begrudging look of acceptance. 

"Fine, whatever." I say quietly. "Can I have the laptop back now? It's only 2 p.m." 

Five hours later, I'm standing in front of the most popular Grill and bar in Plainview, Mulligan's. I enter, immediately smelling fried food and beer. There's some young adult people playing pool and families sitting at tables eating. I walk over to the bar area and sit down. I open a tab and order a margarita when the bartender comes over to me. Once I'm sat, I take a moment to actually look at my surroundings. 

So far, no one really looks all that familiar, until my eyes zero in on a family sitting in the far left. I would know that blond hair and tan skin from anywhere. Heather Hills sits at a table with a man that looks as if he peaked in high school. In a high chair sits a small toddler that looks to be three years old or so, happily eating macaroni and cheese with his tiny hands.