McKayla had always wanted to move to  New York . This desire she kept at bay. Deep down she knew the city would break her. It was a place where everything was monetized. To have fun in the city and live a good life you needed money.

She didn't have money...

This airport felt drab. She remembered how she felt at the airport near Westcity felt. More exciting. Running away from the cafe and Imogen. All of her responsibilities.

When she had ample time before boarding time she thought about getting a book from the store. Instead she decided to get caught...

When security finally did open the man looked around embarrassed. He looked like he forgot to shave and didn't put deodorant on that day.

"Mmm sorry, miss," he said. "Do you mind just pretending to go through security? We didn't actually... We don't actually have the equipment working yet."

McKayla thought this...

There was a new cafe in another town far far away. If this other cafe had an online presence then Imogen Howe might've learned about it from all the time she was now spending online. However this other cafe didn't post on social media. They weren't on Instagram sharing photos...

Nobody had heard from McKayala after she had left for her vacation. Imogen texted a few times, got no reply. She didn't know if she should continue pinging or leaving her old friend alone.

McKayla was silent on social media as well. "Who disappears like that?" Imogen thought, " I hope...

The first shot wasn't meant to be perfect. The goal was to get the ball rolling. "Don't even think about the view count," Sydney had said.

Imogen Howe kept repeating these words to herself. But she couldn't help imagining the world laughing at her. Or worse, nobody in the world...

One of the other girls, the one who had suggested the vacation to McKayla, now felt guilty. She could tell how her boss  Imogen Howe felt about McKayla's departure. It was no surprise to anyone that McKayla was leaving in this way. No word about where she was going, and...

When McKayla told  Imogen Howe she needed time off for a vacation she never said how long. Imogen didn't ask the duration expecting McKayla to offer it herself. However no further details came. McKayla didn't even say the destination. These were all details that seemed basic to a vacation request....

McKayla probably would've never worked at The Sparrow if she hadn't looked up to  Imogen Howe . Now the admiration was gone, but in its place was friendship, without which McKayla would've probably already left. Where to? she didn't know. In some ways she preferred being able to blame this...

The man reminded her of a time past. 19th century  Russia or at least her impression of that time and geography from the literature.

She loved reading Dostoevsky and Turgenev after high school. She would still email  Jeannie Hammond about the novels. And the two would talk about life and the...