The Attorney ✓( A White House occupants prequel)

Chapter Five

  I wouldn't have done something like this when I was younger. In fact- I would have reported somebody if I learned they were doing the very thing I'm about to do. But I'm still here, staring in my bathroom mirror as I try to force myself to get ready for graduation.

  There's a huge difference between having a law school degree and being a bar certified lawyer. With the first, your work options are extremely limited because it tells employers you barely passed. I have earned my degree, but it's useless without a perfect bar exam to back it up.

  So between now and then, I must work my ass off, and I must go on a date with Noelle. She's nice enough but I don't have any romantic attraction to her, which is just part of the reason why this feels so wrong.

  I turn around, so disgusted with myself that I don't want to look at my own face, and run my fingers over the graduation gown and cap. It's smooth- real silk I believe. It better be for how much it costs.

Slowly, I slip one arm in and then the other. I avoid looking at myself, and it's not like it matters anyways. I'll be on the stage for a total of two seconds, ten-ish feet away from the front row, far away enough that my sweating won't show up in pictures and they edit the fuck out of them anyways. It's a slippery slope- not caring about your appearance. Breaking up with Sonia really pushed me over the edge, because even though I did it, seven years doesn't go down the drain with the snap of a finger.

Her dresser drawer is now empty. I'm not sure when she came by, took all of her shit and left her key in the drawer, but she did and now this place feels emptier than ever. Teenage me would've killed to live alone. Now, I'd do anything to get a roommate because it just doesn't feel right.

I check the clock- there's only about an hour left until the ceremony and I don't want to  be late to it like I am with everything else.

  So I hesitantly twist my front doorknob, stepping into the hallway. This time I'm not alone in the elevator. This time it's so crowded that I'm squeezed into a back corner, amongst a crowd of other law students who are also wearing their gowns, most carrying the caps.

We walk outside together. Most go to the building's parking lot and get into their own cars, a few hitching rides with their roommates.

I look around for some poor soul to deal with my presence for about five minutes, but then I hear a familiar voice behind me.

"Joe-" Noelle calls. "Do you live here?"

She jogs to catch up with me, and I silently mumble a fuck me. Nothing against her; I was just hoping to ride with someone who isn't very talkative.

"Yep." I reply. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh I spent the night with a friend on the fifth floor. Need a ride?" She asks.

I try to subtly look around for anybody else, until I realize this is my opportunity. Fuck. Whether I want to or not, this is something I must do for my future.

"Okay." I nod. She smiles and gestures for me to follow her. I do, because I don't exactly have a choice in the matter if I want my life to mean something. Her car's pretty nice. Not as nice as Sonia's, but it doesn't matter. I just need to get this over with.

"So what are you doing after graduation?" She asks. "You don't seem like the type to really...go anywhere if ya don't have to- no offense."

None taken, because she's right. I only like people when I have to.

"I'm going to my sisters house and we're gonna...order some pizza and relax. She's a law student too." That's only partially true. She's a first year, and I don't speak to her because she's just a genuine asshole. She also goes to a completely different school.