Dysfunctional [New Girl]

"It Would Have Been More Than Fifty"

"I'm done."

Vaughn glanced up from his phone to an irate Clarke, more than a bit perplexed by her declaration. "With the Hugh's wedding cake? Damn Danvers you work fast, we just got that order in five minutes ago."

Getting that order added to her plate had been exactly what pushed Clarke over the edge that morning. She was the only person working today: Stacy was out with mono, Jeremy called off because his cat was sick, Ellen took a week off to go realign her chakras, and Frankie went on a five-minute break two hours ago and hadn't come back. Clarke was already behind on baking and decorating when Vaughn walked by and slapped the ticket for that cake on her workstation. Her recent quest to get her life together post-breakup had her cleaning up every aspect of her life - including the hot mess of a bakery she hated working at. And Vaughn had delivered the final straw that cost him his only reliable employee.

"No, jackass - I'm done working for you. I quit." Undoing the strings to the Sweetums apron tied around her waist, Clarke tossed the uniform at the bakery's owner.

Vaughn instantly paled, "Woah, woah, let's talk about this Clarke. You can't quit. This place needs you."

The fed-up woman smirked at his statement, "You may need me, but I sure as hell don't need you." Flipping off her former boss, Clarke stormed out, passing several bewildered customers waiting at the counter. The rest of the day was wide open for Clarke - a feeling she was unaccustomed to. So, she decided to bother the only friend she knew would be available in the middle of a workday.

It was noon when Clarke walked into the bar - much to Nick's surprise. Of the two customers he had: one was passed out in a booth and the other was silently sobbing into a martini. No words were exchanged when his newest customer flipped down on a barstool and gestured for a drink. Silently, Nick slid a beer across the bar to Clarke, not pushing for an explanation but more than a bit curious about why she was drinking at noon instead of baking pastries and decorating cakes.

"I quit."

"You quit?"

"I motherfucking quit, Miller and it feels amazing." Clarke gave Nick a relaxed smile before downing half her beer. It had been ages since she felt this free, so needed to relish this moment before she started thinking about all of the things her paycheck paid for.

"Well, I'm proud of you Danvers - way to stick it to the man."

Clarke tapped her bottle against the one Nick had just grabbed, then downed the rest of the liquid. "God, I'm going to regret quitting, aren't I?"

Nick laughed, "You're going to regret it so much."

One day was all it took for regret to settle in. Job hunting sucked. Clarke glared at the resume she'd been editing, wondering what the point was when no one bothered to read it anyways. All afternoon, she'd been applying to an obscene number of jobs and only three would probably get back to her. What was the point of graduating from a fancy culinary school? She should've become a doctor like her stupid, perfect older brother - he never had a problem finding a job with his degree. Stuffing a few more pizza rolls in her mouth, Clarke begrudgingly submitted another application for a position she was overqualified for.

Why in the world did she quit before finding a new job?

"Hey Clarke?" Jess' voice called through the front door, "If I wanted to hire a stripper...where perchance would I do that?"

Now that was a question Clarke never expected Jessica Day to ask her. She peeled herself off the couch and tossed her laptop unceremoniously onto the cushion - it was already cracked (just like her phone), so she didn't bother to handle it with care. Undoing the deadbolt, Clarke held out her hand for Jess' phone.