Julianna kept on walking until she came to the homeless shelter and the orphanage. She opened the door and went to the counter. She saw a woman sorting through files. She pursed her lips, but then looked up. A smile lit her face.

“Hello, Ms. Kurt! Have you come to gives some donations to the shelters again?” The woman asked. Julianna feebly nodded. She set $3 on the table. The woman’s smile faltered a bit, but she acted as if it didn’t happen. As if she was automated, she replied,

“Thank you for your donation. We’ll contact you when we want to give back to you. Again, thank you.” She put it in an envelope, and then turned around in her swivel chair, her back facing Julianna. She blinked. Maybe everyone was having a bad day. Julianna walked out, and then turned the corner, to what she called, home sweet home.

*******

To the world of Brownsville, 813 Azure Avenue, a small red-bricked apartment would seem not that important. In the eyes of Julianna, however, it was her LIFE. Ever since she was born, the apartment she still lived in today was the place of her childhood memories. The kind couple that lived next door, Mr. and Mrs. Allen, would always come by and give away baked treats. Julianna always took the brownies. But, when Mrs. Allen passed away, Mr. Allen moved to Montana to live a lonely life. Julianna still thought about them.

Then, there came an opportunity for her to build a friend. A young playmate, about two months older than her, moved in. Her name was Zoey McFoy, and she was very silly. Whenever they met each other, they were as close as sisters. When Julianna was sad, Zoey would always tickle Julianna until her stomach would hurt from laughter, and whenever Zoey was upset or hurt, then Julianna would hug her for a long time, and then make a goofy face. That always got Zoey to rise and giggle.

But then, there came the day that crushed Julianna. She made friends with one of Zoey’s friends and then spread rumors and lies about Zoey. Now, Zoey claimed that she was selfishly stealing her friends? First, she was the person being selfish, not Julianna. You’re the one that’s popular, that has so many friends, Julianna had thought. I just wanted us to be the same social status. We come first. For a week, they had been ignoring each other, until they were assigned as partners for History. Then the tension broke after school. Julianna pushed Zoey, and Zoey fumed, with salty tears down her face.

Zoey had screamed, “I wish we were never friends!” Then she crossed the street, with her back turned to Julianna. She never knew what hit her. Literally. Stupid car. Stupid fight. Stupid drunk driver. When the news reached Julianna, she broke down and sobbed for an eternity, feelings of grief and guilt flooding her. If only Zoey never crossed the street. If only she never fought with Zoey at all. Knowing the fact that Zoey was now paralyzed forever, nearly dead, with the soulless eyes staring at her, she could never forgive or trust herself to keep someone safe.

Once she was on her apartment floor, she fumbled for the keys and then inserted it into the keyhole. Click. The door swung open, and she stumbled in. She felt like lying on her airbed to sleep, but for some reason went to the window. As she peered down (she was on the 11th floor), she saw many people, many cars, and many, many stores. EAT FRESH, said one store. JUST DO IT, said another. Then Julianna spotted a different store. HELP WANTED, it said. Julianna stared at it for a few seconds, then smiled and jumped for joy. She could finally leave that cramped store for good! And it would be great.

Ding, her cell phone chimed. Yes, even her flip phone was costly. She tried to use it as much as she could, so the money didn’t go to waste when she paid for her calls. Julianna casually opened it, even though she was eager inside. She didn’t get that many calls or texts.

   Congratulations! You have just been cordially invited to a college interview on Thursday, May 5th, at Laguna Bay University, which is located at 747 Cypress Route, Sirencester! Please be here at 1:30 PM. Thank you for your time! Julianna’s heart skipped a beat. She couldn’t believe her luck. She was on that waiting list since like FOREVER! But still, two good things all in one day! But wait... May 5th was tomorrow! Julianna took out her wallet, ran down the stairs taking three at a time, since the elevator was too slow, and then ran into the nearest clothing store she could find.

*******

The next day, Julianna was in clean clothes. She wore a stained green shirt, with skinny jeans that had many holes. Inside her pack was a white blouse, and a black tutu skirt on the bottom. She brushed her hair three times, and then tied it in a small bun. Now she looked like a true professional. She went to her car and started the engine. Then she backed up and drove to KOHL’S.

“Hi. I’m here for the job application. I saw the HELP WANTED poster, and so I took up the offer!” Julianna replied a little too cheerfully. The teenager at the counter had dark purple hair, with a nose piercing and more than one earring on each ear. She flicked her hand.

“Eh. It’s all up to Big Brother.” She looked up, and then yelled into the speaker, “Boss, come to Counter 3!” Everyone around covered their ears and squealed in fright. Then the teen cut the speaker. She took out a pack of gum and offered some to Julianna. She declined.

A few minutes later, a big man in a grey suit came to the counter running. He was sweating, and judging the stains on his uniform, had recently eaten. He looked at Julianna and smiled.

“Hello! I presume you’re the job seeker? Well, no need to worry, because we don’t even need to interview you! You’re all set to work next week!” Julianna smiled and shook hands without saying anything as if trying not to break the spell of luck.

“Well, thank you! Now, I must get going. Bye!” Then she ran out of the store, but then came back in. “By the way, do you have a changing room?”

Seconds later, Julianna was at Laguna Bay University, and she was prepared. Notebook with fancy notes and jots? Check. Pen on the ear? Check. Expensive $30 clothes? Check. Yup, she was ready. She walked on the campus and headed into the central office. She signed in, and then was told to go into Room 23. 23. 23. 23. Julianna just repeatedly said it over and over in her head. Finally, she came into the room and went in.

Never had Julianna encountered a classroom that was this magnificent. They had a long table, with wooden chairs all around. There were laptops plugged in near the desk, and many posters were hung up. She chose a chair and then snuggled in. Then, a professor came into the classroom. He had a stone face, with no emotion. Nevertheless, Julianna gave him her signature smile. He sat down and took out his Macbook.

“Hello, Ms. Kurt. So, let’s get straight into business. Head of class, with honors math, language arts, history, and foreign language. At Sun Valley High School.” He wrinkled his nose as if he just smelled beagle piddle. She didn’t say anything, in fear that it would betray her and send her OUT of the college. “First chair in Regional Orchestra, but B- in Science. Hm..” His frown scared Julianna like could bite her at any given moment. Then, he turned the attention back to her. “Tell me what you enjoy doing.”

“Oh, um, well, I like to help out at homeless shelters and um, orphanages. I uh, like to give donations, and um, like to run a family store called Kurt’s.” She bit her lip, hoping that her answer would satisfy him. Alas, his stone face still didn’t contain any emotion. However, his eyes glinted sadness, as if he didn’t want her to know that she failed the interview.

“That’s all, Ms. Kurt. We hope to see you if you receive the acceptance letter. The exit is down the hall, to your right.” Then he left the room, leaving Julianna to wonder about the word if.

*******

Walking towards her apartment, she found a small animal following her. It was a female dog. Julianna laughed and picked it up. She then wrapped it in a towel she had in case she was over sweating. Then, cradling it with two arms, she pushed the apartment door open with her foot and stepped into the building. Also, this time, Julianna chose to go up with the elevator.

"Brr! You must be shivering from that recent rain." Julianna set the heater on, and then put a blanket around the dog. She smiled, and suddenly felt a moment of realization. "I'm gonna name you Zoë." Suddenly, she remembered that throughout her childhood, she never had a pet. "Come along, Zoë." The dog still draped with the blanket followed Julianna, and slept next to her airbed. Then, super tired and super gleeful, she started snoring almost instantly, being able to put down the burden of stress.

   BEEP! BEEP-BEEP! BEEP-BEEP! The alarm noise may have been annoying on some days, but today was not one of them. Julianna smashed her alarm clock and sat up instantly. Zoë opened her eyes and barked. Julianna rubbed her head, and Zoë purred like a cat. Julianna laughed. “Good girl. Are you going to be a cat today? Maybe I should get you some cat food?” Zoë yipped, with a humorous twinkle in her eyes. Julianna giggled, then slid off her air-bed. She went to the laundry basket and wore the clothes that she wore to Kohl's. Others might think that it is disgusting, but Julianna liked reusing clothes and supplies. "First thing we're gonna do today is get you some dog food." She got her wallet and picked Zoë up. Then, she went to the stairs and then started jogging down.

"Come on, Papa! Come on, Mama! Can't we go into the store?" Julianna pleaded to her grandparents. Papa shook his head.

"My love, your father will only be more angry at you if we come out with a pet. You know that he's still upset about losing his job." Julianna thought, Why? Can't we just go in for a few minutes? But she already knew the answer.

"Okay," she muttered. Papa smiled at her knowingly. He looked at Mama, and they locked eyes, sharing a look.

"That's my girl." Picking her up and throwing her up into the air, Julianna's displeasure quickly faded away. "Mama's just gonna get something, all right?" He asked. Julianna nodded eagerly. Then, arm-in-arm, they skipped home.

"Squeal!" Julianna started jumping in joy. Mama had a plastic bag in her hand, and in it was a goldfish. Her mom came into the living room and gasped slightly.

"Oh dear," she murmured. Then she shook her head. " Your dad isn't going to like this surprise." And he didn't.

"What is this atrocity? You honestly deem that I will be held responsible for taking care of this? No. I just won't." Her mom tried to reason.

"James, at least give her a chance. I remember-" He sighed.

"Fine, Michelle. I'll give her one chance to let her raise her fish. And I won't be helping out." Then he hastened to his room.

The fish lived for 2 days. And Julianna suspected who killed it.

*******

Once they were at Pet Paradise, they started down the aisles, looking for dog food. "Dog food, dog food, dog food," Julianna murmured to herself. Then she found it, but not by herself. Zoë was barking multiple times although Julianna didn't realize that she was pawing at a bag of food until 5 minutes later. "Got that covered!" Julianna chirped. She danced to the bag and then placed it into the shopping cart. Then they went over to the accessories. Zoë picked out a collar that had a purple triangle design, while Julianna picked out a leather leash. Then they got a water bowl, which was blue, and also a squeaky bone. This all cost $45, and Julianna almost fainted when she saw the receipt. But, she made sure to have the best for Zoë and decided to risk it.

At home, Julianna rearranged everything, and gave Zoë some dog food, while snacking on some corn flakes herself. She also got a bowl of water for her and bought a pamphlet on how to take care of dogs. This kept on repeating every day, and she was delighted when the day was almost here: when she would finally start working at Kohl's. Julianna could barely wait until the day after tomorrow! When will she NOT have luck on her side?

The next day, Julianna woke up. Wahoo! She thought.  Finally, it's the day that I get to go to an air-conditioned place and work! She eagerly put fresh water into the dog bowl, put new food in the dish, and quickly at some bread with marmalade. Then, she took clothes that she washed last night and grabbed all her supplies. "Bye, Zoë! I'm going to leave you here for now, but I'll come back in the afternoon!" Zoë barked happily, and then went to her dog dish and ate. Julianna grabbed her keys and skipped out of the door.  

She hopped down the stairs and opened the door. SMACK! It accidentally hit a person in the face. "Oh my goodness! I am sorry! I had no idea!" She gasped. The person rubbed their face but shrugged. He had a cigarette in his hand and was almost at the end of it.

"Oh, it's fine. I shouldn't have stood there. I'm almost done with my cigarette anyways." Julianna sighed unhappily. What a great start to the day. Apologizing one last time, she jogged towards the parking lot. Then, opening the car door, she looked back at the smoker. He glanced at his watch and then threw the cigarette down on the floor. Julianna got into the car, still staring at the burning cigarette. Then, thinking it was no big deal, she started her journey to Kohl's.

*******

During the drive towards Kohl's which took about 30 minutes, her car beeped. "Ugh, no! I'm gonna be late for work! Please, can you spare some gas, car?" Julianna groaned and pulled up towards a gas station. "Um, hello?" There seemed to be a crowd around the people there. "Hello! Excuse me!" An employee turned her head and came towards her.

"Sorry, hon. We were talking about the apartment fire." Julianna cocked her head slightly.

"What fire?" The employee also had a confused face.

"'What fire?' Hon, haven't you seen the news? There was a fire at 813 Azure Avenue, about 30 minutes away from here." Julianna's heart stopped.

"Could you repeat?" Julianna whispered. The employee replied with a concerned look crossing her face.

"813 Azure Avenue." Zoë... Julianna felt like she wanted to die. The employee saw the tears in her eyes, and then she said,

"Do you need to go there? I can ask my manager to give you free gas." Julianna started sobbing. The employee quickly ran to tell the manager, and they started pumping the gas into her car. When the process was finished, they sent Julianna on her way.

She couldn't stop thinking about Zoë. Now she lost both of them. She started crying uncontrollably. Why can't she just go ahead and stop bonding with others? It was her fault that they were dead. She should have never fought with Zoey, and never have let Zoë be home by herself.  And to make matters worse, she both loved them. Julianna was tempted just to finish her life. To just stop walking on the long dirt path that who knows where it leads to, and end her journey by standing in front of the million cars that are always driving next to her. But she knew that she had to be there. To see what she had done.

*******

Once Julianna saw the destruction that the fire caused, she felt like she needed support. The building was collapsed entirely, with a flood of pieces of wood that looked like it came pouring from the building. The red bricks were now ash black, and smoke was still rising out of it. When she peered over her shoulder, she could see hundreds of people sobbing and crying, trying to stay stable. Julianna, however, had no one to lean on.

She brushed away the tears. Ding, her phone chimed. Right now, she wanted to smash her phone on the ground and stomp on it. However, she looked at it and saw that her aunt had called her from Arizona. Julianna still had her number., Hey, little Jewel. I heard about the fire. Investigators say that it was caused by a cigarette. You'll move to my place? I'll pay for the flight. Julianna wanted to just crush herself into a tiny ball where no one would be harmed by her. She could've stopped the fire, and prevent many people from dying. And now, she had to move to Arizona? Ding, her phone chimed again. She bit her tongue to stop herself from crying and looked down. Hello, Ms. Kurt. We are so glad that you applied for the Laguna Bay University. However, as much as we loved your application and your personality at the interview, we regret to inform you that you were unable to be accepted into Laguna Bay University. However, we understand that you are a good student and that you have so much persistence in you. We are honored to have interviewed a person like you. Regards, Laguna Bay University.

This time, Julianna didn't even care. It's not like I'm gonna be able to drive there, anyway. Or pay for the tuition. She started her drive again, and this time, to the cemetery.

When she got there, she had her wallet in her pocket and bought a tombstone with the engravings In loving memory of Zoë. You were exactly like the old one. I'm sorry I couldn't save you. Then, she stuck it right next to an ash tree, to remember the ashes of Zoë. Next, she drove to the nearest homeless shelter. The woman at the desk recognized her. "Hello, Ms. Kurt! Have you come to give another donation?" Julianna shook her head.

"No, I've come to use them."

Julianna opened her eyes, and for a millisecond she had a sense of panic in her. Where am I? Then, she realized that she was still in the homeless shelter. She was about to leave the shelter today. All her stuff was packed (basically free clothes and a disposable toothbrush that the housing had), and was already awake now. My dream was familiar. And bizarre. Julianna's dream was her with Zoey, both of them giggling on Valentine's Day. Zoey had just received a scratch-away valentine, and they were both scratching it away. Then, it said underneath the silver paint, Congratulations! You have won 10 million dollars! There were 10 "25k"s underneath, and suddenly Zoë appeared out of a new house. Then she woke up.

After everyone was allowed to go outside in the streets (which no one did since the fire started), she went straight into a convenience store.

"Hi. One lottery ticket for 10 million dollars, please." Julianna fished for some money in her pocket. A couple of people in the store snickered. The cashier glared at them but gave her the lottery ticket and a scratching-tool. Scritch-scratch. Scritch-scratch. Suddenly, her eyes widened.

"Oh my gosh. I got 25k ten times." Everyone in the store stopped. Then they started running towards her, trying to get the lottery ticket. The man at the counter started yelling,

"Hey. Hey! Stop it!" Then they quieted down. He said to her, "Go to the lottery office in Manhattan, 'kay? There, you'll be able to register your lucky ticket." He winked. Julianna looked flustered and then ran to her car. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. She started the engine and then started driving as fast as she could to the office while calling her aunt.

“Hey, Auntie? I think we can cancel the flight,” she said, out of breath, her fingers tingling with excitement.

** 3 YEARS LATER **

“Come along, Zendaya!” Julianna grabbed a chew toy and ran out of the house. Zendaya barked, and then started running towards her. Then she got a hold of the toy and didn't let go. Julianna laughed. "Come on, Zendaya! Are you sure that you're strong enough to keep a hold of it?" Zendaya stayed latched on, and Julianna gave up. "Let's go!" She went to her new car and then opened the back for her. When Zendaya was in, Julianna sat in the driver's seat and started the engine. On the way to Laguna Bay University, she said, "I am so glad that I reapplied after I took the summer classes. Now I can attend!" She looked back at Zendaya, who was not paying attention. "What is it, Z? Do you want to go back to Kohl's?" Zendaya wagged her tail, but Julianna giggled. "Sorry. I only work there on the weekends, you silly goose!" Then, she pulled into a parking space, and they were at Laguna Bay University. She then gave Zendaya to the office, and as she walked in, she smiled as she took her seat in her class. The teacher then stood up and grinned.

"Good morning everyone. As you all remember, I am Ms. Zoey, and we are going to talk about redemption today."

The End