The summer after high school felt less like freedom to Laura and more like a sudden freefall into the world of being an adult. Her after school job at the diner went from three nights after school to five days a week of long shifts. The shock was enough to have her dead on her feet most of the time. It wasn't such a big deal to her as it might have been to someone who had a more active social life but Laura had never been very social. The two friends she considered close enough to spend time with outside of school were both off on their adventures, starting gap years early. That left her to work and try not to die of boredom before she had to leave for college. The job at the diner wasn't her favorite thing in the world but it was familiar and most days she didn't mind it. The chaos and activity of the popular breakfast and burger stop kept her on her toes, and she always enjoyed the brief visits she had with people she already knew, the people she came to know, and all the perfect strangers passing through town with interesting stories to tell.