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Zelda’s feet had been aching for five blocks, but still she kept walking, determined to put as much distance between herself and her parents as possible

“I’ll show the through her as her uly endless walk

The question of just how she would show her parents reht past the flash of fury and indignation that her parents’ comments had prompted In point of fact, when she’d left the house, she hadn’t ed to take more than a backpack of clothes, her phone and wallet, and a few toiletries with her It was certainly not the best thought-out exit of her life, but the thought of going back and retrieving any of her other possessions before she figured out a way to turn her defeat into a victory wason her toes

She had left the house with little idea of where she wanted to end up, so when Zelda saw the signs for the Miaish pace once ht at least get some idea of what to with herself next if she wandered the area for long enough

There aren’t any cruise ships around here—or at least there shouldn’t be, she thought as she slipped past a guard explaining so couple in classic South Beach white linen resort wear Most of the, so for a new employee Maybe there was a dinner cruise moored and ready to leave; or perhaps she’d find one of the vendors on site advertising for staff

Zelda had to admit to herself that a job as a bar of a co a chef-caterer, but it would be enough to live on—hopefully—while she planned her next move

She looked around her, taking in the sight of luxury yachts and smaller, but still undeniably expensive, sport boats at anchor all over the ot about the pain in her feet entirely as she drea her way onto a s out to sea for a few days, safely out of her parents’ reach She’d return to tell the at sea to be able to afford tothat job, and they could take all their threats of refusing to support her financially and sit on them

She replayed the argument in herto look as inconspicuous as possible The problem had started when she’d told her parents that she had dropped out of the program at Le Cordon Bleu

They hadn’t been all that thrilled with her choosing that option to begin with; both her mother and her father had hoped that she would live up to their exao on to a ree, and maybe even a PhD But Zelda had colish Literature program at UCF that she didn’t have the intellectual sta away on studies that weren’t likely to get her a job other than as a teacher or professor

They’d been bitterly disappointed with her steadfast refusal to consider switchinga year off to “find herself” before returning to the university Both of her parents had certainly instilled a love of learning in Zelda: her English professor est pere so that she could understand the inspiration for her name, and her Doctor of History father had spent her entire childhood encouraging her to question the co her to think critically They had thought that she would follow in their footsteps in some way, and continue the fae Instead, Zelda had co her exa back

Instead, she had opted to pursue catering; Zelda had always loved food, and herrecipes and tweaking ones that already existed

Zelda’s goal had been to open her own business as soon as she finished her studies at Le Cordon Bleu, but it had quickly become obvious to her that most of her classrooetables,existing recipes down to the last detail She had learned how to make Lobster Thermidor, how to create five different types of stock, and how to make perfectly clear consommé But the sheer boredom of so much repetition, soable to deviate even for a otten to her, and Zelda had decided that culinary school was not for her any more than university had been

Her parents had started out understanding “I can understand why so much of same-drill-different-day would put you off, sweetheart,” heryou through all of this, you know”

“They expect most of us to end up as line chefs,” Zelda had told herthat for myself? How am I supposed to innovate if I’m not allowed?”