The Exact Opposite of Okay

by Laura Steven

I, meanwhile, am receiving 90 percent of the flak for a scandal I only had a 50 percent stake in. Perks of being a woman in modern America.

Something inside me splinters. As calmly as I can muster, I stand up, pick up my bowl of cold, oversalted soup, and pour the entire thing over Carlie’s head.

One moment can change everything, and that’s the most terrifying thought in the world. How do we even function knowing that? Knowing how tenuous our existence is, how fragile our happiness?

Because what matters to me above all else? The people I love. And there’s not a damn thing wrong with that. If people cared more about being kind than being successful, the world would be a much better place.

“I’m sick of feeling like I live in a lose/lose world, and that there’s nothing I can do about it.