Swallow the pill

Once outside you retrieve a bottle of water you brought along from your bag. You store it under your arm as you open the box with the morning-after pill. You manage to free it from its plastic packaging, looking it over as you hold it between your fingers. It's just an inconspicuous looking white pill, and you quickly put it in your mouth before throwing your head back and taking a long sip from your water bottle. You swallow the pill on the first gulp, but when you look down, you suddenly stare into the familiar face of your former classmate Jacob.

"Marlow?", Jacob asks in surprise as he beams a smile at you. "Fancy running into you! What are you doing here?". He sounds genuinely surprised to see you in this part of town, but you can only react by hastily stuffing the pill packaging back into your bag. There's no way he could have noticed what you were doing right away.

"Oh hey! Jacob. I... just had a job interview", you explain. The both of you used to have class together, often talking during your breaks. You didn't speak to him as often since you took your year off, but you did recently let him know you were looking for a new job. You quickly explain to him how you had an audition for an acting job just now, but you make sure to leave a few important details out.

Jacob smiles at you. "An actress, huh? That's so cool", he says, sounding genuinely excited. "I hope you get the job! I'm glad you didn't end up working at that grocery store forever. You seem to have so much more potential."

You blush slightly, somewhat uncomfortable with hiding the full truth from him but extremely uncomfortable with the thought of Jacob finding out what kind of audition it truly was. You thank him for him kind words and you briefly catch up. To your frustration, he steers the conversation towards the store you just left.

"What brought you here anyway?", he asks, and you mentally tell him that it is none of him business. "I had to pick up a prescription...for a friend.", you lie instead, casually putting your water bottle back in your bag. He raises an eyebrow at your explanation, and you feel yourself getting more frustrated with him.

"Oh? Did you have the job interview nearby?", he then asks, likely knowing you don't live anywhere close to this part of town. You clench your teeth briefly, really not enjoying where this conversation is heading. And when did he become so inquisitive anyway? You really just want to be left alone right now.

"Uh. Yeah, just downtown," you answer, quietly wondering if you said too much already.