He ran his fingers along the neckline of his sweater as he looked down at the paper he was reading. Admissions to the program began next week, but could he make the commitment? He started to play frantically with his beard and drummed his pencil on the desk as he read through the questionnaire. After briefly reading the first sentence he glanced up and out the window and saw the leaves falling off the trees wondering to himself where she might be.

Glancing down at her digital watch Delaney moved out of the way from the entrance to the Tropical Discovery at the zoo so that the crowd of people could enter and swarm the aquarium on display. 

She was looking for a specific poster of a forest explorer who she had always imagined was someone’s true love. Not a fan of crowds but always intrigued by overhearing their small talk, she made her way past the toucan and other fish to the picture. 

The people murmured amongst themselves observations of the creatures as she passed by and laid eyes on the photo. Jealously overcame her as she remembered the academics he had previously chased, the explorer in the photo was not only repelling but holding a laptop as well. She rolled her eyes, if only she could be so talented.

As she made her way back out of the building she looked over at the giraffes and thought it would be winter soon. Zoo lights would be in full effect and it would be cold as fuck. She had seen her favorite fish and turtle and wanted to go home. She was alone the entire day, but felt like someone had been with her. She passed the sting ray area and remembered his smile bringing her back to life. 

Meanwhile back at the counseling office, Spencer looked down at the questionnaire again. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to begin this new counseling program or finish creating the code for his AI assistant Eliza. The pressure was mounting from all angels, couldn’t the others just accept that he could create the solution not look for answers. 

Delaney was the only answer he was truly seeking. He threw down the pencil and grabbed his North Face backpack and got up. He crumpled the paper into a ball and tossed it in the trash and left the counseling building. As he got into his car he dialed Eliza who answered “Just the one I’ve been looking for” and he responded “Eliza, help me devise a new strategy”. He screeched out of the parking lot in his Kia K5 and turned on MCR.