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Thrift stores, Erika thought, were a godsend. Not only did they provide clothes that she could manage to afford (with a bit more ease once she finally got a part-time job, she was sure), but they also offered something she could never, ever get enough of: books.

It was the latter that she was here for today, and Erika made a beeline for the book section, passing by a blonde who was looking through a pile of sci-fi and fantasy novels as she did so.

Oh, wait a moment. That title...

"Excuse me," she offered quietly, determined not to let her voice shake too much. "But... can I get at that book, please?" It was somewhat buried under the other books, but if it was what she thought, it was one that she truly did want to have a closer look at.

"Something familiar, at least," Erika murmured shyly, and all but pounced on the half-buried book she had spotted. It was exactly what she'd thought, and while the cover was a bit worn and there were seam-marks along the spine, it seemed to be in good shape overall.

"Mm," she agreed, dusting off the cover of Arrow's Fall with a fond but kind of sad expression. "I've read this one before, but haven't owned it. It's a nice find." A painful read, but a good find. "Thrift stores are better places to shop than most people are willing to believe," she offered - it wouldn't hurt to try and work on her people skills a little.

Basic conversation wouldn't hurt anyone, after all. Or... at least she was starting to finally hope that it wouldn't.

"It's good," Erika agreed quietly, and stepped back to allow the blonde access to the remaining book stacks once again. "Hard to read, sometimes... but good." Glancing down at her space-shoes for a moment to gather her courage - when did the right lace get untied? eh, she'd fix it later - the brunette raised her gaze again a moment later and offered a shy smile.

"I don't think I would have... have made it through school without thrift stores," she admitted sheepishly. "But here I am, one semester left and... I'll have made it." And here she had once thought, long ago, that she wouldn't survive to her eighteenth birthday.

Now here it was, just weeks away, and she was still holding on - and even, dare she think it, coming rather close to thriving.

Not that it was particularly relevant to the conversation at the moment, she realized belatedly, and turned her attention back to the books at hand. When in doubt, talk about books - she would never run out of things to say with that particular topic!

"Is there anything in there that you think you'll buy?"

"Kris got the easier fate," Erika said thoughtfully, tracing the cover with her fingers. "Definitely easier than Talia's." His suffering, after all, was over fairly quickly. Talia's... not so much.

"It doesn't feel as much like an... an accomplishment as it should be," Erika admitted slowly. "There's... more important things, so I'm not... I'm not sure it's really something to celebrate?" Not when there was a war on that most people didn't see. Not when simply surviving seemed like much more a celebration than something silly like managing to get through mandatory education.

"Oh...? That's... that's good that you're finding them, then..."

"No, it's not," Erika agreed quietly, then blinked. "What statistics?" She wasn't quite sure she followed the blonde's statement. "I mean... it's a step, but it's only a step. If I... if I really want to get anywhere, I can't afford to celebrate. I have to keep pushing, not stop here."

Besides, college was coming up - and it was something of a miracle that she had been accepted at all! - which was a terrifying thought in and of itself. New rules to learn, new responsibilities and challenges... it was scary. But... but at least she would be studying something she liked, and something she could use.

"Somewhat," she admitted slowly. "I don't have the funds to... to buy very much, though. I might look at the CDs before I leave?"

Thrift store music collections were rarely very good, but there were occasional gems to be found.

"I ... know a lot of those reasons," Erika admitted slowly. "Honestly? I... almost became one of them." It had been a very appealing idea, back when she and her brother had moved back to the city - to drop school and take up working full-time. But ... if she wanted to work in theatre someday?

(And she did, she really, really did!)

She needed to finish high school, to get a college degree. And from there... well, she wasn't one-hundred percent sure, but she was taking this big thing one step at a time. That was what her therapist has told her, and she was still applying it even now.

"CDs are all I planned on looking at," she said, then blinked in surprise. "Wait... um... are you sure?" She didn't need to owe this stranger, but. Maybe she ---- just maybe she really was simply being nice? "I... thank you?"

"It doesn't really seem awesome, it was just.... more practical, when I looked at the numbers?" Erika needed to be able to have a stable income, after all, and high-school dropouts didn't seem to have nearly as much stability as graduates and degree-holders. "But... um.... thank you? And. And if there's, um... anything you recommend, I'd... be glad to try it?"

Was that the right thing to say? The wrong thing?

She wished she knew. It was like stumbling into a dark void every single time she tried to talk to another person.