06-25-2013, 12:14 AM
On a Friday two weeks back Sid was found sitting on a bench on the Auraria campus, staring out over the courtyard between the science buildings and the north building. She was not dressed as usual in ragged, falling apart and faded clothing that was probably old before it came into her possession. She was wearing a dress, light and green and airy for summer, white leggings opaque enough to hide her legs from all but the most intent stares, and nice shoes with a definite heel. Her hair was down and brushed and mostly straight and pinned back to her temples to keep it out of her face. She looked nice. She looked like she tried.
The reason for the brief change was a simple one. She had an interview that day, the first one she'd gotten since she was let go from her last retail job. It was also one she really wanted, not for what it was but for what it could do for her. If she got the job she would be someone's, or some people's assistant, which in itself wouldn't be terribly exciting. At least she'd only have to face the same few faces day in and day out. No, the thing she wanted was the place. She'd be the administrative assistant to CU Denver's science department. If she got it, and if she worked there long enough she could earn college credits for free. She could work and pay her bills and buy her own food and clothes and pay back Frank and she could work toward a degree.
So. There was a job, and she went to an interview, and she made herself look presentable and she tried really hard to keep from clamming up. Then when she left she allowed herself a few quiet moments of hope before she squashed it all down. There was no way they'd choose her, not because she thought she didn't deserve it but because on paper there were surely other candidates better suited to it than her. Other people had the experience, other people weren't so shy.
That's what she thought, anyway.
Yesterday morning she went in for a second interview. They talked about science and Sid blossomed open suddenly. She was sort of engaging and almost charming. Last night she ran into some friends while out looking around for things to blow her first paycheck on. Just in case. Just in case they called her back. She allowed herself that much hope and then she went home.
This morning she gets a call from someone from HR. They're not sure about her, they tell her, there are after all more qualified people who applied for the position. But they wanted a cultural fit, and in that department no one else came close. They were willing to start her off part time for the summer term and see how she did. When could she start?
Today, she replied, tomorrow they laughed. Come in tomorrow and they'll get her started on her paperwork.
Sid ends the call feeling an odd mixture of wonderful and terrible. Wonderful because it's better than whatever retail job she would have tried to get next. Awful because it's, well, because it's awful. Starting over, starting outside the box she wants to be in, and at her age.
She tries not to let it get her down, but it's a weight none the less.
The reason for the brief change was a simple one. She had an interview that day, the first one she'd gotten since she was let go from her last retail job. It was also one she really wanted, not for what it was but for what it could do for her. If she got the job she would be someone's, or some people's assistant, which in itself wouldn't be terribly exciting. At least she'd only have to face the same few faces day in and day out. No, the thing she wanted was the place. She'd be the administrative assistant to CU Denver's science department. If she got it, and if she worked there long enough she could earn college credits for free. She could work and pay her bills and buy her own food and clothes and pay back Frank and she could work toward a degree.
So. There was a job, and she went to an interview, and she made herself look presentable and she tried really hard to keep from clamming up. Then when she left she allowed herself a few quiet moments of hope before she squashed it all down. There was no way they'd choose her, not because she thought she didn't deserve it but because on paper there were surely other candidates better suited to it than her. Other people had the experience, other people weren't so shy.
That's what she thought, anyway.
Yesterday morning she went in for a second interview. They talked about science and Sid blossomed open suddenly. She was sort of engaging and almost charming. Last night she ran into some friends while out looking around for things to blow her first paycheck on. Just in case. Just in case they called her back. She allowed herself that much hope and then she went home.
This morning she gets a call from someone from HR. They're not sure about her, they tell her, there are after all more qualified people who applied for the position. But they wanted a cultural fit, and in that department no one else came close. They were willing to start her off part time for the summer term and see how she did. When could she start?
Today, she replied, tomorrow they laughed. Come in tomorrow and they'll get her started on her paperwork.
Sid ends the call feeling an odd mixture of wonderful and terrible. Wonderful because it's better than whatever retail job she would have tried to get next. Awful because it's, well, because it's awful. Starting over, starting outside the box she wants to be in, and at her age.
She tries not to let it get her down, but it's a weight none the less.