I woke up to an alarm buzz from the opposite side of the room, the rhythm of the clock intended to wake me up, but just as quickly pulled me back to the sleep I desired. What actually woke me up came a few moments later, when there was a sudden and loud disruption in that rhythm. A crash coming from the kitchen. Shortly after, loud footsteps heading straight for my room until the door slammed open. What came through wasn't anything threatening, but rather a single dog.
"Kiza! Wake up, you have your interview today!"
Before I knew it, I was pounced on and barked at. This was Vskera Hatsukoin. They had a key to my front door. They did not care.
"I set my alarm earlier than usual, I'll be fine.."
"And how did that work out in the past? The amusement park?"
I was late.
"The karaoke party?"
I was late.
"Not even yesterday you were late to us hanging out!"
"Ok, I'll admit it happens a lot, but I'll be fine this time!" I opened my eyes for the first time, and the look of someone who had already lost their faith in me made me wish I kept them closed. After a few more barks into my ear finally forced me out of bed and onto my feet.
"Sheesh, Koin. What're you doing in my house anyways?"
"Well I got a bit hungry and I knew you would never wake up on your own so I killed 2 birds with one stone."
"What did you eat? I'm going grocery shopping tomorrow, there's nothing in my fridge." The silent response was interrupted by their stomach growling. I sighed.
"Here, take this." I scraped a few dollar bills out of my wallet, more than half of what was in there, and handed it to them.
"Wait, no no no, I can't take this."
"Come on, you're gonna starve at this rate." I was essentially shoving it into the puppy's face. I showed no signs of relenting, and eventually they gave in and took it.
"I'm gonna leave now, but you'd better get ready or else I'm gonna get mad!" Their tail was already leaping through the window.
Thankfully the clothes I put out the night before made up for the lost time, and before long I was out the door wearing my freshest fit, the classic sweatshirt, boots, and glasses. I really did set my clock early, so I had some good time to spare, and as such I decided to walk.
Slowly the short houses grew taller, and turned into business buildings. Before I knew it the blue sky had lost its grip over the horizon and given it to downtown. It was a weekend, and as such the city was filled with bustle. I loved the wonderful sounds of the city at times, but other times my hearing could be a bit too good and I was overwhelmed. A little longer of letting my thoughts wander and I was at the front door to my new job. I was fairly confident in myself to nail the interview, I mean, what could go wrong?
There was a man at the front desk clacking down onto a keyboard, not looking up, he began talking to me, which caught me off guard
"What's your purpose for being here today?"
"Oh- I have a job interview here in about 5 minutes?"
"I'll have someone take you there, this place is easy to get lost in." Someone new soon walked through a doorway to lead me.
After going through the main office, I was escorted through a maze of hallways to a new office, the bland white themes sickened me to a degree with the painted walls lacking that sense of life and vibrancy. The only relief I found was a brown door with a small square window in it. The door clicked behind me as I entered and sat down. My interviewer was a woman who looked like she had something on her mind. After the resume, the questions began, and I casually answered each one. What I really focused on was her eyes, it felt like there was something behind them but I couldn't figure it out yet.
"How do you handle high pressure situations?" Was a question that really shouldn't have caught me off guard, yet it did anyways. Now of course the honest answer is I grow cat ears and try my best, but I don't think that's what the interviewer was looking for.
"I-uh I see what I have to work with and do the best work possible in the scenario."
"Hmm... that ends this interview then, you'll be seen out."
And seen out I was. The doors swung open and I was back out on the sidewalk. How fast they managed to put someone in a room and then kick them out was at the point of impressiveness. Besides the one blunder, I basically perfected the art of interviewing. I knew I aced it, and as such needed to celebrate at the best place to do so: Arby's, and it just so happened that there was one nearby.
