endlessly

1

"Tatum, get up! You're going to be late!" A blonde-haired girl yells. A brown-haired girl, Tatum, lies asleep peacefully under her yellow comforter. Although, the peace only lasts for a couple of seconds before she jolts awake.

"Fuck! What time is it?" She exclaims.

"Five minutes to eight, you better get your ass up," Her roommate says as she sits at her desk, putting makeup on. Her classes don't start until 9 AM. Tatum quickly scrambles out of bed, in an oversized T-shirt and no pants. It's early September and the weather is still warm in Los Angeles, so she throws on shorts and grabs her bag.

"No bra?" Her roommate asks.

"I have pasties in my bag! See you later, Lilah!" Tatum calls before running out of the room. She leaves the dormitory and begins running to her first class, Theatre Foundations. She arrives a little late, but that doesn't bother the professors. Since Tatum goes to an acting school, the professors are more lenient about things that normal colleges wouldn't be.

"Tatum, good, we were just about to start going over monologues," Her professor states. She sits down in the lecture hall and takes out her computer. As the professor begins his lecture slides, she begins to take notes. When she catches up with what he has written down, she opens her email.

From: NYFA Los Angeles

Subject: Tuition Due in 2 Weeks

"Fuck," Tatum whispers to herself. She opens the email and quickly scans over the contents. She hasn't paid her tuition for the fall semester yet. Even with financial aid, she doesn't have enough money. She made a lot of money over the summer working at a diner, but that's not enough. Especially with housing and food, Tatum will need to get another job on top of her job as soundboard staff to even be able to pay tuition.

She looks up and starts to take notes again. After she catches up with the next slide, she goes onto Google and then onto Indeed.com. She begins to look at jobs in the area.

Line Cook $10.25/hr

She scrunches her nose. That's not even the minimum wage for Los Angeles. Still, she saves the job anyways in case she can't find anything else.

Library Staff $14/hr

She saves that one as well.

Waiter/Waitress $13.50/hr

She saves that one and a bunch more that she finds reasonable. There aren't a lot of jobs surrounding acting/theatre, so she will take what she can get.

Personal Assistant $22/hr (negotiable)

Her eyes widen and she immediately clicks on the listing. This job is the highest paying she's found so far. She reads the listing.

Personal Assistant needed. Would need to be able to do the following:

- drive car

- lift up to thirty pounds

- sort through and organize documents

- other tasks as needed

Tatum lifts her eyebrows at "other tasks as needed". She guesses that maybe she would be assigned to pick up a McDonald's order for the person, which she doesn't mind. Twenty-two dollars to do what one person asks? That doesn't seem impossible for her to do. She clicks apply and begins to fill out the form. The last part of the form includes attaching a resume and cover letter. She opens Word and begins to type out a cover letter. She looks at the employer and it just says HAA. It doesn't specify what it stands for so she just runs with it.

Dear HAA Recruitment Manager,

My name is Tatum Winston, I am currently a sophomore at New York Film Academy, Los Angeles, and I am writing today to inquire about HAA's need for a personal assistant. I can offer excellent communication skills and handle any task thrown at me. I am comfortable performing a wide range of job duties and can work collectively with others on the team. Please feel free to contact me at your convenience to further discuss any job opportunities.

Yours sincerely,

Tatum Winston

She saves the document and goes back to the application. She attaches her resume and cover letter before submitting the application. She looks up to see that she's missed a bunch of slides. She leans over to one of her classmates.

"Hey, can I look off of your notes for a second? I missed the last slide," she whispers to a girl named Georgia.

"Yeah, go ahead," Georgia turns her computer towards Tatum slightly. The brown-haired girl quickly copies Georgia's notes and goes back to the current slide. She gets the last part of the slide just before the next one comes in.

Meanwhile, in Hollywood, an actress named Sadie Sink stands in a dressing room. She's being fitted for her next photoshoot when a member of her team comes in.

"Sadie, someone's filled out the application," The team member says.

"Really? Let me see," She reaches out for his phone. He hands her the phone and she begins to look over Tatum's application, "Text the others and let's see what time we have available for an interview."

"Okay," He takes his phone back and walks out of the dressing room. He sends a message to Sadie's current roommates, Jenna Ortega, Emma Myers, and Mikey Madison.

After Tatum's class, she has an hour to kill before her next class. She goes to the Student Union, where there are places to eat and study. She sits down with a coffee and bagel, seeing as though she didn't get to eat that morning. She takes out her computer and applies for some other jobs as well. Although she would rather have the high-paying personal assistant job, something in her gut tells her that she probably won't get it.

So, she applies for some other jobs in the area to fall back on. She's anxious to see what happens in the coming days and if she'll hear back from the HAA. She isn't even sure what kind of company the HAA is, but she needs the money.

The rest of the day is pretty normal as Tatum goes from class to class. She doesn't have any big projects coming up since the semester is still starting, so she goes back to her dorm at the end of her school day. She's extremely tired even though she slept in, so when she gets back to her dorm, she immediately drops her bag and flops on her bed. She falls asleep for an hour before her roommate, Lilah, comes back.

"Hey, wanna go to the dining hall with me? It's seven," she shakes Tatum awake. The brunette groans but nods, "If you keep sleeping, you'll fuck up your sleep schedule even more."

"I know, I know," Tatum groans as she sits up, "Thank you for waking me this morning."

"Of course," Lilah answers. Tatum pulls her sneakers on and the two leave their room. Tatum's phone pings as they walk and the girl opens her phone.

From: HAA Recruitment

Subject: RE: Application Received

Hello,

We have received your application for "Personal Assistant" and would like to invite you to an interview. Please click on the link below to select a date and time if you are still interested.

"Holy shit! Holy shit, Lilah, I've got a job interview!" Tatum exclaims.

"You're getting another job?" The blonde asks, peering over the brunette's shoulder.

"I have to," She sighs, "Tuition is due in two weeks and I don't have enough money."

"Where did you apply?" She asks.

"This place called the HAA, I don't know what it stands for, but they're looking for a personal assistant. And it pays $22 an hour!" Tatum exclaims.

"Damn, all that to do whatever one person says?" Lilah smiles. Tatum nods, "Good for you, Tatum. Make that money."

"I know, thank you!" Tatum smiles. She closes her phone as they walk into the dining hall. She will schedule a time later after she's eaten. Right now, she's feeling the excitement of possibly having another job that pays better than her current. Little does she know what is actually in store.