Mother

Chapter 3

Ayla: "Hello who's this?"

Sallie: "Hello sweetie it's Sallie how are you doing." Sallie answered sounding upset.

Ayla: "I'm fine, are you okay you sound quite upset?"  I asked worried.

Sallie: "yes I'm alright. I just have something very important I want to tell you....." she said hesitating. "well you know that your work here isn't permanent."

Ayla: "yes I know, why are you telling me this." I asked already knowing that I was about to get fired again. Sallie took a deep breath before speaking, her voice sounding nervous and sad.

Sallie:  "well we are running out of space and I got orders to fire people and you unfortunately were on the list I'm so sorry to tell you this."

Ayla: "It's okay I understand thank you for calling me and have a great day" I said trying to hide my emotions.

After hanging up the phone, I stared at the screen for a moment, letting the news sink in. Another job lost, another door closed. I had known this was coming but I didn't think it would come this soon. The thought of starting over again filled me with dread. How many times would I have to go through this?

I sighed and leaned back in my chair, rubbing my temples. The apartment was quiet, too quiet. I could feel the weight of uncertainty pressing down on me, but I didn't have time to dwell on it. Rent was due, bills were piling up, and I didn't have the luxury of waiting for things to fall into place.

Still, there was no point in sitting here feeling sorry for myself. I stood up, grabbed my laptop, and opened it. Time to start the job hunt, again. The thought made my stomach twist, but what choice did, I have I just lost my only job.

Before I could begin, my phone buzzed. It was a message from Sallie: "I'm really sorry about today. I wish things could be different."

I stared at the screen, unsure how to respond. It wasn't her fault she was just following orders. But that didn't make it any easier.

Ayla:"It's okay. I know, you just did what you had to do. Take care of yourself."

I hit send and set the phone down. A part of me wanted to crawl into bed and pretend the day hadn't happened. But another part of me, the one that had been through this cycle before, knew I couldn't afford to do that.

I took a deep breath and opened the first job listing. I wasn't ready, but I had no choice. Life didn't wait for anyone, especially not me.

Just as I began scrolling through the listings, my phone buzzed again. This time, it was a message from an unknown number. Curious, I opened it.

"Hey, Ayla i'm sorry about earlier. You might not remember me but my name is Lila, I'm from the cafe. I think i might have something for you."

My heart skipped a beat. Maybe today wasn't such a disaster after all. For a moment, I tried to place who this could be. Then it hit me, the woman from the café who had returned my resume a few weeks back.

I typed back, my fingers trembling with a mix of hope and nerves. "Hi! I do remember you. You took my resume, right? What's this about?"

A few moments passed before my phone buzzed again. "Yes, Sorry for not getting back to you sooner. If you're still looking for a job,  I have a relative who works at Kingsley Academy,  a private school that's  desperately looking to hire  an art teacher. I have already  passed  my relative your resume, because I thought you'd be perfect for the role.

I stared at the message in disbelief. An art teacher? At a private school? I can't believe it, this is what I have always wanted and the thought filled me with excitement. Art had always been a passion of mine, and maybe this was the chance I needed to dive into something new and meaningful.