Opportunity of a Lifetime!

Mirror

The next couple of days were exhausting. It was 'pick up' this and 'sort out' that. It was endless and I was tired and worried. If she didn't accept my application after this 'trial period' then would all my efforts be wasted? I didn't want to think about it.  

I sat down at home after a long day with a glass of champagne. As I let out a deep breath my cell phone began to ring. For a moment I thought it was Sharon and then I thought perhaps it was Melanie calling for immediate assistance with a job but as I leaned forward it seemed to be an unknown number. I narrowed my eyebrows confusedly and picked up the phone before slipping it open. 

"Hello?" I said. 

"Jess, is that you?" I recognised that voice anywhere. 

"Dad, where are you? Why's it saying your an unknown number?"  

"I'm at a pay phone. I rang to see if you wanted to go for dinner somewhere. Me and your sister are in town and we thought we'd ask just incase you wanted to join us...." 

"Y-yeah!" I stammered "I'd love to. Where shall we meet?" 

"The Ratiobreaker in 15?" 

"Sure!" I exclaimed "see you soon dad!" 

"Okay sweetheart.." 

I put the phone down and toddled towards my bedroom. I pulled open the wardrobe doors and fitted into one of my classiest dresses. The Ratiobreaker was one of the poshest places around. I couldn't walk around looking like a Neanderthal.  

Ten minutes later the can arrived. I hopped in. "To The Ratiobreaker!" I exclaimed. The woman in the front nodded and began to drive. I sat back and watched the bright flashing lights of New York City glow against the borderline. It was a beautiful sight. What I had always dreamed it to be.  

I grew up in Rhode Island. It was somewhere I had always loved since a child. Even though it was a place I adored I just wanted to get away. I never fitted in around Rhode Island. They didn't have any universities holding degrees for creative writing. I'd always wanted to be a writer. I figured the closer I got into the industry, the closer my dreams would seem. That was why I applied for the assistant job. Sharon Sharline was certainly someone I didn't expect to be a top fashion editor. She was so domineering and intimidating. Even though I should have been focusing on seeing my father and my sister Katie the only thing I could focus on was him. The mysterious stranger. I didn't know his name and it was killing me. Joe seemed nice. He wasn't bad looking either. Maybe I could ask him out sometime? No, that wasn't like me.  

Before I knew it the taxi can came to a halt and the blonde woman in the font held out her hand as if she was waiting for her payment. I handed her a ten dollar note for the short drive and gave her a two dollar tip.  

"Thank you" I said quietly as I scooted over to the other side of the back seats and pulled the door open. 

"Uh- huh" she replied. She barely let me get out of the cab before he drove away. I was certainly regretting giving her the tip.  

The Ratiobreaker was a large restaurant. As I walked through the glass doors I saw my father and Katie sitting at a wooden table. It was a cramped pub sized table. It was odd. I'd always seen The Ratiobreaker from the outside and assumed it was a posh place when it appeared to be the complete opposite. Things weren't what they seemed. I guess that was what the world was trying to teach me.  

I sat down in the cubicle of chairs opposite my father and Katie after Katie sat with her green t-shirt covering her pregnant stomach. Her long brown hair was waved for effect. She smiled at me as she saw me.  

"Katie! Dad!" I exclaimed as I hugged them both and sat down. "It's great to see you both, what brings you to New York City?" 

Dad gave a sympathetic smile. It was like a smile of empathy. I didn't quite understand why he was lenient towards me.  

"We'll we heard about your new job" started Katie, she began to roll her hands across her stomach almost as if she was petting the baby. "We came to ask how things are going." 

I smiled still not quite sure why they had travelled hundreds of miles to speak to me about my job. Couldn't that be asked over a quick phone call! 

Don't get me wrong, it wasn't that I didn't want them there, I just didn't want them to waste their time trying to track my whereabouts. 

"Things are going great. I'm actually getting on well. Sharon hasn't accepted my application yet so I'm still on trial run but so far everything's great!" 

It was a lie. A complete lie. Things weren't great. Infact they were worse than they were before I'd managed to bag the trial run. Every night since I'd started I'd be sitting at home with a glass of champagne and a bowl of ice cream- comfort food. That was what I needed. Something to help me get through the long days, tiring hours and endless chores.  

Katie smiled but didn't look convinced. "Are you sure Jess, because when I was younger, about your age, I made some mistakes by following jobs that were not really.... Me. Are you sure that the fashion industry is something you want to get yourself into?" 

"I- I guess..." I stammered. 

Dad immediately began to talk. "I think what you have to do sweetheart is take a look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself if this is what you want to do for the rest of your life. Ask yourself if this is what you want to become."  

I paused. I'd never asked myself that before. I questioned my mind but couldn't find the answer. I was loitering between 'yes' and 'no'. I didn't quite know what was the right decision. 

I nodded. "Your right dad. I guess I have to make the decision sometime soon..." 

"I hope you do!" Replied dad "for your own sake sweetheart." 

"Okay..." I replied "anyway, what's been happening in Rhode Island?" 

After a long two hours of talking about my job, life in Rhode Island, fashion and topics lingering around my job I caught another cab home. Luckily it wasn't the same cab driver that I had earlier. This driver was very talkative. She kept on asking me questions about myself. In a way it was nice to have someone interested but I didn't know if she was just asking me because she was desperate for a tip. 

When I got out I handed her a tip anyway for her kind manners and politeness.  

I began to walk up to my front door when I felt someone behind me. I felt something slip from my pocket. I turned around and a man faced me with a gun the size of Jupiter. He had my purse in his hand. I was too frightened to react sensibly so I held my hands in the air like an idiot. "Please don't hurt me!" I pleaded.  

The man didn't say another word but ran away. He wore trainers and his faced was covered in a ski mask so I couldn't see who he was. I was so frightened I stayed frozen for the next five minutes with my hands in the air. One of my neighbours came out to see if I was okay. 

"Are you okay dear?" Asked Mrs Morris, the woman living in the apartment next to me.  

"Y-yes..." I struggled to say as I smiled at her forcefully and unlocked the door with my shaky hand. 

Once I was inside I closed the door behind me and trailed along to my bedroom.  

I sat on the edge of my bed and looked at myself in the mirror. That was when I began to break down into tears. They poured from my eyes endlessly. I fell to the floor in distress. My makeup had smudged and I was shaking with fear. What had I gotten myself into? What had I become? I knew this job was no good for me, I just knew it. I couldn't leave though. I needed the money and the experience. I couldn't waste my efforts. I just couldn't. I was an emotional wreck. I decided to get myself to bed. It was the most sane decision I'd made all day.  

Five minutes later I lay in bed with a glass of water on the bedside table next to me and my photo frame looking down on me. It was an old photo of me, mum, dad and Katie. They were all getting on with they're lives yet I was stuck in a never ending circle of confusion and regret.  

I closed my eyes and felt my mind wander to a complete other time and place. I had taken my sorrows away, only temporarily though because I knew the emptiness and fear would never end.