Cold Lonely Nights

Glass Ceiling

Shane sits nervously in the waiting room, looking around to see all the paintings on the walls.

"Shane Sumner?" A smartly dressed woman calls.

Shane looks up at her and gets up to follow her into an interview room.

He gets seated at a lonely looking chair in the centre of the room. The sight of dog hairs on his black trousers makes him try picking it off his clothes so that he looks smart for his job interview.

"So you're a friend of Kier's?" The interviewer starts.

I nod. "Yes, he can vouch for me when I say I'm a really hard worker."

The interviewer looks a little awkward before explaining. "You see Shane, Kier is the only person who's left from the Kemp family. Since they were the founders who have built this company from nothing. It is only common that he should take over the management of the company when he's old enough but we were thinking that someone with suitable qualifications should be getting this job. We can secure you a different position if you want." The interviewer explains.

Shane can feel his morale sinking. "Oh, okay, what kind of position do you have in mind?" He tries.

"Something better related to your skill set. Apparently you're good with animals." She starts.

Shane gives her a concerned look. "What does this have to do with getting a job here?"

"We've been thinking about bridging the gap between the orphanage and our company. The fact that you're good with animals means that you could be our consultant. We'll breed animals for you to bring to the children. Do you like the sound of that?" She tries.

"It's better than nothing I guess." He sighs.

"Great, you start on Monday, bring your own dog so that she can show the others how it's done." She decides.

Shane nods and leaves the room, surprised when he sees Kier waiting outside to find out how it went.

"Did you get it?" He checks.

"Not the job I wanted but I guess anything is an improvement to not even having a job." Shane simply shrugs.

"What? How could they not? You're like the smartest person I know!" Kier snaps.

"Don't make such a big deal out of it, they just want someone who went to university or something. If they gave me the job, it would be like picking somebody off the streets." Shane points out.

"Still, it's just so wrong that they should do this to you." Kier reassures.

"It's fine, if that's what's going to keep Wendy and me fed, I'm all for it." Shane optimistically states.

Kier isn't all that convinced but decides to help Shane stop thinking about it by heading back to the orphanage with him.

When they get there, Wendy comes running up to them at the door, barking and panting in excitement. Kier giggles at how Shane instantly crouches to her level to rub her behind the ears.

"Luke took good care of her I'll guess." Kier smirks.

"I know he did, I'm just happy to see her." Shane replies as she's started licking his face.

"I can't believe we're going to be leaving this place soon, there are so many memories here." Kier sighs.

This makes Shane look up, spotting the tree in the corner of the field where he had that picnic with Drew the day before he was taken away. Even after all these years he still remembers exactly how he felt when he saw Drew with that family. The fact that he was too hurt and upset to go straight to Drew for support burns deep in Shane's chest in guilt. He could have just spent one second thinking about what Drew was going through instead of being so selfish and only thinking about himself.

Maybe if I didn't try to bottle it up in front of Drew, he'd still be here.

Shane forces himself to shake off that thought, knowing that even if he was still longing for the chance to change the situation, it would never change.

He's gone. He's got a family that he deserves… finally…

This makes Shane's eyes water up a little. "I could never forget this place even if I wanted to." He murmurs, getting up and heading to the canteen to get something to eat, knowing that Kier would be all over his case if he goes back to his old habits.

Kier instantly follows at the thought of receiving food, starting to be concerned about when he'll have to pay for his own food. He knows that he'll have a well paying job, the best in the company almost, but it's still a daunting thought. Knowing that Shane would probably get very little pay, Kier also figures out that they should stick together, that's just what friends do.