Dream Girl

Cool, Calm, Collected

Interviews are terrifying.
Having to walk into an unknown place and then talk yourself up to a stranger and hope that their impression of you gets you a job, is just plain terrifying.
I glanced around the quiet lobby. The floors were a clean and glistening white that echoed when a person walked across it. The walls were covered in floor to ceiling glass, allowing a view of the business buildings across the street and the busy crowd of people and cars below.
My fingers trembled as I held them tightly together, resting on top of the folder that held my résumé.
It felt like holding my future in my hands.
Yet another terrifying thought.
Deep breaths. Calm down, everything will be okay. You have to stop worrying, everything will be fine whether they accept you or not.
I repeated those words over and over in my head. If I walked in there with trembling hands and beads of sweat, I wouldn't come across as that cool, calm, and collected candidate that they were looking for.
"Brandon Lune?"
I turned my head towards the door as the little old lady from the receptionist desk called my name. She motioned for me to follow her, lines creasing her cheeks as she smiled in encouragement.
I stood up, clutching my folder in one arm as I hoped to rid any notion of sweating nerves by wiping my hands on the thighs of my best pair of my pants. My mom had even tried to iron them in hopes that I would come across more professional.
The lady led me down the hall and into the conference room marked 'A'. A large and long oval shaped table was positioned in the center of the room with black chairs set at the same interval along the edge, with one at each end of the table.
In one of the chairs sat a woman with piles of papers surrounding her, each had its own pile and they all had their own place. She was turned around, facing out the window as she pulled her salt and pepper hair into a perfectly neat bun.
"I have the next applicant Ms. Rupert."
"Sit, close the door behind you." The steady voice of who I assumed to be Ms.Rupert spoke. It seemed like it would have been too quiet to hear, but the air of who she was allowed it to reach all the way across the room.
The little old lady motioned me forward. I paused for a minute, hoping that my legs would carry me forward.
"A little push for good luck. " The lady spoke under her breath, giving my shoulder a slight nudge, making my feet move forward to keep me from falling forward.
Before I could give turn and give her a nope of thanks, but the click of a closing door already echoed in the room.
I turned away from the shut door, ensuring myself that I was here, and that I had to move forward.
Another moment.
Noticing that I still hadn't moved any further then the lady had pushed me, I did my best to move forward into one of the chairs close to where the woman sat.
She turned around just as I was sitting down. "Comfortable yet?" She asked, a sudden tone in her voice.
Maybe she didn't realize how young I was.
Stop doubting yourself.
"Yes, very much, I'm Brandon. " I stood up as she moved to her chair and held out my hand to shake hers.
"Ms. Rupert." She grasped my hand with a firm handshake and then sat down. I followed her example and pulled my chair forward and turned to sit facing towards her.
"Now, you've never had a job before, and yet you think you'll be a good fit here, why do you think that?"
I nodded before realizing that I had to give a full response.
"Oh, I, well, I'm a hard and dedicated worker and I think I would make a great employee. This is the kind of work I hope to get into when I'm older and would love to start even sooner."
"You want to be a journalist?"
"A writer, of any sort really."
"Have you written before?" She asked, straightening the file of papers she had just pulled forward.
" Not as much as I would have liked. "
The corners of her lips moved downward slightly.
That wasn't what she was looking for.
" I try to write as much as possible though. I really wish I could write much more."
Ms.Rupert nodded slowly, her hand moving quickly as she wrote something.
"Now, onto the next question. "
The rest of the interview went well. She asked the typical questions you'd expect in an interview. What kind of days you could work? Why you think you should work here? Why would you be a good fit?
I feel I did pretty well.
I think maybe, just maybe, I'll get the job.