The Internship

The Intoduction

My alarm went off and I sat up, reaching for my phone in order to turn off the beeping. I needed a new alarm tone. This one was so annoying after using it all year for school. I stretched and contemplated whether to lay down and rest for a few more minutes or to just get up and going. I decided against the first and got up to make myself breakfast, I realized I didn't have any food to use for actual breakfast. My mom always got worried when I didn't eat in the past. No matter how much I ate I always stayed pretty thin. I just decided to skip breakfast for today, I would go to the store after the introduction. I dug through my suitcase and found my black skirt and a dark red sweater to go along with it. Despite it being June it was a bit chilly today. I put on panty hose which were the color of my skin and black flats. I went to the bathroom to fix my blonde hair and do my eyeliner.

I decided to begin unpacking my stuff into the dresser which was provided. T-shirts in the top right drawer, shorts in the middle right. I looked at the clock, items of clothing were scattered across the room but it was time to leave. I checked the subway system again on my laptop and checked what I had wrote down to see if it was correct. It was. I left my apartment with my bag which held my keys and my wallet. Everything else was still in my suitcase.

I hadn't ridden the subway since my trip to New York. The station near where I was staying looked abandoned. Many other people in the program were waiting here. I looked up at the board which displayed times before the next trains. 10 minutes. I took out my phone and played a game. It seemed like forever but when the train finally did arrive, it was already pretty crowded. I squeezed onto the train, although I had terrible anxiety I wanted to be early to get a good seat. The train shook around and creaked, I figured it was probably time to get new trains.

Two line switches and 3 stops later I had finally arrived. The introductory meeting was to be held in congress room 51 of the Capitol Building. I walked up to the building, even though it was early, there were already so many people there taking pictures. I walked up to the doors and showed my ID badge to the guard. He opened the door for me.

"Where's room 51 at?" I asked nervously. The security guard had a thick mustache and looked extremely unhappy.

"Up the stairs and take two lefts. It should be on the right then after you go down that hall awhile." He still sounded angry.

"Thank you so much." I smiled, he nodded and I continued into the building. He closed the door behind me and I looked around the inside. The capitol building looked exactly like the pictures on the internet I had looked at before. I followed the instructions given to me and went up the stairs. At the top of the stairs the hallway went in two directions. I took the one going left. There were signs on the walls indicating which room was where. Rooms 35-60 were in this direction. I didn't really need to ask for directions but I guess better safe than sorry. I continued down the hall which seemed to go on forever. Eventually another hallway intersected this one and I took a left. The people who built this must have liked long hallways because there were so many more than necessary. Congressmen, I'm assuming, were walking up and down the halls, each looking different levels of angry. All were old men except a few. I guess all this time would make someone angry. Congress was very stressful I think.

The numbers were going down. This hall started with 60 and as I kept walking they went down. 59, 58, 57, 56.... When I finally reached room 51, I opened the door to find about 24 other people sitting down. I showed my badge to the attendant and she checked the list.

"Gracelyn?" She asked. I nodded back.

"Yes ma'am" I was a little embarrassed by how southern that sounded. I was from Ohio, not Alabama.

"You sit up in the front. That's where the top 10 sit." There was only one other kid sitting up in the front. I would recognize that back of the head anywhere. It was my worst enemy. Katherin. or as I liked to call her. Baking is my life 12. I sat far away from her to try to avoid her attention. It took a while before she looked over, saw me and got up. She sat down next to me.

"Oh hi Gracelyn," She was so pretentious. "I never guess you would've been here, let alone in the top 10." She thought I was her friend but I wasn't. She always talked in a way that was so condescending. I couldn't stand her. I finally was out of school. I didn't think I would have to deal with her.

She continued to yap at me about how of course she knew she would get in and how we were gonna be best friends. As more people began to sit down, she started on about how she would influence our political system. She told me about her good charms and how everyone she met liked her. Of course, she went on about how all the congressmen and mostly the president would love her, and therefore do what she wanted. There's something wrong with her. All her 'friends' hated her. She had no clue.

Almost everyone was here it looked like, and the clock on the wall displayed the time which the ceremony was supposed to start. I sighed with relief. No more Katherin. A slender man with gray hair stood up at the microphone.

"Welcome to all of you! We're so happy to have you here," He sounded so fake. "I cannot wait to see how things will turn out for all of you. Having you here is such an honor." For the next ten minutes he went on about how amazing it was for us all to be here. He continued on telling us all the details of the program which I was positive we all knew. The meeting lasted almost 30 minutes before he brought up something new.

"And I have special news. At the end of our time together, congress, the president and the first lady will be voting to choose one person who will have a permanent job in our congress building." He paused to cough and Katherine whispered to me. "That'll be me of course." I rolled my eyes. He went on. "Details about that job will be released at our meeting next week. Which I want to remind you all is mandatory. I will see you all then. In the meantime, I hope you all will enjoy it here and be able to make a positive impact. Have fun with your first day. I hope to see you all soon! " Applause was heard from all over the room, I was positive they only clapped because it was over now, not because he had done a good job. Everyone stood up, although they were unsure where to go. A short Hispanic man walked over to us 10 sitting in the front row.
"Follow me," He smiled, seeming genuinely happy for once, probably a good actor. He waited for the front row to grab their bags and stand up before exiting out a door on the right side of the room. We followed eager to see what would come next. "First we will be meeting all the members of congress you'll be working with. Then all the cabinet members, and finally the President herself and the First Lady... First Gentleman?" He asked. "I've never done this tour with a male First Lady. I'm not quite sure what to call him." His joke got a few laughs from the group and we walked on.