The 22 days

Day: 9

 "Good morning," She said nervously, getting the attention of the young receptionist behind the front desk, "I have an interview appointment with Mrs. Marks at 9. My name is Beyoncé... Whitley."

The lady smiled, "I'll let her know you're here Mrs. Whitley, please take a seat."

Politely, she smiled back before leading Joey to the row of chairs against one wall. They waited silently, Joey growing bored while she grew nervous until finally the receptionist called her name, saying the principal was ready to see her.

She got up, but before she walked away, she pointed at Joey, "Uh... that's my son. Can he stay here, can you... keep an eye on him?"

The lady looked at Joey, smiled at the boy, "Sure."

She turned to her son, "I'll be right back, don't get up."

"Good morning," Mrs. Marks greeted as she stepped into the office room, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"Good morning, it's good to be here." She said taking the hand being offered to her and shaking it.

They both took a seat and Mrs. Marks took a deep breath before starting, "So... like I told you on the phone, I liked you and your resume. I also talked to the principal at St. John's and he said great things about you. They really liked you there."

She smiled affectionately, "I really liked there. It's a great school."

Mrs. Marks nodded, but then frowned a little, "Mr. Thompson said they were very sad when you left. And he seemed happy to hear you're going back to work. But that made me wonder... Why didn't you go back to St. John's?"

"Well, I uh... I'm moving here now, so... unfortunately, I couldn't." She struggled a little to get her words out, and felt her heartbeat quicken as she did.

"Okay..." Mrs. Marks said slowly, a single frown line appearing on her forehead. She moved on to talk about methods and experience and Beyoncé was glad for that. She felt much more confident and comfortable with those subjects.

After a 40-minute-long conversation, Beyoncé left feeling torn about the interview. On one hand, they had a great talk about the work she would be doing, but Mrs. Marks did pick up on her reluctance and tension whenever her personal life was brought into the discussion. Would that influence her opinion enough to consider her inadequate for the job?

"Look mommy, it's a playground," Joey said pointing at it from the window as she drove past.

She smiled, seeing some kids there playing, "Do you want to go play?"

"Can I?" Joey asked excited.

"Sure." She found a place to park, and they got out of the car. She didn't really have plans for the day, or felt like making any, so allowing Joey to have fun seemed the best way to spend time.

"Be careful," She yelled after Joey as he ran towards the jungle gym. She sat down, smiling as she watched the kids interacting, but at the same time, she couldn't stop worrying and wonder if things would work out. She had so much hope.

"That is your boy?" A woman asked sitting down next to her, cutting her thoughts.

She looked to the side then back at Joey, "Yes."

"He's really handsome."

She couldn't help but smile proudly, "Thank you."

"Mine are the other two boys. The ones that won't stop still for nothing."