Diaries of the Dead

2 | Imaginary Conversations

2 | I m a g i n a r y  C o n v e r s a t i o n s

Aiden's eyes flickered open as the harsh sunlight filtered through the blinds. He stretched out his arms and turned to his side, glancing at the alarm clock. It took quite a while for him to realize what time it was before he scrambled out of bed.

He ripped open one of his boxes and threw on the first shirt that he could find. "Oh, I'm going to be so late!" he panicked, hopping into the empty kitchen and stuffing a handful of Cheerios in his mouth.

As he struggled to get his tie on, he noticed Jessica's journal in the corner of his eye. Grabbing his briefcase, he threw the book inside and rushed out of the house.

He hated himself for oversleeping. This was an important job interview that would help establish himself in his new town and being late would definitely not be tolerated.

It didn't take long for him to get to the corporation's building. With a little help from the GPS device on his iPhone and sheer luck, he got there only five minutes late.

But unfortunately, it didn't matter if he was one minute or five minutes late. He was still late.

Aiden stared at the clock for the tenth time that day. They said that they would fit him in if they had space. After he watched plenty of people go into the human resources room, he was starting to think that they didn't have any space for him.

A woman of mid-height walked out of the office and looked down at her clipboard. "Aiden Walker."

He jumped out of his seat and adjusted his tie as he approached the lady.

"Mr. Greyson will see you now," she said simply, turning on her heels and walking away.

He nodded in gratitude then entered the office. It was much like what he expected of a human resources office, only it was a bit fancier.

"Sit down," a voice said from behind the desk, "you're already late."

"Yes, I know sir, but it wasn't my fault." Aiden pleaded as he took a seat on the chair that faced Mr. Greyson's desk.

The man swung the swivel chair around and interlaced his fingers together as he studied Aiden. "Well, it certainly isn't mine." His gray hair was thinning at the sides, but it was apparent that he had tried to use a few hair loss remedies. His eyes were dark and hard as he stared at Aiden with his lips pressing together in a thin line.

Aiden took a deep breath and nodded, "I apologize."

The man ran a hand through his gray hair and eyed a sheet of paper in front of him. "So, you are an English major?"

"Yes, sir."

"And you want to work for the Albany Journal, because?"

"I write books and I figured that I could be helpful on the team as an editor," he explained briefly. "I've also had many experiences with editing short stories that have hit the shelves, but nothing too serious."

Mr. Greyson narrowed his eyes and laughed. "At the Albany Journal, we don't figure, Mr. Walker."

"I'm sorry sir-"

"And there is no way that you will be able to surpass a journalist at our firm and became an editor. Who do you think you are?"

Aiden looked around the room nervously. This interview wasn't going so well.

"First," Mr. Greyson dropped his pen on his desk, "you show up late and now, you have a cocky attitude. That will get you nowhere." Mr. Greyson grabbed Aiden's resume and ripped it in half. "You may leave now."