The Disciple

Chapter Thirteen

It's 7pm in the evening as I wait in the cafe area of Whole Foods. Before getting to the store, I had asked some of my friends, including James, on what to do before going into an interview. They all pretty much told me the same thing; eye contact, firm hand shand, smile, be polite, and confidence. Waiting, I decide to browse Facebook until the supervisor arrives. As I see him walking over to my table, I get up from my seat and shake his hand. Coincidently, James enters the store to buy a carton of milk. Glancing at me, James smiles and gives me a thumbs up.

"Hi, my name is Ruben. Give my 10 minutes as I have to stock the foods back into the freezer." He tells me as he walks the other way.

I begin to feel nervous wondering what questions he's going to ask me like what my strengths and weaknesses. I think about all the other jobs I had applied for in the past starting with the Brunswick bowling alley. I had filled out a job application from them and my friend Alex told me, they had thrown my application in the garbage can. Other jobs I had applied for were all online and until now none of them had responded back to me. The supervisor returns along with a woman wearing in a black Whole Foods uniform.

"Hi Tristan, I would like you to meet Monica the assistant supervisor." Ruben says.

"We talked on the phone the other day." She says.

"Oh." I reply.

"Would you come follow us?" Ruben asks.

Not knowing what to expect I get up from my chair and follow them into the party room. Sitting on the other side of the table from them, I stare at them. The room was dark as the windows were covered with paper. It's as though I'm being interrogated by the CIA with no escape and nowhere to run. They stare at me and then glance at my resume.

"So what made you decide to work for us?" Ruben asks.

"Well it was the fact that I decided that I wanted a different atmosphere and a new learning experience. I also am trying to provide a lot more financial support in paying my mortgage." I answer.

"Oh, Okay. What experiences do you have. Tell us what you do around the dental office?" Ruben asks.

"I basically do the mopping, changing the light bulbs, sterilizing the instruments, washing the windows, etc." I answer confidently.

"What is this business exactly?" Monica asks.

"It is a family owned dental office." I answer her.

"Oh okay." Ruben says as he starts skimming through my resume.

I could tell that they weren't pleased with how I was responding to them and they definitely weren't the ones looking for a good laugh.

"Hmmm. What is your main goal in life?" Ruben asks me curiously.

"I really want to become a writer so, I can get my creativity out there." I answer straightforwardly.

"Ok. You like being a writer, there's nothing wrong with that." He tells me if I look like someone who likes being lazy all the time.

"Yeah." I reply back nervously.

"You said you did some maintenance at the dental office correct?" Ruben asks.

"Yes. I did." I answer.

"So, if I asked you to install a sink or clean the drainage would you be able to do that? It's because we need someone who knows how to be able to handle our plumbing." Ruben says.

I take a moment to think about what the supervisor had just asked me. It seemed from the looks of it that he was asking me to be a plumber and not an employee. I only applied for a sanitation and housekeeping job, not a maintenance man. I respectively glance at him and let out a deep breath.

"No. I'm sorry." I reply.

Ruben and Monica look at each as they huddle together. I couldn't hear anything they were saying as they were talking very quietly. The two of them then sit back down and stare at me not knowing what my verdict is going to be. Ruben stands up and sticks out his hand as I give him a fake smile trying not to get angry at him.

"So after our review we will decide to let you know next Wednesday. Reason being, is because I wanna try to get through this weekend. We have a lot of other interviewees coming in." Ruben tells me as I get up and walk out the door.

Walking through Whole Foods, I find the store awfully busy as I try to avoid the oncoming customers pushing their carts. I can see my sister at cashier 9 buying food for tomorrow as she stares waiting to hear the result. As I stand beside her, I help place the groceries in the cart. James had left the store already and went back to his house.

"So how the did the interview go?" My sister asks.

"They told me they will let me know by next Wednesday because he didn't want to deal with all the craziness right now." I answer with a disappointing look on my face.

We head back to the car and drive back to our house. Once there we enter our condo, with our parents watching Ang Probinsyano the only show I watch on ABS-CBN. I sit down on the couch as my dad is eating Oreo's and my mom is eating kettle chips. They glance at me as I stare at the television waiting for me to say something about my job interview.

"So how did the job interview go?" My mom asks me.

I didn't answer. Instead I head to bathroom dressing down getting ready for family prayer. Today is my day to lead as my family does the sign of the cross. The prayer took 20 to 45 minutes to get through the whole Rosary. When doing the litany, I silently start dozing off into a deep sleep as my eyes slowly close. My head tilts on the on back of the chair. I then dream of Los Angeles and for some an unknown reason, I was entered in some exhibition match.

"In the name of the Father, the Son, and in the Holy Spirit. Amen." My mom says as family prayer ends.

I wake up from my sleep and get up from my chair blessing my parents as usual. I grab my mattress from out of the closet and lay it on the floor. These dreams I have been recently having, weren't the normal dream I usually have. Instead they were intense as each of them were scenes from a Fast and Furious movie. I do the normal routine in adjusting the bedsheet, comforter, and pillows on the mattress. I turn off all the lights from the kitchen and the living room. Before I head to bed I bless the statue of Jesus Christ. I then lay down on my bed and stare at the dark empty ceiling hearing nothing, but my dad's snoring. I do the sign of the cross and start praying to God.

"Dear, Lord the Almighty Father, I pray that you help me find love and romance no matter who it is. I also pray that you help me get a good career as a writer and give my parents good health in Jesus name, Amen." I say as I do the sign of the cross again.

I continue to stare at the empty ceiling and I yawn. My eyes slowly shut just as I had done in family prayer. I fall into a deep trance as I start to dream. In the dream I'm taken back in time to an incident that happened to me in first grade music class. A girl kissed me in front of the whole class. I forgot her name, but I looked at her as she smiled at me. I then wake up in bed realizing it was all dream. I didn't know how to explain it but it felt like it just happened yesterday. I try to go a back to bed, but I couldn't fall back asleep.

"Maybe I should just ask Gabriel about the dreams I have having recently. Especially the one I just had." I think to myself.

Could this be God's way of giving the answers I seek or is it just my conscience playing mind games with me? I think to myself and decide maybe praying about it is the best option.