Fate

12

"Excuse me, I saw the sign out front and wanted to apply." I said as politely as I could to the cashier at the front of the store. My chocolate brown hair was down so it would cover my lack of an ear, and I tried to dress as nicely as I could. Which was difficult due to only having two outfits, but I tried.

The lady smiled and made her way to a back door to probably get her manager, and she came back with a middle aged man in a plaid shirt. His face was cleanly shaved, and his hair was perfectly in place.

"Hello." He greeted bringing his hand out to shake mine, and I politely obliged. He took in the sight of my crutches and leg, and his smile faltered a bit.

"Are you here to apply for the position miss...?"

"Doe, and I would love it if you would take me." I smiled and he motioned to the office he had come from. I carefully made my way in, and took the chair in front of his desk that he motioned to, and he sat across from me.

"So, how old are you?"

"Eighteen." I tried not to be too sharp with my answer in order not to seem rude, and in could only hope I was doing okay.

"Part time or full time, and what would you do?" He glanced quickly to my crutches, but it didn't go unnoticed to me.

"Full time, and whatever you wish me to do." I answered extremely confidently, already agitated that I could tell he thought I was useless.

The interview went on for a couple more minutes until he ended it and "promised" to call me if I had gotten the job. But he never even asked me for my number. So much for that one.

I looked at the time on my phone, and noticed I only had ten minutes until my physical therapy session. Sighing, I made my way back out on the streets to walk my way there. Cars only passed by once every few minutes, and not many people were out and about since it was a week day.

"All I have to do is make it through pt, and then I can continue the job hunt. Nothing too bad, right?" I asked myself right before letting myself into the building and smiling to the receptionist. This is going to be a long day.

...

"How's it going, Doe?" Vernon asked. He had called me almost as soon as I got out of physical therapy, and I was glad to have someone else to talk to freely.

"It's okay. I've already been denied by one place this morning, and I'm headed to the next one now." I adjusted my crutches underneath me so I could more comfortably hold the phone to my ear, and stand without falling over.

"At least there's a ton of job opportunities close to you in the city."

"Yeah, I'm grateful for that. How's practice coming?" Vernon sighed deeply, and it was obvious he was exhausted.

"It's coming. But our manager extended practice hours so we can be ready for kcon. It feels like we're getting ready for a comeback, but with more songs to practice."

"That sounds tough. Just make sure you aren't overworking yourself, and you're getting enough to eat and drink." Concern and sincerity laced my voice, and I could hear movement on his end of the line.

"Hi Doe!" Several boys screamed, and I smiled.

"I'm guessing I'm on speaker then?" Vernon laughed, causing me to smile brighter.

"Yeah, we're actually on break right now. Everyone else just wanted to hear your voice."

"Hwaiting!" I cheered, and I could hear the boys screaming things in Korean.

"They said "thank you," "to you too," can't wait to see you" and a couple other things." Joshua translated, and I laughed.

"Hey! You almost spoiled kcon to her, hyung!" Vernon yelled and I could hear him running around the room, probably to get away from Joshua.

"Sorry, Doe, we're going to start up again. Good luck! Text me how it goes!" I could barely get out a thank you before he hung up, leaving me in silence once more.

I pocketed my phone and ignored the hunger pain in my stomach before making my way down the street to the nearest store that I even remotely qualified for. Not that I truly even qualified for anything.

By the time I got back at my apartment, I had been interviewed for hours. Most of them went just like the first one, but a select few went decently. Mainly the ones that only required me to sit at a cash register. Which I could live with, as long as I got paid.

I was way too exhausted to make anything that was in the cupboards, and I barely made it through a bath before collapsing onto my bed. I remembered to text Vernon though, but I didn't even bother to wait for a reply. My eyes wouldn't stay open long enough.