Blaring from the other side of the room was Amber’s alarm clock strategically placed to force her out of her well needed nap. She had come in only 4 hours before hand after a double shift at Brewed, the coffee shop she worked at. She peered around the dreary room that she found herself in. She rolled over to look for the loud alarm clock. She threw her pillow at it but only succeeded in knocking it over. Forcing herself to lift from the comfort of her bed to stop the noise vibrating in her ears. She dragged herself from the corner where the alarm was to outside her room, tripping over the scattered laundry on her floor. With one eye slightly open, she navigated down the hallway to the bathroom. She pushed on the door but it seemed to be stopped by something behind it. She forced her head through the crack in the door to inspect what was stopping her from a much-wanted hot shower. It was her little sister Julia, cuddled with the toilet bowl doused in vomit. She let out an exasperated grunt and pushed her way in. She inspected Julia for a pulse. After a few moments she found one on her neck while Julia let out an unconscious Burp of tequila and lime. This wasn’t the first time she had found Julia like this. Usually the demon of choice was some type of scotch but it seemed tonight, Julia chose a different poison. Things like this happened often since their mother died of lung cancer. After fifteen years of smoking what equated to 2 packs of unfiltered, self-rolled cigarettes everyday, it had finally caught up with her.
After cleaning Julia up as best as she could and putting her to bed, she skipped her shower and went straight to her computer. She had found a few emails from her little cousin Ryan who had been babbling about some girl. Amber skimmed through them and then pushed them out of her head immediately after when she saw an email from WebArch, the multi-billion dollar company who was now the leading company in web search, computer sales, celluar service and the up and coming competition in technologic security. It was entitled “Possible part time position.” Amber’s heart dropped as she clicked on it. She began to read the email as she heard a faint cry for help from the adjacent room.
“Julia? Did you call for me?” Amber whispered softly as she creped into the room.
“Mommy… I had the worse dream…you …were gone.” Julia babbled as she fumbled in her sister’s arms. Amber held back her tears as she lifted Julia from her hanging position on the side of the bed. She tucked her in the same way their mother did when they were little.
“It will be okay my love. Just go back to sleep and don’t worry about anything. I will always be here.” Amber forced out in a soothing voice. She tried her best to hold back her tears as she brushed Julia’s hair from her face. Julia seemed to find relaxation from the motion. After a few minutes, Amber crept out and closed the door slowly. She stood in front of the door and sighed before going back to her computer. She lay on her and prepared herself as she sat down to read the email.
To: Amber.torres@me.com
We hope this email finds you in good health. We would like to offer you the part time position in our Security protocol department. Please let us know if you would be interested in this position. We would like to schedule and interview with you sometime next week...
Amber shot her eyes to the top of the email to check the date. It was two days old. She hadn’t checked her email in almost a week because she had been trying to put in overtime in at the coffee shop. She glanced over at the clock in the corner of the room. It was 4 am and she was hesitant to reply to the email. She didn’t know if they would even consider her for the position anymore. She put those thoughts aside and got into the shower to get ready for her shift at Brewed.
