"How are we going to get out of this town?" Sleep filled Maple's voice. Her head lay in Staton's lap; slowly his fingers laced every red strand cascading down his thigh. A shallow sigh and a couple breaths later she sat up sitting on his lap leaning...
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"What do you think qualifies you for this job?" The lady in the overly tight black suit sits behind the desk. She peers through her glasses looking at the sheet of paper in front of me. My hands are shaking under the table, as I try my best to hide my nerves from everyone. I felt a lump forming in my throat, I wasn't very good at things like this.
"Well, I guess I could have to say I'm loyal, I'm a hard worker, and I work really well under pressure." The words come out of my mouth quicker than I meant them too. My throat felt like it was closing in. This felt like it was going as horribly as it could possibly go. How did people do this to stay on unemployment?
"I see you didn't bring in a resume, would this be your first job or do you have other experience?" I mentally face palmed myself. How could I have not brought in a resume? There wasn't much to put on one, so it really would just be a waste of paper and the printer ink used to make it. But what made me mad about it was I didn't even think to make one. There was no way I was getting this job.
I turned to look out at the cashiers down below, this was a small-town grocery store with a sign placed outside that they needed help. It was my first interview of the day as well. My heart was racing in my chest.
"No, I don't have any previous work experience, I'm really just trying to step out of my parent's shadow and start a life of my own." I tried to smile, but it felt forced and I could tell the lady behind the counter thought so too.
"Well Maple, you are in luck that we are pretty desperate for some help in the back. So if you are willing to start soon, then we can get you taken care of and hire you today." My heart felt like it was leaping out of my chest. Did she really just say I got the job!
"I can start as soon as you need me, you don't know how much I need this. Thank you so much." If I wasn't in front of her I swear I would have started crying. Even if it was just a store clerk job, it felt like a new life.
** Staton's POV**
"Can you lift a tire?" The man shouts from across the shop. I looked around, the work booths were crowded, cars on lifts with their tires removed covered every open space possible. I nod my head before realizing I should probably answer him with words.
"Yes sir," I try my best to sound confident. I mean who couldn't lift up a tire, that wasn't what I was worried about, but there was this need to provide for Maple. I felt like I had to protect her, and part of that was making sure I kept a roof over her tiny little head.
"Good, now do you know how to use one of these thingies?" The man talked like he had a piece of straw hanging out of his mouth, or like his lip was four times too big for his mouth. I had never heard someone talk like that before in Washington, and now that I was in California I never expected it.
The man holds up a power tool, pressing the button until it makes a loud whirring noise, the bit on the end spinning at a rapid speed.
"Yes, I've used one of those before," I lied. I'd never used a tool like that in my life. I figured it couldn't be too hard, but there was no way my parents would have let me touch something like this. I was too busy with football practice, and school to even think about using a power tool.
