My feet are freezing, my hands are nervously clutching the steering wheel of my poor, old yet still functioning and trustworthy car, and I gaze outside.
An older lady’s third attempt to exit her car finally proves successful. To my right there is a man opening up his fish wagon – everybody here loves a good bit of fried fish.
Even on a cold, albeit sunny November morning.
It is a Wednesday, a few weeks ago. In fact, it is the Wednesday before my Murderous Mind Games Weekend, and the thing I have been waiting for has finally happened.
My potential new boss called me back with news about my job application.
Unfortunately, though, he phoned me two minutes into a meeting with a client. Who, by a stroke of fortune, had come in a bit late and was in dire need of a toilet.
As she was relieving herself, my vocal partner installed a feeling of nerves in me I was only barely able to retain during my session.
“If you’re busy right now, could you call me back at 11?” he’d said.
It is now 11.05am and the nerves have taken over all control of my brain.
I did call back. He was unavailable – ugh – but would call me back again in “less than 2 minutes”.
Needless to say, I dare not spring my car’s engine to life, because even if those 2 minutes have lasted more than double their time, it’d be taunting the gods (whatever the gods you can think of – every single one of them I bet) to drive home now.
And so I sit, in the cold, and watch the old lady slowly make her way across the parking lot and the fishy man (pun intended) smoke another cigarette.
Do I even want this job? I think. What if they don’t want me? Maybe I don’t even care. No, I don’t. Who wants a desk job anyway?
The answer to that last question presents itself another 4 minutes later, when my new boss finally awards my impatience with a Good News Call:
I am hired!
And I’ve never been as happy with a new job as I am right now!
In the end, the phone call lasts shorter than waiting for it, but it’s always quality over quantity, right?
I can’t believe this is happening! A desk job, regular days and hours, and enough time left for my own business.
It’s almost too good to believe and immediately doubt fills the emptiness my nerves left behind after hearing the good news.
………..
My hands are nervously clutching the steering wheel of my poor, old yet still functioning and trustworthy car, and I gaze outside.
The mist is slowly dissolving and there’s nothing but beauty in front of me: endless meadows and rows of trees.
My new coworker honks and waves as she parks her car and I happily wave back.
It’s my first day at my new job.
Still a loser queen, maybe.
But not today.
Elle Vampa 