Job Opening
Adrian Ludens
Breakfast this morning had consisted of a Coke and a smile.
As Alex gulped down the contents of the can, he blinked away the tears that began to form in protest of the influx of effervescence. Alex’s throat burned and he coughed, attempting to clear it.
The smile came as Alex adjusted his Jerry Garcia tie - a treasure found at the Goodwill for only two dollars - in the bathroom mirror. Alex bared his teeth like a cornered animal, and almost sneered.
“Today’s the day, I can feel it!” he told the pale, slightly malnourished looking young man in the mirror. “Today will be different than any other day.”
Alex took the creaky apartment stairs two at a time on his way down. Mrs. O’Riordan called to him as he bounded out onto the sidewalk, but he pretended not to hear. She was after her overdue rent, Alex knew, and he could not give what he did not have.
The Escort’s door squealed in protest as Alex yanked it open and slid behind the wheel. He referred to his hand written directions, scrawled on the back of a gas station receipt, and then pulled out onto the street.
At the first intersection, Alex checked his teeth in the rearview mirror. It was a useless action, since Alex hadn’t actually eaten yet that day - or the previous day for that matter. But he wanted to be sure of his appearance.
Today, Alex had a job interview with MidCorp Manufacturing.
Alex hoped that today was the day that things would finally change for the better.
* * *
On the crosstown drive however, reality began to force its way back in. The dashboard radio refused to work. Then a big Suburban cut him off and when Alex tapped his horn lightly the driver rolled down his window and flipped him the bird. Alex thought it looked like the guy even flexed when he did it.
“Hey, you’re right buddy! Might does, in fact, make right.” Alex said aloud, seething. He tried to sound sarcastic, but who was he kidding? That was how the world usually operated, after all.
Even the clouds did their part to dampen Alex’s mood. His journey had begun in sunlight, but as he made his way across the city toward the lakeside industrial parks, clouds arose to blot out the sun. By the time he eased his Escort into an open spot in the MidCorp parking lot, the fog was rolling in off the lake in full force.
“It’s as thick as dryer lint,” he observed.
The fog reminded him of something else, something oppressive, but he couldn’t quite put the feeling into words. Instead, he shuffled into the comparative comfort of MidCorp Manufacturing’s fluorescent blue interior.
The woman behind the reception desk gazed at Alex disapprovingly over her old fashioned horn-rimmed glasses as he approached.
“Hello, I’m Alex Springfield. I have a ten o’clock interview with Mr. Neff.”
“Just have a seat over there.”
Her response was so curt that he was surprised into sitting. He watched as she pressed the intercom and spoke tersely into the black box.
“Mr. Neff, there’s an Alex Wingfield here to see you.”
Alex didn’t bother correcting her. Instead, he rose and strode to the office door that was now opening.
He reached out to shake hands and tried his best to smile. Alex realized he probably looked like the same sneering scared animal that he’d seen in the mirror this morning.
“But I’m trying dammit,” he thought, “I’m trying.”
* * *
He knew five minutes into the interview that Neff had already made up his mind against him and was just going through the motions. Alex kept up his end of the charade, answering all the man’s questions, but his heart wasn’t in it anymore. He felt like Charlie Brown talking to his teacher.
“Wah wauh wuh wa mwah wuh?”
“My experience? Yes sir. I have a degree in marketing.”
Alex’s mind began to wander as he sat there. Gazing over Neff’s shoulder out the window, Alex became transfixed by the fog.
“It looks like a death shroud,” he realized. Suddenly, he felt claustrophobic and wanted to be gone. Neff was droning on about MidCorp’s history.
“We both know I won’t get the position!” Alex wanted to blurt. Instead, he sighed and slumped back in his chair, resigned to what happened next.
“Of course, we’ll keep your application on file,” Neff was saying. There was more but Alex tuned him out. His eyes were drawn to the window again.
“What a waste of time this turned out to be,” he thought.
Alex realized that Neff was standing. He rose as well and the men shook hands. Alex left the office feeling disconsolate and frustrated.
“Do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars.” Alex thought cynically. “Instead go directly to-”
A tall figure loomed in the fog like a freighter and Alex narrowly avoided colliding with the man as they passed each other on the sidewalk outside the front entrance.
In that brief moment, Alex was struck by the unhappy, faraway look in the other man’s eyes.
“Don’t know what your problem is pal.” Alex thought accusingly. “At least you’ve got a job and a future.”
He was reaching for his car keys when the shooting started.
Alex counted nine harsh pops from inside the building, coming in sporadic but quick succession. Alex imagined the shooter standing in the center of the office, choosing his targets at random. Move and you’re dead. Don’t move, and you’re dead too.
The gunfire ceased and Alex stood frozen, keys dangling idly between his thumb and index finger. There was one more pop, and Alex knew the shooting was over for good.
The silence spooled out for fifteen seconds, then the air became a jumble of shrieks and shouts. Someone pulled the fire alarm; its shrill clang seemed muffled somehow by the fog. Alex barely heard the Escort’s door squeal as he pulled it open.
Alex slid behind the wheel and watched as MidCorp employees streamed from the building. Some were sobbing, others shouting frantically into their cell phones. He pulled the car door closed and turned the key in the ignition. Alex paused, his fingers tapping the top of the grimy steering wheel. He closed his eyes and tried to think. Then he smiled. Alex decided he would call back in a week, showing MidCorp that he was still very interested in a position.
Alex felt optimistic. He was sure they would have some new openings.
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