“CONGRATULATIONS, YOU WON”

THE INTERVIEW

Ava followed the man down the hallway, holding her résumé folder tightly against her chest as they moved deeper into the company. The noise from the main office slowly faded behind them, replaced by the quiet hum of the air conditioning and the occasional sound of footsteps passing through the corridor. He stopped in front of a door and opened it.

“Go ahead.”

Ava stepped inside.

The interview room was smaller than she expected, but it carried the same professional atmosphere as the rest of the building. A large table sat in the center with a few chairs arranged around it, while a glass window on the far side overlooked the busy streets below.

She walked over and sat down, placing her folder carefully on the table.

The man glanced at her briefly before leaving.

“Sit down. You’ll be called soon.”

“Thank you,” Ava replied.

The door closed behind him, leaving her alone in the quiet room.

For a moment, she simply sat there, listening to the faint sounds coming from outside. The movement of people in the hallway, the distant conversations, and the occasional ringing phone reminded her that the company was still moving around her even though time seemed to slow inside the room.

She reached into her bag and checked her phone. There were no new messages, no missed calls, and no reason to believe this interview would be different from the others she had attended. Still, she placed the phone back inside her bag and sat quietly, waiting.

The silence gave her too much time to think.

Her eyes moved around the room, taking in the framed photographs on the wall and the aircraft designs displayed nearby. She wondered how many people had sat in that room before her, hoping for the same thing she was hoping for now.

A chance!

Ava looked down at her résumé folder and ran her fingers along the edge. She knew this was not the usual path into a company like this, but she had come this far, and there was nothing left to do except wait.

A soft knock interrupted her thoughts.

The door opened.

“Ava Charles Davies?”

She looked up immediately.

“Yes.”

A woman stood at the entrance holding a tablet.

“The interview panel is ready for you.”

Ava picked up her folder, stood, and followed her into the next room.

Ava felt like her heart could jump out of her mouth, but she forced herself to keep walking. She held onto her résumé folder a little tighter and followed the woman into the interview room, reminding herself to breathe.

Inside, three people were seated around the table.

The woman with the tablet gestured toward the empty chair. “Please have a seat.”

“Thank you,” Ava said quietly before sitting down.

The room suddenly felt smaller than it had a few seconds earlier. She placed her folder on the table and looked at the people in front of her. They appeared calm and professional, the kind of people who were used to making important decisions every day.

A man sitting in the middle glanced through the papers in front of him before looking up.

“Ava Charles Davies,” he said, reading her name from the résumé. “You applied for the administrative assistant position.”

“Yes, sir.”

He looked back at the page. “Tell us a little about yourself.”

Ava had practiced that question several times the night before, but hearing it asked in the room made every prepared answer suddenly feel different.

She straightened slightly.

“My name is Ava Charles Davies. I recently completed high school, and I’ve spent the past few years working different jobs while preparing for university. Most of my experience has been in customer service, assisting with daily operations, and handling responsibilities that required organization and communication.”

The interviewer listened without interrupting.

“And why are you interested in working with Halston Aerospace Solutions?”

For a brief moment, Ava looked toward the aircraft model displayed on the shelf behind them.

She knew she had to be honest, but she also knew this was not a university application. She was not there to tell them about a childhood dream and expect sympathy.

“I’ve always been interested in how things work,” she said. “I enjoy learning, solving problems, and being part of something that requires attention to detail. I know this position is not an engineering role, but I believe every opportunity to learn from an environment like this is valuable.”

The man nodded slightly and glanced at the other interviewers.

Then he looked back at her résumé.

“Your experience is quite varied.”

Ava already knew what was coming.

“Yes, sir.”

“You’ve worked in several temporary roles. Retail, customer service, office support.” He paused. “But you don’t have previous experience in an aerospace company.”

Ava swallowed quietly.

“No, sir. I don’t.”

The room became silent for a moment.

“But I’m willing to learn,” she added.

The interviewer leaned back in his chair, studying her carefully.

The interviewer continued looking at her résumé, his expression difficult to read. Ava sat quietly, trying not to overthink every second of silence. She had learned that sometimes the hardest part of an interview was not answering the questions but waiting to hear what the person across from you was thinking.

“You understand that this is a competitive position?” he asked.

“Yes, sir.”

“And you understand that many applicants have more direct experience?”

Ava nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“Then why should we consider you?”

The question was simple, but it carried more weight than the others.

Ava looked down briefly at her hands before meeting his eyes again. She knew she could not pretend to have qualifications she didn’t have. She couldn’t suddenly become someone with years of corporate experience or technical training.

“I know I may not have the same experience as other candidates,” she said carefully. “But I have learned how to adapt quickly. Every job I’ve had required me to learn something new, work with different people, and handle responsibilities even when things were difficult. I may not know everything yet, but I know how to learn.”

The interviewer remained quiet.

The woman sitting beside him glanced at the résumé again. “You worked while completing school?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Ava hesitated for a moment. It was not a question she expected, and she wasn’t sure how much of her personal life she wanted to explain in an interview.

“Because I needed to,” she answered honestly. “And because I wanted to build something for myself.”

The woman studied her for a moment before making a small note on the tablet.

The man in the middle looked back at her application. “Your references speak positively about your work ethic.”

Ava blinked slightly. She had not expected that.

“We contacted two of the people you listed,” he continued. “They described you as reliable and willing to take initiative.”

A small sense of relief passed through her, but she kept her expression composed.

“Thank you.”

The interviewer placed the résumé on the table.

“Your background is not what we usually look for in this role.”

Ava’s stomach tightened slightly.

“But…”

The word made her look up.

“We are interested in giving people opportunities when we believe they have the right attitude. Skills can be taught. Character is harder to find.”

Ava listened carefully, unsure where the conversation was going.

“We still have other candidates to interview,” he continued. “But you have made a good impression today.”

She nodded, trying not to let her hope rise too quickly.

“Thank you for considering me.”

The interview continued for another few minutes, with questions about her availability, her ability to work under pressure, and how she handled difficult situations. Ava answered each one as honestly as she could, and when it finally ended, she stood up and thanked them before leaving the room.

As the door closed behind her, she released the breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding.

She didn’t know if she had gotten the job.

She didn’t know if they would call her back.

But for the first time in a long time, she walked away from an interview without feeling like she had already lost.

Ava walked back through the hallway, trying not to replay every answer she had given during the interview. She knew there were moments when she had felt nervous, but she had been honest, and that was all she could do.

After thanking the receptionist, she stepped outside the building and was immediately surrounded by the noise of the city. Cars moved through the streets, people hurried past, and above the tall buildings, an airplane crossed the sky. Ava paused for a moment, looking up at it before continuing toward the bus station.

Her phone vibrated in her hand, and she quickly checked it, hoping it might be a message from the company. Instead, it was only a reminder about another job application she had submitted weeks ago. She stared at the screen briefly before putting the phone away.

On her way home, her mother’s name appeared on the screen.

“Hi, Mum,” Ava answered.

“How did it go?” her mother asked.

Ava smiled slightly when she heard the tiredness in her voice. Even after a long shift at the hospital, her mother still made time to check on her.

“It went okay. They said they would get back to me.”

“Did you do your best?”

“Yes.”

“Then that’s all that matters for now.”

The simplicity of her mother’s words made Ava relax a little. They spoke for a few more minutes before her mother had to return to work.

When Ava arrived home later that afternoon, the apartment was quiet. She placed her bag on the chair and looked around the familiar space. The same old furniture, the same small kitchen, and the same problems were waiting for her, but somehow the day still felt different.

She had stepped into a place she had only imagined before.

She had tried.

After making herself something simple to eat, Ava opened her laptop and returned to her job applications. She couldn’t control whether Halston Aerospace Solutions would call her, but she could control what she did while waiting.

For now, she waited.