Except that the month had not turned out to be quite as thrilling as she had anticipated. Her first job had been as a receptionist for a fly-by-night travel agency that dealt in interplanetary tours and although she had worked for two whole weeks, she had never been paid one single penny. One morning she arrived at the office only to find it barren of furniture and the boss. She remembered sinking down to the floor, wracked by volumes of tears. It was like a nightmare, a terrible nightmare. She was all alone on Venus with no money in her pocket and no prospects whatsoever! She didn't know which way to turn nor did she have anyone to turn to and she had no idea what she would do next. She had then walked out onto the busy, crowded, hot, and sticky street, bought herself a 20-rupee carbohydr
