The Apprentice’s Path

1 The crisp, starched shirt felt stiff, and the collar itchy. Ironing it had been a chore this morning, with the flicker of a candle as the only source of light. I had to spray the shirt with potato starch and cover it with a cloth to protect its not so pristine white color. The charcoal fire I lit in the iron burnt too hot at first, and the sharp pain in my wrist was but a reminder of that. The audible crackling of wood was strong in the fireplace, filling the office with a red light noticeable in the middle of the day due to the dark shadow of the cloudy sky. I could taste the faint particles of smoke in the air, and feel the dusty, thick air. Nobody had aired the office in a while, probably to avoid losing heat. Or maybe they couldn't open the windows; some buildings are more akin to jails than houses. The interviewer, a middle-aged woman dressed old-fashionably in a blazer with shoulder pads over her button-up shirt, wasn't very impressed with the efforts I made. Such things are expected, and nothing to be praised for when looking for a job. "So, Miss Bedwen," she looked at me over my CV, which she had picked from the pile in front of her. The pile was big, as many students were looking for internships. "I see you won the Floyd scholarship, and your grades are great, which is quite impressive, but you don't seem to have much practical experience." "Depends on what you consider practical. I have quite a lot of experience in the repair of mining equipment." "Practical experience in designing alchemical devices. We are a design firm, not a repair shop." She seemed to say it with contempt. White-collar hate towards blue-collar work, I guess. "If you don't count the many alchemical competitions I took part in, including the Floyd Trust Competition." I redesigned a piece of machinery that kept breaking down so it would last longer, "as practical experience, that is. Or do you only consider working a desk job as alchemy experience?" Yes, maybe I was too confrontational, but it's not like this b***h wasn't aware of why I didn't have a job in an alchemical firm on my resume in the first place. "And that is fairly impressive, Miss Bedwen. But in our firm, we like team players able to collaborate and follow the leadership…" Be yes-men who don't show any initiative, that is. "… and you seem to have an affinity for solo work." That is, I am a dark arall. This has probably been the combination of most of the clichés I've heard so far. "We like team players", "We prioritize a friendly workplace over achievement" (that's a lie, nobody's that stupid), "Experience in collaboration and teamwork is paramount to us", etc. I've heard most of them. Despite the end of the Inquisition fifty years ago, and the equalizing of rights of all magical and non-magical people, it is still quite difficult for dark arall folk to find a job. We are very competitive, aggressive, and vindictive. Employers avoid hiring people who are too assertive, and dark arall tend to be very independent-minded. "Despite appearances," it's illegal to discriminate against people for their magical status. I wanted to remind her of that, without becoming an affirmative action hire. That would destroy my carefully crafted reputation as a capable alchemist, and I would become the butt of all jokes. "I work well with others. Our team won an inter-university alchemical competition," for which I did most of the work myself, but let's not mention that, "and we were even featured in Alchemist's Review." I breathed deeply, trying to calm myself. The dusty air tingled my nose, and the itch to sneeze was almost unbearable. This would not work. I stopped the breathing exercise. It was absolutely pointless. This whole meeting was absolutely pointless. The interviewer lady — I think she introduced herself, but I didn't pay much attention. No point in trying to remember now, since I wasn't going to get a job, anyway. She stared at me, trying to see if the fuse was about to blow. I would never give her that satisfaction. "I hope you have seen my capabilities, and a fair decision will be made, following all the articles of the Labor Law," especially the anti-discrimination article, "and make a fair decision. I will await your call; it seems our time is over. I will escort myself out." No point in wasting any more time on this.