LOVE AT LUST

LOST HOPE

Here we go again, Kate said to herself as she left the house that morning. She stared at the coffee shop as she headed to the bus stop. Kate sat close to the window, adoring the beautiful flowers on the side-walk as the bus moved. She imagined how horrible life would be working at the coffee shop and how great it would be if she got the job. Her pessimistic thoughts were short lived as the bus came to a halt. she took a deep breath as she alighted.

She walked slowly to the entrance and read aloud, "BRANWELL HOLDINGS" as she adored the fascinating building, so gigantic and artistic. Her eyes met with the stern looking security personnels and she walked towards them. She was allowed to enter after passing the security check. She thanked them with a smile but they maintained a mean face.

Kate was amazed by the calibre of people who worked there. Women from all walks of life; Hispanic, Caucasian, Black, Asian, Latina and so on. Different women, different looks, different ages; tall, short, dark, fair, petite, chubby, brunette, blonde, red-haired, young, old, middle-aged and so many others. She wondered why Mr Branwell was in control of so many beautiful ladies and not a single man, except for the security personnels.

You look lost, one of the women said to her handing her a bottle of water. "My name is Nancy, i would like to know yours" she said politely. Kate responded with a smile, "I am Kate, thank you for the water"." My pleasure, are you here for the interview?" Kate nodded affirmative. "You are 30 minutes early, make yourself comfortable while you wait and feel free to ask me for anything", she said as she walked away.

Kate continued adoring the set of women who worked for Mr Branwell as other applicants began to arrive one after the other. Pessimistic thoughts started to creep in. They are so many of them, how could you possibly be picked? She was brought back to reality as a staff called her name, signaling Kate to come with her as she led the way to Mr Branwell's office.

The staff left her after introducing her and stating the purpose of her visit to Mr Branwell. "Take a seat", he said as he reached for his fridge to get water. He asked for her credentials and began to examine them, nodding from time to time to express approval. He handed the credentials to her as he commended her academic qualifications and excellent performance. She smiled as she retrieved her credentials from him. "Unfortunately, it is not enough. There is a policy for this job position, you must have atleast 6 months of work experience", "but sir...." Mr Branwell cut her by signaling her to leave by pointing to the door, "shut the door behind you", he added.

Kate walked away sadly, trying to hold back her tears as she tried to locate the restroom. She let out all her tears as soon as she entered the rest room, crying like a hungry baby.

Nancy found Kate in the restroom in an attempt to find her after she noticed she was yet to come out and three other applicants have been attended to after she entered. She looked at Kate pitifully and hugged her, "It's okay", she said. Kate cried louder and Nancy patted her back. She was thinking of how to pull herself together and go for the job at the coffee shop, she stopped crying and slowly pulled away from Nancy's hug. "Thank you", she said as she walked to the faucet. "I want to know what went wrong though" Kate heard Nancy say from behind as she was cleaning her face. Kate sniffed and replied, "I have no work experience". Nancy sighed and rubbed her back, "May something better come your way, i need to get back to work", she said exiting the restroom. Kate arranged her hair, adjusted her clothes and reapplied her lipgloss and left. While passing through the section she sat previously, the applicant on seat looked at her in despair. She ignored them and left the building.

She looked at the building one more time before she left, holding back her tears. She walked to the bus stop, looking dejected. She tried to fix her face as soon as she got on the bus, preparing to meet the coffee shop owner. Little is better than nothing, she thought to herself. She chose being stuck with a job that she hates over being jobless. It was a long drive because the faulty bus kept halting. Passenger murmured among themselves about the speed of the bus but the driver remained mute. As the murmuring grew louder, he apologised reluctantly and told them to be patient that they will get to their various destinations.

They got to the next bus stop after an hour and some minutes. The journey was supposed to be less than thirty minutes if the bus was in a good condition. Kate checked her time and prayed the position was still vacant as she hurriedly walked to the coffee shop. She let out a breath as a sign of relief when she saw the poster outside. She located the cashier immediately she entered and asked where the interview was being conducted. The lady pointed to a door with a tag "manager" and Kate followed the direction of her hand. She knocked twice and paused for a few seconds before knocking again. "Come in", a voice called from inside. She held the door knob but it was opened from inside before she could open it. Her eyes met with a young girl, obviously a teenager, leaving the office. She entered and exchanged pleasantries with the manager as he offered her a seat. "How may I help you today?", he said as he typed some digits on the intercom. Kate swallowed, "I am here for the job", he motioned for her to wait and said to the person on the phone, "please, remove the poster, no more vacancies". Kate bubbled with joy as she heard these words. Long at last, he didn't even conduct an interview, maybe they are desperately in need of workers, she thought in silence. She was snapped out of her thoughts as he said to her, "I'm sorry, no more vacancies", Her face went pale. "We already hired the girl you saw on your way in, if only you had come earlier", he said. Her heart ripped into two, his words kept replaying "if only you had come earlier". The manager tapped his table to call her attention after trying to talk to her was futile, "I'm sorry but now I will appreciate if you can excuse me. I've got so many things to do". Kate nodded as she stood up helplessly. She stepped out of the coffee shop in tears. Her eyes became red and her head was starting to hurt. She didn't know what to do or where to go. She walked aimlessly, heading to God knows where. She cussed at the bus driver and his faulty bus in her head.