2
1220 Words
Brrring! Brrring! Brrring!
The loud sound of my alarm clock drilled into my skull.
Uuugghhh. Not now, I mumbled into the pillow.
I was in no mood to face the morning. To me, another morning meant a whole new struggle. I raised my head and quickly looked at my computer, my throat tightened. I didn't want to check, but I had to.
After graduating from university with a pretty good degree, I thought I would finally be able to give my family a good life, but it made everything worse.
The day I got my degree, I smiled as I had finally made it. My mum cried, my brother hugged me proudly and even bragged about it. And for that moment, I really believed and hoped things were about to get better.
But I guess I was wrong.
Two months later, here I was sitting in the same small house, staring at rejection emails like they were part of my daily routine. And now I am about to check another one. Last week I went for an interview at a good company. I didn't want to anymore, but my mum had encouraged me not to give up.
“Okayyy, here goes nothing. I mean I should be used to it by now. No need to panic, Chloe it'll be just fine.” I gave myself a pep talk before clicking on the email.
“We regret informing you…”
I didn’t even finish reading them anymore.
I already knew.
I dropped my phone on the bed and rubbed my face. My head was starting to ache again.
“Chloe?” My mum’s soft voice came from the other room.
“I’m coming,” I answered quickly.
I stood up, forcing myself to move even though my body felt heavy. The house was quiet, too quiet. The kind of quiet that comes when there’s nothing left to say.
Mum was sitting on the couch, a half-finished scarf resting on her lap. She was knitting again.
She always knitted when she was worried.
“I made some tea,” she said, giving me a small smile.
I smiled back, even though I didn’t feel like it. “You should be resting, mum.”
“And you should be eating,” she replied gently.
That hit.
Because she was right.
I hadn’t eaten since yesterday morning.
“I’m fine,” I lied, sitting beside her.
She didn’t argue, but I could see it in her eyes. That quiet guilt. Like she felt responsible for everything we were going through.
I hated that look.
“Leo should be back soon,” she said, changing the topic.
“Yeah.” His school fees.
That thought alone was enough to make my chest tight.
I stood up quickly. “I’ll go check on dinner.”
There was no dinner.
Just noodles.
Again.
Later that evening, I sat outside with my phone in my hand, scrolling through job listings that all looked the same.
Experience required.
Two years minimum.
Excellent recommendations.
I laughed under my breath.
“How do they expect us to get experience if nobody wants to give us a chance?”
“Exactly what I’ve been saying!”
I turned immediately.
“Maddie?”
She stood there with a wide grin, holding two plastic bags as if she had just come from the market. We've been friends since childhood, she has been with me all through my life's phases, and we have gone through life together. But Maddie's family was more comfortable than mine.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, surprised.
“What kind of question is that? I came to see my best friend,” she said, walking in like she owned the place. Her blonde, curly hair bounced as she moved. Her blue eyes matched perfectly with her skin.
I shook my head, smiling a little. “Well, you didn’t call.”
“If I called, you’d say you’re busy being stressed,” she replied, dropping the bags on the small table.
She looked at me properly then, and her smile faded a bit.
“You look tired.”
“I am tired.”
“Still no job?”
I shook my head.
She sighed and sat down beside me. “Chloe… you can’t keep doing this to yourself.”
“What choice do I have?” I asked quietly.
She didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, she reached into her bag and pulled out her phone.
“I didn’t come empty-handed,” she said.
I raised a brow. “What do you mean?”
“There’s a job opening.”
I almost laughed. “Maddie…”
“Wait, listen first,” she cut in. “It’s not like the others.”
“They’re all the same. They'll raise your hopes and then crush them. It's frustrating I can't go through that anymore.”
“No, this one isn’t. It's legit, and it's from a direct source. I know someone from the company, and she personally gave me the information that there is an opening.”
Something in her tone made me pause.
“It’s a secretary position,” she continued. “Big company. Like… really big.”
I frowned. “And you think I can get that?”
“I know you can.”
I shook my head. “Maddie, those places don’t even look at people like me.”
“They will look at you Chloe, you should believe in yourself.”
“How?”
She smiled slowly.
“Because this time there is an insider there. She'll guide you through the interview.”
I stared at her.
“And?” I asked carefully.
“And they’re recruiting.”
My heart skipped.
“I already sent your CV,” she added casually.
“What?” I turned to her fully.
“Relax,” she said quickly. “You’re qualified, Chloe. More than qualified.”
“Well, didn't you think you should have maybe informed me first?”
“If I told you, you would overthink and not go.”
Well, she wasn’t wrong either.
I exhaled slowly. “Where is this place?”
Maddie leaned closer, her eyes shining like she was about to drop something big.
“Alexander Hale’s company.”
Silence.
I blinked.
“The Alexander Hale?” I asked.
I read about him multiple times online. A cold multi-billionaire, he was amongst the top 5 richest men in the city. But nobody really knows anything about his personal life.
She nodded.
“The billionaire?”
“Yes.”
I laughed nervously. “You’ve lost your mind.”
“I’m serious.”
I stared at her, my thoughts already racing.
That kind of place…that kind of man..that whole type of world..was I really called out for that?
I didn’t belong there.
“I’m not going,” I said finally.
“Yes, you are.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Yes. You. Are.”
I looked at her, already tired.
“Maddie…”
“Chloe,” she said firmly, her voice softer now. “What do you have to lose?”
That question hit harder than anything else.
Because the truth was… Nothing.
I looked down at my hands.
Then back at her.
“When is the interview?” I asked quietly.
Maddie smiled.
“Tomorrow.”
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD