Oasis

Nova

I twisted the smooth dragon jewel between my fingers. Do I feel bad for stealing that jewel? Not one bit. For one, I didn"t steal it. Secondly, it"s my new good luck charm, which I will definitely most need for this stupid job interview.

Now, I know what you"re all thinking, you"re sixteen Nova why aren"t you in school? I dropped out after too many suspensions. It was all bullshit, and I"d get into fights almost everyday and I wouldn"t go to class. It was all so stupid and boring. Well most of it. I made sure Pallas didn"t though. He needs an education. He has a future. And those pompous tourists in Neptune and the royal pains in the ass in Triton always need cockroaches like us in the District to scrub their toilets and cook their food. Hopefully I can be a maid or something.

"Nova Pyrrhos, please come to desk number fourteen," came a bored, robotic voice.

I smoothed Xander"s mother"s dress, tucked the jewel away, and walked to the desk. Before I went to find a job I stopped by Xander"s place to talk to his mom. After he went to work of course. I asked to borrow a dress from her, because post-apocalyptic-future chic does not get you a job as a street cleaner. Even though she was much skinnier than me, she was able to find a dress about my size and tailored it to fit well. I nice flowing dress that reached my knees. For extra measure she made sure I had some nice shoes and some make up so I could look presentable. Of course her feet were also smaller than mine, so I had to wear my beat up, brown combat boots with them. After some lip gloss and a little mascara, I looked decent. From the knees up.

She also wanted to straighten my afro. "Over my dead body," I told her. If I actually get something and work hard enough, I might be able to even find a place for Pallas and I to stay once I made enough univs. Maybe.

The woman interviewing me was old and grey. Literally. Her hair was piled high in a beehive, with little robot bees buzzing around. She had silver cat eye glasses to match her steely grey eyes. Her outfit was a tight pink dress much too small and her make up made her look much older and very dead even with that sour look on her face. At that moment, I knew she"d be a problem.

"I see you don"t have a middle name." Her voice sounded like she swallowed sandpaper and a frog.

"Yeah, well, I can"t afford one y"know?" I tried to smile. Middle names were part of your lineage here on M-25. It was also a part of your social status or to show your pedigree in a sense. Those with higher status had more regal middle names, those of middle class families had plainer middle names. Orphans like my brother and I have none. 

"I see...it says here you"re only 16 and barely completed high school," she shuffled some papers and examined them with her glasses at the very tip of her beak like nose. I nodded. I reached for the dragon jewel and began to rub it one more time for luck. I guess I could use it as a stress reliever too.

"But you scored high in intelligence on our quiz. But poorly in social interaction, following rules, and respecting authorities." She looked up down on me in a condescending way.

I laughed nervously. "I guess being short tempered is one of my weaknesses. But I can cook and clean-"

She cut me off there. "Listen, Miss...Nova is it? It"ll be very hard for you to find a job anyway in Neptune let alone Triton, which is absurd," she chortled, "someone in your stature, wanting to work anywhere near Chief Commander Emperor Zedekiah."

It took all the strength in me to not jump out of this chair and claw her eyes out. I took a deep breath and said sweetly, "Excuse me miss, but what do you mean, someone in my stature?" I pressed my nails deep into my palms to the point that I might"ve punctured skin.

"Oh just look at you," she waved her hand up and down at me, "You come from a very poor district with people, no, grown ups, who are more qualified for these jobs that are barely enough as it is. Your level of education can"t get you anywhere in life. I"d recommend going back to school, if you can. With a police record like yours, I don"t think you can get on the right track. It is very...lengthy." She said smugly.

My blood was boiling. She looked like she still had more to say.

"And you look exactly like the weakling race that lived on this planet many years ago. To think I thought they were all driven out Atlantis. Maybe you could qualify as a farmer, if you"re lucky. And your hair!"

"What. About. My. Hair?" I spoke through clenched teeth.

"Just look at that...MESS! It is so unprofessional and unkempt. You might as well straighten it or chop it all off! It looks very fluffy though." She began to reach out her hand.

"Can you please not touch my hair?" I said.

She ignored me and continued to reach.

"I said...don"t touch my hair..." I was fuming at this point.

Before she was able to touch the first curl I blacked out. Next thing I knew, I was being dragged out of the employment office by two body guards. I was kicking and screaming as they threw my ass out on the street. People were staring but I didn"t care. I was too filled with rage.

"Let me back in now! She disrespected me! I"m not done with that turkey looking, beehive b***h!"

Two of the guards held me back as a skinny, bean pole of a man in a thick mustache and pinstriped suit came out from behind them. He looked pissed.

"You are not to step foot here ever again! Good luck finding a job for the next fifty years."

"Fine by me! That old b***h will be dead by then!"

The man went back into the building. People around me were starting to look and whisper. I should be used to it by now.

"Alright you can put me down now," I said, panting.

The guards looked at each other for a second and then put me down and laughed.

"For someone so tiny, you sure are a fireball." Said one of the guards with black hair.

"Very tenacious..." The dark one mumbled.

Black hair was tall and buff, with a scar over his left eye and a crooked smile. The other, tall and dark with a stern expression.

I dusted myself off and smiled. "Wouldn"t you like to know." I held out my wrists.

"What are you doing?" asked the black guard.

"Aren"t you gonna arrest me? I punched an old lady in the face. And then some."

They both chuckled.

"Nah, you"re free to go. We"ve always hated the old crone; we can let it slide for now." 

"Yeah we"ll just make up some excuse like you ran away." The tall black one held his stomach and continued to laugh.

Black hair looked at me and smiled. "If you want a job you could either go back to school, but from what I heard, is highly unlikely. Or, if you want a quick and easy way to make some change, look for Lady Gemini in the red light district. It"s a pretty dangerous area for someone like you, but she has connections with Triton and can find something useful for you to do."

I looked at them both with bewilderment. "Wow, thanks I guess."

"No problem. Be careful OK?" Black hair laughed and tried to touch my hair.

I swatted his hand away. "Unless you wanna end up like that woman in there, I wouldn"t touch my hair." I smirked and booked it on the next tram home

I tried to run as fast as I could home. Or, to Xander"s home. I passed by a window and got a good look at myself. My knee was bleeding and some was on my dress. I knew it wasn"t my blood. The dress was a mess but my hair was still fine. I dusted myself off and tried to make myself look presentable as best I could before and continued making my way home.

 By the time I started knocking, I heard Xander and his mother talking. His mom sounded distressed and on the verge of crying.

 I hesitated knocking, but maybe my news would make her happy?

"Can I come in?" I opened the door a crack.

"Oh, Nova, sweety how did the interview go?" Xander"s mom was wiping tears from her face with a napkin. 

Once I saw her face I knew I couldn"t tell her the truth. She was so sweet and kind to me. It would break her heart to know that all that work lead to nothing. And blood on my knee and her dress. "I...um...I got a job. In Triton."

Xander and his mom gasped. I smiled sheepishly. Xander was going to kill me. But he couldn"t do anything now, not with his mom like that.

She ran up to me and hugged me. She was shorter than me but her hugs were so tight and strong. "Congratulations, Nova, I am so proud of you!"

 "Thank you Mrs. Zaragoza." I hugged her back.

"Oh stop, call me Estrelita please! Come sit! I"ll make something to celebrate."

"Yeah, Nova, congrats." Xander sounded skeptical.

"Thank you, Xander." I smiled at him but he stared back at me, his eyes furious.

Once Estrelita left the room Xander"s warm demeanor turned cold, his eyes furious.

He came in close and whispered to me, "Nova what the f**k did you do? Why is there blood on my mom"s dress? Why are you wearing my mom"s dress? What the hell went on in that unemployment office?" He hounded me furiously with questions I partly didn"t know the answer to.

"Can you calm down, please. It"s a very long story that I would love to tell; but I don"t think this is the right time. Why was your mom crying?"

"Nothing. Nothing compared to what you need to explain to the both of us!" His whispers were becoming harsher.

"I"m going to make a cake, if that"s OK with the both of you! Hopefully, Pallas will be home by the time it"s finished." Estrelita popped her head in, surprising the both of us.

Xander quickly let me go. "Thanks that"ll be great!" we said in unison.

She grinned. "Great!" She went back into the kitchen.

"I"m surprised she didn"t ask about the blood." I joked.