Happy Monday! The clouds and rains of the weekend appeared to have slipped away and while it is still cool it is nowhere near as cold as it has been. Which means my seedlings may come out of the greenhouse again for a little hardening time in the sun. I need to get them toughened up a bit before putting them in the ground. However this last frost was a bit much for my little seedlings to take. with luck this was the last hard frost of the year. I’ll have to check the forecast later. For now, there is the morning writing prompt. Ready? Excelletnt!
There are a number of ways this can go. I think before writing it I’d have to figure out exactly what the job is when he shows up. It could be a coming of age story, a romance or a horror from where I stopped it. I kind of like that open ness, especially as I may come back to it later with something definite in mind.
Monday, April 26th: As summer approached I became more and more reluctant to return home.
As summer approached, I became more and more reluctant to return home. The thought of going back to that small house crowded with so many memories weighed heavily on my mind. I also knew that if I returned, there was the possibility I would not leave. There were expectations on me there. Expectations I had no intention of meeting. I broke free from Greensly Corners and I didn’t want to risk going back.
They could effectively trap me there forever.
As the end of term approached I found myself looking at job board. Notices for summer employment caught my eye. I needed something with room and board, something that would offer me a place to live while I earned money for the following year. It was the practical consideration for not going home. There the only opportunity I would have to make money would be to slip back into my old life, take up my old job.
It would help the argument to stay. A ready made place where I belonged. It sent shivers down my spine.
I grew somewhat desperate as my time started to run out. Then amid the offers for lawn care and construction, I saw it. The posting was vague but the hand printed lettering was neat. The letters were block print and read simply, ‘Help Wanted: Long Hours, good pay, room and board provided.’
It was exactly what I was looking for. Unlike the others that had a multitude of numbers written in tear off strips at the bottom of the page this has the phone number block printed at the bottom of the card in the same neat handwriting as the rest of the message. I carefully unpinned the notice before anyone else could see it and snatch it away. I wasn’t sure what the hard work entailed but I was willing to find out. I promised myself that if the message was not for me then I would return and pin it back to the board for someone else to find.
I took the card away from the board, sidestepping several other approaching job seekers. I moved out of earshot and pulled out my cell phone. I dialed the numbers hoping that this would be what I needed to get me through the summer.
‘I can do anything for just one summer,’ I told myself as I dialed the numbers. The phone was answered on the second ring.
“Hello,” A male voice said, he sounded cautious as though expecting bad news.
“Hi,” I am calling about the job notice pinned to the campus board?” I began. My words tilted up in question in response to his tone.
“That was quick,” he said. The caution left his voice and it became flat. “I only put it up an hour ago. We’ll have to see if you suit. A trial …interview…test will take about two hours. When can you arrange to be here for it?”
He gave me the address and I calculated distance. It wasn’t far, I could easily walk it.
Ten til Midnight 