1.1 – The First Day

$1800 isn’t nearly as much as I’d thought it’d be… was the first thing I thought as I pulled into my new lot.   While the plot was absolutely beautiful, it was completely barren.  I hadn’t had $1800 to start, I actually had a bit over $2000, but a plane and bus ticket took that fairly quickly from me.  The trip from my hometown Oasis Springs to Willow Creek was exhausting in more ways than one.

 

That $1800 gave me enough money for an oven, countertop, fridge, queen bed, and a toilet, but that left not enough for a shower, nor any walls.  I tucked my toilet behind the fridge, hoping to save myself at least a shred of dignity.  I looked at my finished work and sighed.  This was all I could afford?  I felt a tear slide down my cheek and quickly rubbed it off.  It was only the first day, I told myself, I had plenty of time to find a job.  Freshly twenty and in a big city meant there were probably hundreds of jobs looking for fresh, new faces.  I forced myself to think optimistically and began searching for job applications on my phone.

After applying to over fifteen jobs, I put my phone down.  My fingers were numb from all the typing.  It was only a little after noon at that point, and I felt like I still had the whole day ahead of me!  What should I do?  I could go for a walk, or to the park, or… Then it hit me.  The library!  Reading was one of my favorite pastimes, plus, they probably had computers that I could totally play some video games on.  So I got up from my bed and began the trek to the library.  When I got there, I quickly found a book that caught my eye and went to grab it.

It was a fairly short book, so it only took me about an hour to finish it.  Looking up from my table, I caught sight of a man who had to be the librarian.  Librarians have such an aura around them; it’s so easy to recognize them.  I got up from my seat and went to talk to them.

“Hello,” I said, waving at the man.  He grinned.

“Hi there! Anything I can help you with?” he asked.

“Yes, actually,” I replied, looking around the library. “I was just wondering if I needed a library card to use the computers.”

“Ah, usually you do, but I think I’ll let it slide this time,” he answered with a wink.  I raised my eyebrows…Was this librarian flirting with me?

I thanked the man and took a seat by a computer.  I played Blicblock for a few hours, but my mind stayed focused on the librarian.  I caught him glancing at me every now and then with a strange look on his face.  I found myself blushing every time his eyes met mine.  It was rare men had this effect on me, but I had always had a thing for smart men, and this man was definitely intelligent.  I could tell.  Soon after, I heard the sound of someone sitting in the seat directly across from me.  I looked up and couldn’t believe it, it was him!

“Hi there,” he said, grinning over at me.  I returned his smile.

“Hello again.  What brings you here to me?”

“Oh nothing, I just realized I forgot to ask your name! How rude of me.”

“Oh! I’m Amelia Asher,” I replied.  “And you are?”

“Phillip Lopez,” he said, reaching a hand out.  I took it and shook it.

“Pleased to meet you.”

I hadn’t realized how much time passed until I looked out the window.  It was already almost mid-afternoon, and I was starving!  But talking to Phillip made time fly by.  I hadn’t had this much of a connection with someone in years, probably not since high school.  As I told him goodbye, I knew the library was about to become my new favorite spot, and not only for the books…

Returning home, I prepared a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for dinner.  It was no steak and potatoes, but it would do for now.  Someday I’d have the money to cook on my oven, but not now.  Although I missed the taste of hot food, I reassured myself that finding a job wouldn’t take too long.  I’d applied to so many places, one of them would have to take me, right?

Then, it happened.  After I dumped my plate into the trash, I felt my phone buzz in my pocket with the sound of an email.  Unlocking my phone, I eagerly read the message.

Congratulations Amelia Asher.  You have been accepted to the position of Live Chat Support Agent.  Your first day is Tuesday at 10 A.M.  I will be emailing you shortly with your first assignment.  Once again, congratulations and have a great evening!

I gasped, my hands trembling in excitement.  I had done it! Gotten a job! In technology, as luck would have it!  Not that being a dishwasher or part-time bookkeeper were bad, but tech was the field I had been silently hoping for.

I prepared for bed, the smile on my face never fading.  My life was finally working out, and I finally felt on top of things.  My new life in Willow Creek was going to be amazing, I just knew it.  And as I looked around me, to the room-less house I called my own, I made a promise to myself in that moment.  I would rise to the top of the technology career.  I would give my kids something to hold their entire lives–a legacy.