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Chapter 3

  • Jocelyn's POV
  • "What a jerk!" I curse as I slam the door to his office.
  • Who gives a damn if it is a big corporation? Who cares to be all modest here if their damned boss is a racist? I never imagined him to be one. Well, tabloids don't do justice to one's character. I hiss.
  • Some workers who pass by my side look at me like I'm some disgusting meal. I give them the sign forcing myself not to scream at them all for looking at me like a pest.
  • "Fuck y'all!" I storm into the elevator. I'm close to tears, but I choose not to let them roll off while in this horrible corporation ruled by Marcel Reynolds, that asshole. Everyone here is an asshole.
  • The elevator takes me to the last floor, and I dash out of the company, not even bothering to stop for a moment. When I get outside the building, the tears almost fall off my cheeks, so I dip my hand into my bag to get my handkerchief.
  • I wipe my face carefully to prevent my makeup from being ruined. I glance at my watch to check the time, and there's still much time for me to while away. It's still noon, so I decided to roam around. At least, time would have gone before I got back home.
  • "Let's take a stroll around New York," I say, sighing.
  • While roaming, my stomach growls. I had little for breakfast. Luckily for me, there's a restaurant down the corner. I walk down to it and order lunch. Within a few minutes, the attendant serves me my hamburger and a coke bottle.
  • I pay her the fee after she serves me. "Enjoy your meal," she says while she goes to serve another customer.
  • An interview with Marcel Reynolds is worth the chilled coke bottle before me. I eat up my meal as I recount the event of the day.
  • What kind of businessman would reject a hot cake like me because of racism? I have all the criteria to be his business administrator, yet he turned me away. Isn't that foolishness?
  • If he had turned me away at the door or told Mrs. Giovanni to send me away, that would have been better than sitting me down, asking me questions, and rejecting me without adequate reason. The nerve!
  • All because he is 'Marcel Reynolds' doesn't mean he owns the world. The rich always have their way all the time. I scoff. To think that I had thought I would bag the job still hurts. If there weren't any malpractice, I would have gotten the job.
  • I had prepared very well for this job, no doubt, and even downloaded likely questions to be asked. I slept late because I had to prepare, and then that man had to blow up my hopes. People are trooping in and out of the restaurant with their various needs.
  • I smile at a family of four seated by the corner to my right. They look so happy and content. I see love in the eyes of the Father as he looks at his family. Someday I wish to have something like that, but for now, I have to get a job.
  • What should I do next? It seems like a dead end. I had submitted my resume to some companies, but they hadn't gotten back to me. What if they didn't get back to me or if they had seen their candidate?
  • "Oh God," I exclaim.
  • I can not settle down with jobs that pay little peanuts as salaries. It wouldn't be enough. My thoughts are roaming.
  • By the time I recheck my time, it's 5 pm. It's high time I took my leave from the restaurant. I gulped down the remainder of my coke and lay the bottle on the table before. Carrying my bag, I walk out of the restaurant.
  • Outside, the evening sun is dipping into the horizons. I walked down the street to where I'd take a cab home. The road is busy. Some boys are playing football. I called out for a taxi and told him my address.
  • The driver tries to start a conversation with me, but my monosyllables halt whatever words he has to say. He soon focuses on driving me to my location.
  • I'm not in the mood for such conversations. I hope he understands. All I'm thinking about now is how I'd get a job to feed myself and be stable.
  • My foodstuffs are running out, and my wardrobe needs a change. I need money to do all these. There's no one I can depend on. Here, in New York, I am all alone. I need a job soon!
  • That stupid stepfather of mine caused all these. I owe him a kick in the crotch for almost molesting me and stealing my mom's trust from me. Now, I have to learn how to be independent. I would have called my mom for some money, but my pride wouldn't let me pick up the phone even to ask her how she was doing. It's been a while since we talked.
  • In a few minutes, I will arrive home. I pay off the taxi man with a smile on my face. I hope the smile is enough compensation for how I replied to him.
  • At my doorstep, I fidget with my key before I finally open the door. I put off my shoes at the doorstep, locked my door, and jumped on my bed. I'm so tired from not sleeping well last night so soon that I'm lost in sleep.
  • My phone pings with a message on it, and this awakens me. It is already 8 pm. I rub my eyes and reach for my phone. I open it to see an email message from the D&M accessories company.
  • "Is this a rejection mail or a positive one?" Rhetoric. I open it with one of my eyes closed.
  • "Congratulations, Miss Jocelyn Gbone Dizon. You are lucky to have been selected for this interview. Your resume was an impressive one, and for that, we find you unique and are part of the selected few to be interviewed tomorrow. Your scheduled time is 11 am. Please keep to time."
  • Jamal Leicester
  • C.E.O D&M accessories
  • "Oh, my gracious Lord! I got the interview!" I let out a scream of joy as I jump onto my bed. I am so happy I was part of the selected few. Interviews like this can be very strict with their standards.
  • I have a leftover pizza for dinner with a cup of fruit juice while watching an episode from my recently downloaded series, Game of thrones. I love the series so much because it is fascinating. After having dinner, I brush my teeth, pack my hair in a bun and jump on my bed to continue watching the movie till sleep comes for me.
  • My phone alarm wakes me up by 7 am, but I sleep it until 8:30 am. By 8:30 am, I get up from my bed to pick what I'd wear for the interview. I mustn't lose this job again. I don't know what I'd do with myself.
  • I finally settle for a pink slit gown that accentuates my curves. I go to my shoe rack and grab my black stilettos. Since I didn't sort out my bag yesterday, my documents are still inside intact.
  • I rush to the bathroom to brush and have my bath.
  • When I came out, I quickly made a toast and a cup of coffee for myself.
  • I revise some questions again. By this time, it's 9:55 am. I put on my gown and black stilettos. I check myself in the mirror and smile.
  • Yes! I am good to go. I got out of my apartment and ensured that I locked it very well. One can never be too safe. Jane's door is closed, which means she has gone to work already.
  • There's a cab dropping someone opposite my house, so I hurry to catch the taxi. "D&M Company," I say.
  • "That will be ten dollars," he says, and I hop in.
  • He's playing a song by Whitney Houston. I hum to the music. In less than forty minutes, we arrived at D&M accessories; I alight, paid him his money, and turned to look at a monstrous grey skyscraper staring at me.
  • "Oh my God!" I gape at the building. I compose myself and climb the stairs leading to the formation.
  • When I get in, after being checked outside by a security officer, A woman with a name tag on the left side of her dress Mrs. Bertha, welcomes me. After telling her I came for the interview, she dialed a number to reconfirm.
  • "Miss Dizon is here for the interview."
  • "Yes, she is part. Take her to the room."
  • "Follow me, please," she said, and I followed.
  • We took an elevator to the 7th floor, where I was led to a room. The innards of the building were heaven on just a building; it is so beautiful and colorful.
  • I went inside the room to see other lucky participants. "You will wait here till you're being called inside," Mrs. Bertha said before leaving the room.
  • As I took the remaining empty chair, seven eyes stared at me. Four men and three women; I made them Eight. However, before I sat down, I noticed that I was the only black in the room. Immediately, fear crept into my heart.
  • 'Mama Mia,' I whispered in between hot breaths.