Sweet Sick Teen 20

 Now the Girl was left to find a source of income via any means necessary. The most viable way would be to beg on the streets, but she wasn’t desperate enough to resort to doing THAT. However, The prospective employment in this city was sketchy at best. All the surrounding businesses around the Café in a 100 meter radius bordered on corruption and borderline illegal actions. They lived in a paradoxical realm where they attracted a high number of customers, but as long as no one saw what they did, everything would wind up being fine.

She padded out her resume, inflating her status, while remaining spiritually truthful to the the fullest extent she was allowed. Her hope was that they’d be so impressed with her high marks that they wouldn’t bother checking out her actual school records. No such luck. One quick purview was enough to cast doubt on her performance, and worse enough, poisoned her chances with other businesses that shared their information. Her uphill struggle was difficult enough already, and now more closely resembled a 95 degree incline. And that was before her stench was considered a factor.

Further compounding the difficulty was that these places were reluctant to hire on any newcomers who weren’t already vetted for. One painfully honest employee who was brave enough to stand in the same room as her said so as much:

“My job is to tell others we have no jobs, just so I can keep my job. Really, the only way to get a job ‘round these parts is to have someone from the inside who knows you to recommend you. Otherwise, realistically, you don’t stand a chance.”

“So, do you know - ”

“No. Do you think I’d stay in this crappy job if there was something better out there?”

“Meaning there’s no chance I could take your job over for you?”, she asked in a playful manner.

“I hate my job sure, but not that much. The surest way to get anywhere is to provide a service that no one else has, or is willing to do.”

And so it went. She’d been looking all over, and all she had to show for it was a list of crossed of places that never wanted to see or hear from her ever again. And those were the hopeful ones, since they’d expressed enough attention to give her notice. The other places didn’t even bother saying anything, leaving the prospect of hope up in the air. Those were infinitely worse, but not as bad as those that gave polite interviews, smiling all the while, casting fake grins throughout the whole interview, asking spontaneous open-ended questions that no normal human mind could possibly predict, such as:

• If you were a colour, what brand would you be?
• Describe yourself in essay form.
• Did you know that my Daddy hired me for this cushy job?
• Have you seen *Name of old co-worker that used to work here*?
• Think I can toss this rotten fruit in the trash this far away?
• Do you have a Million I can borrow, no questions asked?
• Are there any job openings out there?
• Does this dress make me look fat?

And the worst one:

• If you’re so smart, why aren’t you hired yet?

One of the constant obstacles was that she needed a worker’s certificate in order to be employed. But until she got hired, she couldn’t get a certificate. Even one of the most prominent entry-level corporations that gave jobs to anyone wouldn’t even let her in without previous job experience, hence the dilemma.

In addition to looking for a paying job, she also asked around, asking if anybody had seen a man wearing strange gloves or an old lady who looked younger than she appeared. Opinion for the Man was widely varied across multiple sources, and the general reaction ranged from admiration to open hostility depending on the nature of the previous relationship.

• He’s so dreamy!
• He stole me for everything I’ve got!
• He got my baby back!
• He broke my legs and stole my kid!
• He’s got such a smooth voice!
• If you find him, kick him in the privates for me. With interest.

But when it came to the old lady-child, reaction was somewhat muted. It was so strange - when the subject came up, they couldn’t stop talking about the Mystery Man. But when it came to the woman, it was a conversation-stopper. The harmless old woman who could barely stand on her own was more feared than the man who couldn’t stop ripping people off, which should’ve been the other way around.