Getting a job

[femmejosephine]

The city was still mostly empty, but it was probably just a glitch in the sim.  Some poor tech group was being informed that they were all going to be cancelled one by one if the glitch continued much longer.

That wasn't what she was thinking about today though.  She needed a job.  Her sleazy landlord had stopped suggesting alternative ways to pay her rent fairly quickly, but that meant she needed to find another way to do that.   The problem was that she didn't really have a resume or any skills that were worth putting on a job application.  Not if she didn't want to work for one of the criminal organizations in town, anyway, and she didn't.  Let Madeline see that she truly didn't ever want to be in Section or do Section's work, no matter how well Madeline thought she'd begun to "fit" within it.

She went to the library, which had always been a welcome source of warmth for her, and found a book on making resumes.  Then she carefully used one of the computers to create one, listing a few odd jobs she'd had in the months and years before her arrest and transfer to Section. She'd have to hope that someone would take a chance on her, although she didn't really believe they would.

She dressed as nicely as she could from the thrift stores and started walking, hoping to pass out resumes at anywhere that said they were hiring.  The first five said they weren't anymore now that the population was smaller, so she went on to the sixth.   It was a little restaurant on the same street as her building and she pushed the door to the converted gas station open with her best friendly smile on her face.

Comments

[herownrules]

The question is a surprise after all of their preamble. It's usual for people to ask these things right away, but usual is often boring. Kenya considers for a moment, pushing her coffee cup and the pot toward the other woman. "That depends. Lets see you pour a cup of coffee."

[femmejosephine]

She had good upper body strength and steady hands thanks to Section and she knew they'd be watching that as they analyzed her response to the request. At the moment, though, she was more concerned with the owner's response.

She smiled as she poured the coffee cleanly, steadily, and with no unnecessary flourishes or raising and lowering of the pot. That was just showing off, and this wasn't a showing off kind of place. When the cup was almost full, she paused and said, "Room for milk?"

[herownrules]

"Please," she says, and tries to look as if she's still making up her mind, though she's already decided. Kenya waits til the cup is full and then nods. "I could use some help."

[femmejosephine]

Nikita paused and tilted the coffee pot back up at just the right moment to avoid drips on the counter, then set it down next to the cup. She was secretly pleased that she'd done it so smoothly since she hadn't actually been a waitress since at least a year before Section.

"I've been a waitress before. Pouring coffee's the first thing I learned," she explained herself.

[herownrules]

'Then you'll do fine here. When there are people around all they want is coffee, and maybe a conversation about the weather or the news." She likes it like that, Desire takes enough of her energy that it's good the Filling Station doesn't. "Most of our customers like keeping to themselves."

[femmejosephine]

"Works for me. I'm not the small talk type," Nikita admitted. "The weather and the news is about all I'm good at."

She couldn't very well talk about her past, after all. Not most of it, anyway.

[herownrules]

"Perfect. Can you start tomorrow? It won't be very busy, not unless everyone suddenly reappears,' she adds with a laugh, never sure if that's completely unikely or not.

[femmejosephine]

"Yeah, sure, that's fine," Nikita replied, a little surprised. She hadn't expected her new boss to want her to start so soon, but it was fine. She didn't have much else to do with her days. Might as well earn a little money, right?

"I'm Nikita, by the way. Is there a uniform or something I should get?"

[herownrules]

"Kenya," she says, laughing. "White shirt, black pants or skirt. We're pretty informal around here." She looks down at her own non-standard all black outfit and shrugs. "You'll just need to put on the apron and everyone will expect you to bring them coffee."

[femmejosephine]

Nikita nodded. The owner wore what she wanted, and Kenya was clearly the owner. White shirt and black pants was easy and cheap.

"I can do that. What time would you like me to come in?"

[herownrules]

"11," she decides. It would be the time the lunch girl started had she not been a Darrow resident who'd vanished. "If there's a lunch rush it's in time for it."

[femmejosephine]

"I'll be here at 11," Nikita agreed, and she meant it. She liked Kenya, or at least what she knew of her so far, and she intended to do a good job. Not that waitressing was rocket science, but it had its quirks.

"How much do I owe you for the omelette and coffee?"

[herownrules]

"You don't." Kenya won't take money this week at least, not when so many people seem stuck between things. "It's the least I could do."

[femmejosephine]

Nikita wasn't sure she agreed with that, but she'd find her own way to solve it. Extra money in the till or something. There were ways around most things, and Nikita was good at finding them.

"Alright. I'll see you at 11 tomorrow then," she agreed. "And thanks. Everywhere else I tried said they weren't hiring."