The Job
Why is it she wondered that people are so concerned with the physical, the outward appearance of a person, which is no measure of their worth. She sat at her dressing table, facing herself in the mirror. She forced herself to consider her face as others might see it. The skin under her left eye and over the bridge of her nose was pink and puckered; it was ugly. I’m such an eyesore she admitted to herself. But there was nothing she could do about it. Nothing!
Her phone trilled and flickered to life on the dresser. She glanced over to read the incoming message, but she knew, she already knew...
Miss Smythe, we are sorry to inform you...
She couldn’t read the rest of it, it was too much to take.
She had all the qualifications; perfect scores on all the tests. She would’ve been working in a lab, with a small team - hardly any contact with the general public.
So why?
She wanted to cry, nausea made her stagger, unsteadily from the dresser to the bathroom.
Afterwards, she made her way to the window of her bedroom. The view always calmed her; pink almond blossoms waved, fetchingly on the breeze, the tree lush with the green of Spring. New beginnings, new life greeted her. It was beautiful. She didn’t want to admit to herself that the picture of the scene; the physical, made her heart sing, a feast for the eyes. She sighed and turned back to the dresser where the phone was flickering once again.
Irritated, she reached to switch it off when a few words on screen caught her eye.
...sorry to inform you that although your application has been successful, your appointment has to be delayed for two weeks due to the fact that two of your future team members have tested positive for Covid19. Currently they have no symptoms, but...
OMG, what a wicked thing, she thought to be so joyous, delirious really, but under the circumstances…