Edited August 2022

Chapter 2 : Zion

The sun shine piercing my blurry eye sight. So, I close them and sigh. I continue forward, walking with my formal attire, holding the neat and straight envelope in between my armpit.

I raised my face shield– it's an innovative transparent plastic like glass in front of the face, used to shield the face and so the name speaks itself– and I pull my black mask down. I can feel my sweat dripping down to my jaw. I breathe in and out, taking in the polluted air. It's friggin’ hot and I feel like I am being toasted. Not to mention, I am walking right under the sun.

I walk slowly as I look at my wrist watch and see the time– 9:00am. I have an interview appointment at 10, and right now...

I stop walking, and stand still while looking left and right, at my back and in my front again.

You should know why. Currently, Zion de Valle is lost. I took my phone out of my pocket, planning to look at the Google map again.

However, no matter how many times I look at it, Zion de Valle is still lost.

But I didn't give up.

The only choice I have right now is to ask for direction. So, even if I am embarrassed and shy, I will try!

At 9:46am, I finally made it there. I greeted the security guard and said my purpose. The security guard is a nice guy. He talked to the lady in the counter, all I did was wait until I was called into the office.

"Ms. Zion de Valle?" Asked the man sitting behind the table. He gestures his hand, inviting me sit in front with a smile. Still, I can't help but feel nervous.

When I was outside waiting, I saw many competitors. A year already passed since the pandemic, though the vaccine still has its risks and still yet available to the public. People is already used to it. Many people lost their jobs and many companies went bankrupt. And this year is the worst year to look for a job.

More importantly, Christmas is just around the corner. Many companies will surely become picky at this time because of the 13th month pay. And many companies are still on the edge.

However, despite my "thump thump thump" heart, I let out a happy smile instinctively, and greeted the man and extended my hand for a hand shake.

"Good Morning, Sir. I'm Zion de Valle, it's pleasure to meet you." The man reaches out his hand as I introduced myself to meet mine.

"Cessar Jin, Nice to meet you."

I sit on the chair after our friendly handshake. I was still smiling. I wish he didn't detect my nervousness through that one handshake earlier. I hope so...

I smile every time I feel nervous or scared. It is my defense mechanism– reaction formation, specifically. Because I am always anxious, I always react opposite to what I am actually feeling. I was called a weirdo in school because of it. I was a trouble maker before, and every time the teacher scolded me in front of the class, I laughed instead of reflecting.

It was scary and nerve wracking, you know. I was elementary back then, and after I graduated and became a high school student, I became a loner and an introvert.

"I am, by the way, the HR assistant and your interviewer for today. I received your resume and read it already. I just want to ask some points regarding your job experiences."

Cessar pause and he looked at me in the eye. We made an I contact. I know what he was going to ask. I wrote many fabricated job experiences there. Everything written in that was all a lie. Zee actually only have 'that' one month experienced before. Never before did Zion de Valle went to work. So, what can I present on my blank resume?

"According here, you worked part-time as a virtual assistant."

"Yes, Sir." I affirmed. "Actually, I have a job before and for some personal reasons, I resigned. I worked online, until my laptop broke last month. That's why I'm here right now, Sir."

Of course, it's a lie. Like I said, Zee NEVER have a job in the first place. It is my friend who works as a virtual assistant, and I just wrote it in my resume.

Well, let's see. It was a half lie. Zee really planned on trying being a virtual assistant after resigning. The problem is...the laptop broke even before I was accepted on the job.

When I received a confirmation email on my Gmail, the laptop now only has a black screen. So, taking a job online– forget it.

"Oh. I see. So, can you tell me about those experiences then."

I talked my lies base from what I had heard from my friend and from my memorized lines from the script I made. I talked with confidence as if all those nonexistent job experiences really happened. I speak out my worth, my capabilities and answered his questions one by one.

Along the way, my heart thumped like crazy. I maintain a proper demeanor of a humble job seeker. My body felt numb, I was hungry and tired.

And as I expected, at the end of the interview– I sighed as I remember what had happened.

We, both stood up. Cessar smile at me and he reached his hand for another handshake. He said, "It's nice talking to you, Ms. Zion. We will just inform you through the number you have given. It is a pleasure to meet you."

I sigh again. It was a total failure.

Will I ever get to have a job?

"Tsk!" I clicked my tongue and finally went on my way towards the nearest fast-food restaurant.

I feel super hungry after my nerves relaxes. As I eat, I ask myself, 'do I have to do this?' I even regretfully thought of why I didn't start writing web novel and earn little bit from that. If I did, then maybe mama won't urged me to get a job right now.

With my qualifications, I knew better than everybody else that getting a job is even harder. Even fresh graduates are a better pick than I am. More so, I don't really know what people do at the office. I can learn, but I think I am not competent enough.

Sigh~ maybe I should start writing now. Maybe I can use my vast imagination in this. I'll search how to become a WebNovel author at home, later.

For now, I still have one more interview left. And it was scheduled in the afternoon.

I looked at the time, and I sigh. I slump my back at my sit and sigh one more.

"...it's just 1, I still need to wait until 3." I mumbled.

"This is the worst. I don't want to work..."