Shut Up, Get a Job

Ring! Ring! Ring!

Evina immediately sat up in bed. She hurriedly stood up, put on her slippers and grabbed on her towel. Like her usual morning routine, she was about to take a bath. It was until she realized that she had nowhere to go.

“It must be my body clock or something. You’re now officially a bum, Evina. Welcome to your new life.” She tapped her head three times, making sure it would work properly.

She went back to her bed and slumped back to her soft pillows before picking up her phone to check on her news feeds. Now she has all the time in the world to do so.

As she was scanning her social media account, she saw that her former classmate just posted pictures of herself on stage with a thousand likes and hearts. She was recently promoted by the company that she was working for.

“I’m sure she just licked her boss’ feet.” Evina rolled her eyes.

She continued to scroll up her phone some more. As she did so, her face which was previously relaxed and blissful crumpled away.

“Shut up and get a job.”

“Work your ass off. It’s not yet Saturday.”

These were the quotes that popped up on her screen as if they were just talking to her.

“Whatever!” She threw her phone on her bed and just went to the bathroom to take a shower.

She was humming while she scrubbed her body when something happened that she did not expect. The water stopped dropping from the shower head. And she was in the middle of washing the soap suds from her naked body.

“What the hell?” She snapped as she shook the shower hose, hoping it was merciful enough to help her finish her bath ritual.

To her joy, it managed to give her a half bucket of water before it finally died.

She finished putting on a white loose shirt and a pair of denim mini shorts. After that, she immediately scampered to the table. She usually placed her water consumption bill there.

“Is it three months now?” Evina blubbered before she checked on her phone installment plan.

“It’s also due this week?” Her hand flew to clutch her chest. She was about to scan the papers in her hand for her other accounts when someone knocked on the door. It was Mr. Hou, their landlord.

“I hate to break the news, Evina. But you have to pay your rent now. It’s been five months since your last payment. You’re lucky to still be living here, you know,” he said in a gruff, yet still kind manner.

“Yes, Mr. Hou. I will give it to you within this week. I promise,” Evina answered him with a positive demeanor. Even though her shoulders were already slumped from hopelessness.

“You should give it ASAP. My boss is planning to do a surprise inspection sometime this month. Don’t let him catch on to you,” The landlord now warned her with his hands on his waist.

“Yes, Mr. Hou.” Evina sighed as she recalled one situation where a tenant was forcefully dragged out.

As soon as Mr Hou left, she immediately ducked under her blankets and stared at her white sheets.

“Should I just apologize to the Director now?” She muttered to herself, wondering how she would be able to come up with money to pay her dues.

She was in a tight spot. But she would never regret all the help that she had given to her sister’s family when they were down and out.

A bright idea came to her mind, making her jump up from the bed and into her table where her laptop was.

“There must be a job opportunity out there that is in need of my precious talents,” she grinned to herself, imagining that she would have a job in no time.

Her fingers typed on search engines which offered possibilities of job hiring.

“Office managers.” “Office administrators.” “Administrative assistants.”

Though there were a lot, the location of the companies are miles away from her place and Maria. The only company that was open for hiring was the Sapphire Co.

There were virtual assistant jobs that were open, so she tried to send her CV to them. However, she knew she couldn’t earn from them as soon as possible.

She decided to look for other part-time jobs for the meantime.

“Part Time Tutor? No, I’m impatient with kids.”

“Call Center Agent? I will just be fired again. I can’t stand irate clients.”

“House Cleaner?” Evina looked at her house.

Her dirty laundry for two weeks was just beside her bed. The sink was full of her used plates and mugs. And her floor was sticky with stains from juice spills.

She shook her head as she continued to job hunt. Her eyelids were almost falling from weariness when a call came from her phone. It was from Cynthia.

Evina’s eyes lit as she also wanted to know what happened to her after their last conversation. She was so engrossed with her own life that she wasn’t able to communicate with her after the incident. It wasn’t easy to divulge such confidential information.

“Hello, Cynthia. It’s good to hear your voice. How are you?” She greeted her with an enthusiastic voice.

“Hi, Evina. I’m great. The Board had a meeting a while ago and Director Zhou just got fired. Thanks to you,” Cynthia reported to her at the other end of the line.

“Wow, that’s fast. I didn’t expect that,” Evina blurted in disbelief as she closed down her laptop.

She was not bluffing when she told Director Zhou that she would report it to the police. In fact, she had already requested help from a staff member to submit it.

“Perhaps it was intercepted in order to prevent the company’s name from being tarnished. Or maybe the higher ups believed it is a wise thing to do,” Evina contemplated as she thought about the reason for the organization’s quick action.

“Well, I just called to ask how you are doing,” Cynthia stuttered, distracting Evina from her thoughts.

A smile crinkled Evina’s mouth as she sensed her colleague’s guilt. “She must have thought it was her fault that I am in this mess,” she thought as she recalled that it was their conversation that provoked Evina to bark at one of the Directors of Sapphire Company.

Still, Evina has no plans of blaming her or the Director. It was her fault that she was fired.

“I’m having a blast, Cynthia. I slept like a log last night, which I hadn’t done in ages. Now my house will thank me later after I gave it a good bath,” she chuckled, hoping it would cheer Cynthia up.

To her delight, Cynthia chortled with her, “I’m relieved. I’m sorry for dragging you into this, Evina.”

Evina was supposed to say, “No problem, I don’t mind.” But Cynthia proceeded on.

“To make it up with you, I wanted to help you get a job quickly. I know a vacant spot in a reputable company, and they were looking for an executive assistant as soon as possible. I think you’re more than capable for the job.”

Evina almost jumped up from her sofa with her eyes wide open. “You’re heaven-sent, Cynthia,” she squirmed as she felt like a load had been lifted off her chest.

She could just imagine taking a bath for hours without worrying that she wouldn’t finish it. Her table would be cleared from paper bills. And she would not see Mr. Hou on her door until the next year.

“I’m glad to be of help. Just send me your CV and I will send it to their Human Resource Department,” Cynthia added on.

In a fraction of a second, Evina opened her laptop and quickly sent her requested document to Cynthia. “There. Done it. Thanks, Cynthia! By the way, what company are we just talking about?”

“It’s The Elysian Inc.,” Cynthia replied with a proud smile on her face.

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In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.