The alarm blared out of control: a loud electronic rooster piercing his eardrums unceasingly. This was the only sound that could wake him- it could raise one from the dead, Jake described.
Jake's eyes were forever numb from a sleepless night. He was up till three, ironing, going over notes on the company's biography and chewing up top names to seem knowledgeable. It took a miracle to win this internship program. One of his lecturers from night school happened to know a guy, who knew a girl who also knew one of the managers in HR.
Staying a humble, outstanding student, who did not say no to requests had finally paid off. "Auuu," Jake's hand came to his rescue, moving blindly to turn off the alarm. "Five more minutes," His lips muttered on their own. He cranes his head like a cobra but then falls flat back down.
*COCK-A-DOODLE-DOOOO*
"Ahh!" Jake rolled off the bed out of sheer shock. Luckily he missed the bedside table and suffered a minor bump on the head. "Arhhh, yeah, I forgot the backup alarm," He groaned. At least he was up.
"I'll always be around...la la la la da la," He ended his bath singing a song that made him feel good.
Plain white shirt, grey pants and a grey coat to match. He gambled between the striped and plain grey tie and ended up with the stripes.
A little bit of Vaseline and he could teleport himself to the 1980s. Slick hair, boring glasses, the Superman kind of hidden gem. "Pfft, I hate superheroes," Jake takes the official glance at the mirror to affirm his level of readiness. "Meh, good enough," He took a pose and smirked. "Shoot! It's six-thirty, I'm gonna be late."
He snatched his cute briefcase and run out of the two-bedroom apartment.
Traffic was kind today, the heavens were on his side.
Southall is the metropolis every young blood dreams of starting a life. A place where anything is possible. While this wasn't always true, it did hold water.
As Jake stepped out of the cab, staring at a building that lived in the skies, he began to bubble with hope and vibrant prospects for the future. It was perfect. The silver walls, the glass, the smart-looking people briskly walking in and out with briefcases and folders.
He was before the titan itself. Amery, the mother house of Southfall. The only conglomerate that could make and break this powerful city. It is said to have been born when this place was of but dust and small local shops. Anyone that steps inside the mother house never comes out the same.
Jake had to contain himself from dancing on the sparkling floors. He marches right to the receptionist and says, "Hi, I'm a new intern."
Her desk was clean with one file sleeping under her elbow and the telephone inches away. "Go to the fifth floor, HR will show you your post," A woman several years ahead of Jake, responded. Her eyes were glued to her cell phone the whole time. Jake had expected a nice welcome but that was not happening anytime. Nonetheless, he did as told and took the elevator.
"Hi, I'm here for the internship program," Jake adjusted his tie. He convinces himself that no one in those tiny cubicles was snickering at him.
"What is your name?" At least someone here smiled at him for a change.
"Jake...Jake Name."
The staff lifted her eyes at him, "Your full name?"
"Yes, I'm Jake Name... Name is my family name, and Jake is my..."
"Jake Name, found you. We assumed this was a typo. Congratulations Sir Name, you will be working with Marketing. Take this to the eleventh floor, they will get you settled in."
"Thank you," Jake tipped his head lightly and went on his way.
The eleventh floor was a long way up. Jake's heart swatted with glee as he went into the most popular department in the company. The walls wore diverse shades of grey white and sky blue with gold stripes. There were panels on the far left of the large compartment, with tables holding tiny architectural models depicting the history of the company from the first structure to its current state.
That in itself was inspiriting for those who fear starting small. Unlike HR, there were many rooms for people of position and a lot more cubicles but stylish.
"Hey there, are you the new guy HR sent over?" A younger male with a believable smile approached Jake first. "I'm Larry, and also an intern so chill. I'm not gonna boss you around, but they are?" He pointed at the serious-looking faces whose souls were stolen by company computers.
"They live off coffee and crackers so be prepared for those rounds. The kitchen is over here, this is the printing room...bathroom...the boss' office... conference room. There's a bigger one at the top but those are only for the very important meetings. I sat through one and nearly shit my pants," Yes, Larry was that Kind of guy.
"So what's your name newbie?"
"I'm Jake Name."
"Seriously, you're called Name?" Larry paused to look at him.
"Uh, yeah, it's my father's name."
"Sweet, just don't take it personally when the staff talk about it. It can get intense in here."
After being taken through the important basics by Larry, Jake was given a cubicle to settle. He got cosy; he put up a small picture of his mom on his desk, a sticker note, a journal and a pen.
"Walk with me...this is Ana, another intern, Candice-we call her candy. And that's your supervisor, Drizella. I have work to do, so I'll catch up soon. Let me know whenever you need help."
"Thanks," Jake said as Larry left for the printing room. Once again, it felt amazing being in this place. Jake was pumped up and thrilled to take on this new world when he mutters, "It is going to be a great day!"
Six and a half hours later...
"Fire him."
"What?" Jake cried out meekly in front of the CEO of Amery. His supervisor pulled him behind to address the boss, " Ma'am this is one of the new interns and he knows nothing. Please pardon his clumsiness, it was an..."
"I don't care what he is, get him out of my company. Now!" The tall lady with dead gorgeous eyes ordered.
And just like that, Jake's dreams of a wonderful internship and future at the company were about to get squashed...
Jake was looking forward to a busy eye-opening day. Instead, he gets reeled into coffee duty and has to make infinity trips to the kitchen. Larry was right, it was brutal.Two hours in the Director comes out of his office, asking for the coffee jock for the day. Sure enough, the supervisor points at Jake.So he got called into the boss' office for an important mission. "Strawberry milk and a slice of chocolate cake with a pistachio filling. Get it at Bakes N' Dates and be back before three-thirty.""Bakes N' Dates is an hour away from here," Jake forgot to keep his thoughts in his head."Yeah, you should get going...I won't tolerate any lateness," The Director wooshed him out with a commanding finger."What did he want?" Larry bumped shoulders with Jake when he came out looking like a missing ostrich. "Bakes N' Dates," Jake muttered."Holy crap, you're in trouble," Larry froze."Why, what's wrong?" Jake was even more confused."Strawberry milk and chocolate cake with a pistachio filli
Jake scratched the back of his head, pensive in his small apartment while a powerful woman took a private tour of the living room. "Care for some...water, juice?" He was so nervous he could barely feel his tongue. An asteroid could fall out of the sky and he wouldn't be this affected.He stood stiff when Iris veered. "I do not sip from every cup out there.""Are you here to sue me for what happened? Cause I swear it was an accident. I wouldn't dream of causing harm to anyone and...""Why have you not answered our calls or shown up at the company?""You...your calls?" Jake was lost."Your application letter painted you out as one who was dying to work with us, yet here you are disrespecting my leniency," Iris did not blink."Pardon me but I had no idea Amery had been trying to reach me. My roommate was hoarding the mail for days, I just found out. May I ask what this is about?""A girl. About this height with purple hair. Says you defended her against a bully in an ally."Jake tilted h
Jake readily complied with Iris' orders. He bundled himself and went with her bodyguards to a top-notch hospital in the city. They did all sorts of tests on him, from cardio to bone health to scans he never knew existed."Relax, we will draw a little blood from you," the nurses and doctors deceived him on several counts as they abused him with needles. Why did he lie on a urologist's table for a prostate check? How was that going to benefit the Amery company?Then there was the fitness test. That, he thought was useful because of the laps he normally took around the office to serve everyone's coffee. Then there were others he wish he could wipe out of memory.After days of being kneaded and touched and tossed around, Jake was given a day off to rest. That did not cut it, because living with his current roommate was a full-time job. After their last argument, Mitch got a plumber to fix the pipes. A shabby one at that!Everything was running smoothly till something exploded in the kitch
They say the universe always provides, and that a good name is often better than riches. Jake was starting to believe it. Some god or cosmic power must be looking out for him. How else would he explain the present chain of events?By some miracle, he landed in his dream company as an intern. The CEO promised him a job in the future, and he was finally away from his disgusting roommate and anything that had to do with his old apartment. And the rent?"Two hundred bucks a month. I will add mine so we can pay the cleaning lady.""What?" Jake google-eyed. "Two hundred dollars? You can't be serious, Larry."Larry pushed his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants. "I was going to say a hundred, but you kept going on about wanting to pay, I figured you'd be happy with this.""...""Look Jake, I do not need the cash for any reason. I have the space and lack friends who truly give a shit. You seem like a real guy, so I wanted to help take some weight off your shoulder.""This is too much, yo
Apollo was downstairs when Iris flew by, tying down her jacket. "Going somewhere, Miss?" He let his hand slide down to his side respectfully. "Yes, get me the keys to the Benz; I have to be somewhere." "Somewhere, by yourself?" Apollo was surprised. Iris did not go out late at night, yet here she was- answering as if it was unimportant. "Club 45. It seems my donor is out there letting loose. We can't have that, can we?" Her gaze was piercing. "I'll take you," Apollo said. "I didn't ask. Stay and watch Charlotte." "Your sister is not going anywhere. Forgive me, Miss Iris, but I insist on coming." Iris stared at his father's loyal guard, crinkling up a mocking grin. "You have twenty minutes to get me there." Getting a reaction out of him was uncommon. It was best to enjoy it while it lasted. At Club 45 'Drink! Drink! Drink!' The group chanted wildly. One of the guys held Jake's nose as his mouth suffered the abuse. For nearly thirty minutes, Jake guzzled down any liqu
Apollo drank from a tiny metal flask just before the door opened. Earlier on, Iris made him leave the room; something about Jake feeling cornered by his presence.Being alone gave him time to sort out his thoughts. And right now, he was more troubled to see the pest leave the building. Apollo went in with a billion reasons why Jake was not fit for the job."He said no." Iris broke the news after listening to his complaints. Apollo instantly shut up, too shocked to admit that it was unbelievable. "It's probably for the best," he said."No." Iris pushed herself out of her seat. She approached the balcony, calming her mind with the view. "My mother always said that if one was patient enough, one could dissect an ant and harvest its organs without damaging them.""This man is a nobody." Apollo pointed out. "Everybody is nobody, Apollo." Iris checked her wrist for the time. "I asked your men to dig up information about him. Is there something I can use?""...""Apollo." Iris did not appr
Jake's endurance was tested. Never in all his years did he imagine falling into his present state. He looked back. Sure enough, there was no one coming. "Ma'am, what are you doing?" Jake lowered his voice. "What does it look like?" Iris blinked. "Isn't this your term and condition to what I proposed? You will only make babies the natural way. So, I'm going with it," she said. Jake's shoulders slumped. He cursed under his breath, slapping a hand across his face in exasperation. "This is not what I mean," he wanted to explain himself. "There's no point going back and forth. It is a simple sacrifice compared to getting needled now and then for procedures that have failed me in the past." "Needled?... Christ," Jake gasped. After beating himself down about it, he straightened up and took a much-needed breath. Iris' expression was robotic when the young man walked up to her. She did not flinch or show signs of repugnance. 'He's going to do it?' Her words were sealed in her head. J
"Larry, the fax is here!" "I'm on it!" Larry doubled up to retrieve the document from the fax machine. The department was on the hunt for the next big talents out there; for advertisement purposes. After Jake's overnight transfer, Larry became a much-preferred candidate for errands. It wasn't done to punish him; Larry was just that good at handling pressure.That, however, did not stop everyone from asking about his friend and fellow housemate. His answers, of course, were puzzling. Larry knew how to read a situation; telling his colleagues that the CEO and President of Amery came to his house to have a mano-a-mano with Jake was totally uncalled for. He imagined the rumours that could spark.When the chance opened up, Larry hid in the kitchen to enjoy a cup of coffee. "Haa, this sucks. Jake's coffee tastes way better." He sipped slowly.That privilege did not last when the supervisor walked in. "Shouldn't you be filing the report for the add company?" "Come on, Drizella, I'm gonna d