Something to Speak For

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N: I know it's been a while since I've updated anything, and I do apologize; and I know this isn't one of the other things, but it's a oneshot inspired by some recent things going on in my life. A lot has happened, and I do mean a lot, and rather than make the grand announcement via author note in one of my stories or via pm to my regular readers, I thought I'd give you all a oneshot. Enjoy.

-FINALLY-

Covered head to toe in dust, and surrounded by wiring in a dark space underneath the school's auditorium, Trina was working to fix a lose bolt holding up several wires that went to the lights. Sinjin stood outside, stroking his chin. "You know something I've always wondered, Sinji?" She looked down her body, raising an eyebrow at his legs. "Nearly ten years, and you're still calling me to do your job.

"I have to keep you from going nuts from boredom, right?"

She chuckled softly. "Boredom? If I were able to get paid to stand and watch someone do my job for me, I'd never have a problem." Sinjin crossed his arms as she rolled out from beneath the stage and handed him the wrench. She smiled, holding onto the tool for just a bit longer until he whisked it away from her.

"What is it you always say? You're happiest with a tool in your hand? You know, you ought to consider going into maintenance. It's not like you don't enjoy working with your hands." True as it was, she loved the idea of it; but she never truly considered these skills as pertaining to any type of good job outside of construction.

"I do love fixing things, putting shit together; but if all I can get with it is construction…" Every time she saw a passing vehicle advertising services for roofing, HVAC, or any type of repair job, her heart flickered for just a moment; but she needed work experience that she just didn't have. "What is there to do, anyway? How could I even get close to half the shit that's out there?"

"There are bound to be ways beyond construction." Not so much. At least, when she was doing a stint in security, she spoke to the building's facility maintenance director and was told she needed a lot of experience in all sorts of construction trades before she could get a job in that place.

Sinjin moved his hands to his waist and poked an eyebrow at her. "You don't even know what you want anymore, Trina." They walked towards a table with a couple sandwich bags. Taking a seat, Trina swiped her sandwich from its container and studied it. "When you were in high school, you thought you wanted to go into the arts; but that didn't work out."

"Didn't have a talent for it."

"Then you wanted to teach, and told all your teachers and the staff members that you'd come back one day…" He picked up his sandwich, took a bite and chewed for a minute. Trina let out a soft grunt, rolling her eyes. Her life got off track after she graduated and went to college for the first time.

"My grades were doing horribly, I had to leave college and take a break." It was a long break, and one that wound up including a very horrible relationship that she rarely spoke of outside her inner circle of friends. "Got back to college though."

"Yep. At first you wanted to do medical assistant, then you said you always had a flair for criminal justice-even got your degree in it; but what are you doing with it?" Sinjin raised a hand and she narrowed her eyes at him. "Nothing."

"You're one to talk, Mister masters-in-chemistry." Sinjin choked and beat on his chest. There were plenty of people out there that didn't have jobs in their degree field, and many were happy with it. "I thought I wanted to follow my father's footsteps."

"Instead he's an asshole that you now want nothing to do with."

"He's more interested in the other members of his family." She straightened her back and took a swift bite of her food. Her thoughts harkened back to Subway, and she pondered if she could find any packs of bread like theirs. "I think I'm doing okay right now." Sinjin raised an eyebrow and leaned forward.

"Seriously, Trina? A studio apartment, which you're lucky to find a good apartment in a good neighborhood for as cheap as it is. Two jobs, which pay you shit wages." Her eyes darted to the side and she shrugged. "You had a good thing going in security."

"It was unstable. The pay was unstable, the sites were unreliable, and the hours were unpredictable." As she chewed her meal, she hummed and motioned out at him. "As a matter of fact, given a job interview, I couldn't even say how much I was earning because the pay differed so damn much."

"Right…and now you're at Subway and Petco, where the hours are still unpredictable."

"Well, I love animals, and I enjoy Subway. I want to move up somewhere in there." Petco was going to put her on track to be a dog trainer, and she was experienced enough in Subway to go into management. Granted, she would still be making good wages; and Sinjin was calling her out on the lie she was telling herself. With a sigh, her lips fell into a frown and she lowered her sandwich. "Look, I know right now the two jobs can't help make ends meet."

"Your grandparents are paying your rent, dude. And they're not going to be around much longer. You know this."

She pressed her lips together and closed her eyes. Her grandfather, who had been strong and healthy for so long was finally getting to the point where his body was catching up to his age. He'd be eighty-six soon, and his grandmother eighty-one. "I know."

"So what are you waiting for?"

"I mean, I am looking. I just don't know what for, and I have plans." One of her plans was to move to a cheaper city where the income was greater than the cost of living; but that relied on finding a career-type job, one that she couldn't seem to find here in Los Angeles. As a last resort, she might have to move back in with her grandparents, and she didn't want to do that. "Maybe you're right, I don't know what I want. I've never wanted any singular thing."

"You have a passion for animals, you have a desire for your degree field; but there's that one other passion you've had since you were a kid, right?" She studied him, watching as he set the wrench on the table and pushed it forward. Her heart fluttered momentarily and she looked away. "You always talked about building that shed with your grandpa out behind his house when you were a little kid, or all the times you'd be so eager to make a minor repair like a broken doorknob in the home. You've always had a zest for working with your hands, fixing anything; and don't forget the two hours it took you to clean Outback from head to toe when you worked there."

She chuckled a bit, recalling the memory with fondness. "Yeah, my boss had me make a list of duties for the host, separating them into days. I told them-"

"'If anyone complains about doing one item on the list and not having time, tell them I did it in two hours'." He smirked, his fingers snapping. "Don't forget that cleaning frenzy you went on at Subway. Your manager there loves you, you're one of the best."

"I take pride in my work, and I have an eye for detail. What else needs to be said?"

"Well come on, don't look me in the eye and tell me there's no opportunity to put that passion to work somewhere. Look at me, I'm doing it."

"Sure. You never left Hollywood Arts and that old man can't seem to get rid of you." She raised her sandwich to her lips, smirking as his eyes grew a bit and his mouth twisted into a grin.

"Mr. Sikowitz? Yeah, I know, he's always needing me to fix something in the auditorium."

"I can't believe he hasn't decided to retire yet." Sinjin brushed a hand through the air.

"Nah, he's too busy raising the next perfect thing into stardom."

Trina started to laugh, nearly choking on her food. Sinjin handed her a water bottle from his pack and she quickly gulped down a third of the bottle. She wiped the back of her mouth with her hand and lifted her gaze upwards. "That reminds me. I was watching this show recently, bored and nothing else, and it got me thinking…why do shows, specifically the ones for younger people, always have to cast the main person as this image of perfection where they are so flawless and perfect that literally it's like feeding sugar into your eyes?"

Sinjin flinched, then shuddered horribly as his eyes widened. "Oh god, I know that question well. It always felt like a reality to me, though." He paused, flashing a smirk. "Back in high school, at least." She blinked twice, then shuddered.

"Oh god. Some people, yeah they're born with silver spoons in their mouths and are given everything they want and throw tantrums when they can't get something they want."

He rolled his hand out. "And then they finally get what they want, as though rewarded for their little misbehavior. They don't stop until they're the hottest fucking thing on the block."

"Jesus."

"Tell me." He leaned back, crossing one leg over another and folding his arms across his chest. "Whatever happened to Tori? I don't think I've heard you talk about her much, did she finally hit stardom?"

"If she did, do you think you'd have to ask?" Sinjin blinked twice, realizing his mistake. He shook his head slowly. "She's still up in New York, singing in bars and other venues, hoping to get recognized. Until that happens, she's a dance instructor for kids in preschool, kindergarten, and lower elementary."

"It's hard to get recognized in this country anymore if you're trying to go that route. Then, if you really want fame and glory, you have to be willing to do some things that maybe you don't want to."

"Like strutting across stage half naked and dancing obscenely as if to distract people from a potentially horrible singing voice? My sister can sing well, but she sure as shit didn't want to go on stage baring it all."

"So why's she still trying to get recognition? What's she doing that hasn't gotten her somewhere?"

"Changed genres." Trina shrugged. Over the years, Tori realized that the pop genre wasn't for her. "She learned that the pop genre is ran by people who believe you have to be some sort of sex symbol on stage, and she wanted nothing to do with that. So, now she's gone testing the waters in other genres."

"At least she has a general idea of where she wants to be in life. Right?" He winked at her and she raised an eyebrow. Such a bold statement might get him a few whacks back in high school, but nowadays Trina knew enough to agree with him.

"I suppose. Unless you know a way for me to magically discover what the hell I want to do with my life, I suggest you stop repeating yourself over and over." He huffed in response and took another bite of his meal. She could see in his eyes that he was thinking about something; but as much as she was curious, she didn't want to bother with the subject any more than she had to. "I can't find anything worthwhile on the damn city websites either, so getting a government job like my granddad's always preaching won't be happening for me."

"I'm sure something will come up."

"Well if not sooner than later, when? I don't have a lot of time, man."

"I know; but keep the faith."

In her heart she knew where she was at was the bottom of the barrel. She was going nowhere in life, and as much as she hoped either Petco or Subway would move her upwards, it would take a long time before either pulled through. She was stuck, and try as she might, she had nothing.

It was one of the worst feelings, feeling so small and insignificant. No amount of torture could get her gut feeling as sick as it did, she almost wished she was back in high school where her sister's friends were constantly hurtling insults at her. At least then, she felt like she had some purpose in life, even if that purpose was a punching bag for other people.

Working in retail or the food industry, she didn't feel like she was accomplishing much. Plus, customers were beginning to rub her the wrong way, and working with public just didn't seem to be a great thing anymore.

At first she could blame depression, so many years ago, but now what could she blame? What excuses were there, aside from possibly giving up. She'd only ever been suicidal during her college years and later teenage years, after that she started to do better; but recently those ancient thoughts of worthlessness were beginning to creep back into the brain and it frightened her.

"I have nothing," she whispered. Sinjin looked over to her, his eyebrows furrowed a bit and his lips flattened while his nostrils expanded.

A few days later she was working the line at Subway, smiling at the customers. It was a bright day, and she was in good spirits. "Keep up the good work," Stacy told her. This was her boss, one of her favorite bosses. The woman cared for her people, and was always understanding if something came up. She was a little crazy whenever she got behind the line, going at lightning speed to make sandwiches for her customers; but it was a fun quirk.

It was a busy day today, but they'd already moved the bulk of the customers out and were starting to relax a bit. As the bell chimed to alert them of the door opening, Trina raised her eyes and watched a woman walking into the place. For some strange reason, she felt her gaze was being drawn to the badge hanging from the woman's neck.

As the customer neared the counter, Trina started to feel a bit chattier than usual. "Hey, what can I get for you? Nice day out there today, isn't it?" The woman smiled back at her and nodded.

"Oh it's gorgeous, especially after all the rain we've been having."

"I know!" The lady folded her arms and held her pleasant smile. Her hair swept away from the badge and Trina studied it for a second. "Much as I love the rain, when it rains for a few days straight, it gets old."

"Definitely. Also, if I could get a BMT footlong on wheat…"

"Coming right up. That's my favorite sandwich."

Trina grabbed the bread and began to cut into it. The woman started to lick her lips and eyed the bread hungrily. "It's so good. My favorite too." Trina glanced back to the badge, finally registering the customer as an employee of the school district.

"You work for the school district?" She always wondered about the jobs in that area, but looking online, never saw anything. The woman nodded in reply while Trina continued to put the meat on the bread. "I've looked around for jobs with the city a lot, and I've never seen school district jobs." The lady raised her hand and waved it.

"Oh that's because they don't go on the city website, dear." Trina's head jumped back and she raised an eyebrow to the woman. "The school district has their own website. Just type in the district name, then dot edu."

"Huh. I'll have to do that." She was growing more curious now, realizing there was a whole avenue of jobs she'd always been missing out on. Hell, it harkened back to her 'promise' to all her favorite teachers and staff members, perhaps if she was qualified for something in the district, she could look into it.

Once the sandwich was done, she thanked the lady and prepared for the end of her shift. When she got home, she opened up her laptop and paused when the first thing that popped up was the word document she'd been using prior to.

A tinge of guilt hit her when she read the title of the story and the text that seemed to be hanging in balance. "Sorry guys," she whispered, "I just haven't had a day off to do any writing…so I couldn't update…" She minimized the document and opened her browser, then eagerly typed in the district website.

Once the website was up, she hit the careers tab and studied the job openings with a mild grunt. "Teacher, substitute teacher, cafeteria worker…" Nothing was interesting her, until something at the bottom caught her eye. Her gaze hung on it for a minute and all of time seemed to grow still. "Maintenance, auxiliary custodian?" Cautiously she clicked the link to read the job information.

To her surprise, she didn't see a need for work experience. There was a bit of doubt in the back of her mind, but she needed to be brave. This was a full-time job for a wage that was far greater than she was making now. It was a career type job, but she didn't know much about it. "I could apply…"

There was one person she knew had worked in that area for the school district once, an old 'friend', granted more of a friend now than he'd been in the past. "Wasn't Beck a custodian for the district when he got out of high school? Could have sworn…"

She grabbed her phone and started to pace the floor while dialing his number. She reached his voicemail unfortunately, so left an elaborate message for him. "Hey, it's Trina, I was just wondering about something." She was excited, and her speech was so quick she felt like her heart was beating through her words. "There's this maintenance type job with the school district. It's auxiliary custodian, but it's got a good wage and everything. I uh, I know you did something similar in the past, so I was wondering if you had any advice for me?"

What he did now was automotive tech, another lucrative job for her. Seeing as how she got his voicemail, she decided to go ahead and start applying for the position to see what might happen. There was literally nothing left to lose, so she figured she may as well apply.

While doing so, she pulled up her Facebook account and found Beck's wife, Jade, so she could further some advice from her and try to put down the needed information for reference purposes. "Hey Jade, I'm filling out this application for the school district. I wondered if maybe you knew anything about it from when Beck worked?"

It took a minute, but Jade's reply came as a welcomed relief. "I think he might have worked as that position for a little bit, I'm not sure, but you should definitely apply! Here's our address for the reference information. Beck should be home any minute now, I'll make sure he calls you."

"Great, thanks."

There was something about this job position that made her continue to put everything into it. She took the time to update her resume and even created a cover letter for the position, though one wasn't required. Perhaps it was hope, maybe desire or the loss of faith; but she wanted this job.

After a while, her phone rang and she answered it quick. "Go for it," Beck replied with a laugh. "No sooner did I walk in the door than Jade told me to call you, she said you were applying to auxiliary custodian?"

"Yeah."

"Dude that's the exact position I had." Her heart skipped a beat and Beck started to laugh. "I loved it. The pay was great, the opportunity was great. You move from school to school at first, for a while, but it's a dream."

"Really? That good?"

"Oh yeah. If I didn't get married and have the kids I have now, I would have stayed with it." Trina nodded and glanced slowly at her computer. She didn't plan on having a relationship with anyone, not that she was closed to the idea down the road, but after several failed relationships, she was done.

"Well, I plan on staying single for a while. I imagine it would be good for someone like me."

"Sure. I remember the interview process, it was very laid back. If I had any advice for you at all, I'd say just be yourself. Tell them you want to stay with the school district, that you want to move up in the district. They want people who plan on staying in. That's why they wouldn't rehire me once I left."

"Because you left the district?"

"Yeah." So this was the golden rule. She would have to remember it, and she felt she could be honest about it. She loved the idea of working for the school district, and even more she loved the idea of making a career out of it if possible. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Keep us posted on what happens, Trina."

"Will do."

It didn't take long once the application was done that the person in charge called her for an interview. When she went in, she was very nervous. The questions she had in her mind, she rehearsed and asked repeatedly so that she'd remember them.

Her interviewer was a man in his fifties, he had salt-and-pepper colored hair and glasses. He looked over her file and gave her a warm smile. "So why do you want this position?"

"Simple. It's who I am, it's what I love doing." She smiled back at him, raising her shoulders ever so slightly. "I've always preferred to keep things clean, if ever something needed to be fixed, I would do that. If something's out of place, I would ensure that it goes where it belongs."

"Very organized, I see?"

"Definitely." She started to laugh. "It's funny, I even told all my teachers back in the day that I wanted to come back. I've always wanted to work with the school district, so this really seems to be something that would be a great fit." He nodded slowly and stroked his chin a bit. "I wonder, are there opportunities to move up at all?"

"Oh sure. This is the maintenance department, so we have other things as well." He lowered the paperwork and looked her in the eye. "There's mechanical, carpentry, HVAC…Some things require a certificate, but you'd be working from three to eleven-thirty at night, so during the day you could easily go to the community college and get a certificate."

She grinned when he mentioned HVAC. This was the most lucrative opportunity, along with carpentry. She adored woodwork, and remembered her seventh grade shop class; it would be amazing to go in any of these directions. "And the mechanic? They work on school buses?"

"Yes, among other things. We've had plenty of custodians move into these areas, so you're not stuck in one place." This was it, a career type job with true opportunities, and plenty of them. Her heart was racing and she was on the edge of her seat. All along her arms she could feel the goosebumps forming. "Of course, you'll have weekends off. You have five days personal and five days sick leave, then you've got two weeks of vacation time."

"And we work 248 days a year?"

"Yes. That subtracts the holidays and weekends, essentially."

"Amazing, and the pay? Does that go up?" The man nodded at her.

"You get yearly reviews and whatnot, so raises do come."

This job was a gold mine, and more than just a job. While she hated the term 'real job', because even Subway and Petco were real jobs, but they didn't have all the benefits that a true career type job had.

"I'd be very interested in this, and you've even given me a plan too." He smiled at that and she swept her hair back. "I mean, after a while, I'd love to move up in one of those maintenance jobs. I've always loved facilities maintenance, and this could be a real start towards that."

"It can be."

The rest of the interview went well, the man was easy to converse with, even laughing at times. What was nice was to know he'd once been a principal at a school before being a supervisor for the district's maintenance department. She wondered why he made that switch, but didn't bother to ask.

Even the carpentry thing could be a way for her to go to the teaching side if she wanted to, to teach woodshop class.

Her stomach was in knots on the drive home, and her hands tapped impatiently on the steering wheel. She wanted nothing more than to get this job, so much that it was almost too good to be true.

While at home, she tried to distract her thoughts with the television, but it was far too difficult to turn her brain off. Eventually, Stacy called her up, and for a second she thought she was about to have to go into work. "Hey Trina, I wanted to let you know, I just got off the phone with that guy from the school district." Her heart skipped a beat and she flashed a grin.

"Oh? How'd that go?"

"We had a really good talk, he was very thorough in his questions." Trina nodded twice, sinking back into her purple recliner. "I told him you're really good at finishing all of your tasks. You sometimes check yourself, asking questions you already know the answers to, but you're one of my best workers."

She couldn't believe Stacy said all of that, and the more she told, the more excited Trina became. "So, he seemed really interested in you. I think he's going to give you another call." She gasped out and raised a trembling hand over her chest, her eyes grew wide and she had to hold back a hopeful scream. "I'm rooting for you, Trina. See, said he noticed you've jumped around from job to job."

"Oh?"

"I said it's because you're trying to find something to do with your life. I told him I'm always pushing you to not settle, and so you're trying to find that better opportunity." Trina was on the verge of tears and thanked Stacy for her words, she knew the woman believed in her but didn't know until now just how much she did.

Once the call ended, it was about thirty minutes later that the man called her up. She held her breath, listening to his calm voice. "So, if you're still interested in this position, I'm going to put forward a recommendation for hire." She cupped her hand over her mouth, ecstatic and amazed, it was all so surreal that she had to pinch herself to make sure she was awake. "You'll want to wait for HR to give you a call, then you'll meet with them and go over any paperwork."

"Okay. I'm very interested."

"Great! We look forward to having you here, Trina."

"I look forward to working with you. Thank you."

What came next was the background check and the interview with HR. She was in such a good place that she gave Petco the two weeks first, and the wait for that was excruciating. Mainly it was the anticipation and eagerness to start working for the district that got her, so much she didn't know what to do with the time leading up to it.

Her grandparents were supportive and excited for her to start the new job, and even Sinjin was proud.

The one decision that was difficult, however, was her decision to leave Subway. At first, she didn't want to. She held Stacy, and the customer she spoke to, as instrumental in her getting this career; however, she had other things she wanted to do and didn't need a second job anymore.

To her relief, Stacy was understanding and agreed that it would be for the best. "Now that I have weekends open," she told her grandparents, "That means I can probably work on whatever fractured relationship I've got with my father." They nodded their heads, agreeing with her. Granted, Holly seemed to want this more than her dad did, having grown frustrated with how distant the man had become; he'd become distant with even Holly and Tori now, so it wasn't just Trina. Now, Trina would have the time to actually live her life.

When the job started, she had a small elementary school where she would be trained. She vacuumed up the floors, cleaned the restrooms, fixed some burnt out lights, and learned all of the various machines. One of her favorites was the green machine, something that looked like a riding lawn mower which acted like a street sweeper for tiled hallways. She loved pushing it down the hall, and even called it 'The Beast'.

Her trainer was awesome, and the head custodian was a friendly lady who tried to teach her everything she could. Finally, she could see a future, and she could see herself doing this for the rest of her life. All her former teachers were excited to hear of her new career, and even Mr. Sikowitz said he couldn't wait to see her working at his school.

What more, when she was working, she felt like she was doing something meaningful for a change. It wasn't something that was small and important, she was making sure that everything was operational and functional. She was ensuring that children could go to school in a safe, clean environment. For the first time in her life, she felt like what she was doing truly mattered, like she was important.

This was more than an enjoyable moment on a whim, this was far more than anything she could ever have expected. This was perfect, and she finally felt as though she fit in somewhere. Nothing could be more amazing than that feeling.

Sitting down with Sinjin at the end of the week, she couldn't help but to smile and laugh. "Finally man, it doesn't feel like I'm going nowhere." He flashed a grin.

"Told ya. Nothing is out of reach, Trina."

"I know, I just didn't think-"

"Didn't think you were good enough to get a job doing something you actually love?" He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at her. She rubbed her hands together, chuckling more.

"Honestly, I would love to go into HVAC, that is the most lucrative thing. I never thought these jobs could make decent wages, but I was wrong."

"You're making a living now. Retirement, benefits, vacation-the whole package. Don't ever sell yourself short. Especially when you're worth more than you think. Even your boss at Subway knew you could do something with the potential you have."

"I guess." She leaned back, relaxing in her chair. "Finally something to speak for, I don't think I could have ever fathomed this."

"Took you long enough. What're you going to do next?"

"Next? I'm going to sleep."

"Seriously?" His gaze flattened and he motioned to the laptop sitting nearby. "Don't you have something else you can do with the free time that just opened up?"

"Such as?"

"Oh, I don't know, one of your many hobbies you've been neglecting?" She blinked twice, her lips pursing.

"Oh right. I don't know which story to work on…"

"Pick one." He laughed. "No more excuses, Trina. You can have a life now, so you don't get any more excuses." She laughed in return, slowly sinking in her chair.

"No more excuses."

So, what are your thoughts? I do hope you enjoyed the oneshot, and even the little uh, joke, at the end there. Heh.