Disclaimer: Alfred F. Jones and any other Hetalia character mentioned in the story is property of Himaruya. I am in no way profiting in this story.

Prologue: The Call That Changed It

Alfred sighed as he looked through the help wanted ads in the day's newspaper, wanting desperately to find a job. Being a newly graduated college student meant he didn't have a lot of money to start with (even with his scholarships he was stuck with mountains of debt from loans) and it was even worse since his father cut him off.

As soon as he had graduated high school the boy had been tossed out into the world on his own with nothing more than his cherry red Mustang (which was falling apart) and a couple hundred bucks to pay the first months rent of an apartment so he could get a job. He had worked his way through college just to be able to eat; Never mind living off campus- the boy was lucky to not starve to death!

Not that it was helping him now: he had been let go from his job as soon as he had graduated, since his boss didn't think he'd need it anymore. His last paycheck from the place had only covered the first months rent of a shabby, run-down apartment with faulty wiring and a fire alarm that went off almost nightly. It really was no wonder why he was so desperate to get hired; hell, he had even applied at every fast-food joint in town, only to be turned down either from 'too much experience' or the opposite: 'not enough experience'. Hell, he couldn't even get work as a janitor.

The man sighed again, putting down the paper to run his fingers through his hair. He needed a break from looking for a job, but damn did he need a job to be able to take a break! But then a realization struck him, making him sit bolt upright in his chair. His gaze, then his hands, shot over to his laptop, pulling it over in front of him to open and log in to. It wasn't long before he was signing up for some random help-wanted site (to be honest it was the first one that had popped up on Google) and setting up a profile. Not that he thought it would help him any, but he added his number and email to his page with all of his experience and degrees, and when he was done he sat back to look at his good work. It even had a picture on it, so he felt proud.

"That's a good day's work…" he murmured, nodding to himself as he submitted it. "Now then!"

The man hummed quietly, finding himself in a better mood now that he felt he had actually accomplished something. However, his joyful mood was cut short when his phone started ringing, making him lurch to grab it when he saw it was a local number. He answered quickly, hoping that his shitty excuse for a phone (a Motorola no less) wouldn't feint 'no service' on him.

"Hello?"

{Hi, is this Mr. Jones?} it was a woman, and she sounded young. 'About my age?' he thought to himself.

"Yes, it is. Who's calling?"

{My name is Sandra Brock, I live near-by. Any who, I found your profile on the job site and wanted to see if you are available for an interview.}

"That was… really fast... Uh, yeah, yeah just give me a time and a place." he lunged after his pen and notebook (two things he never left the house without any more). "I can meet up anywhere you'd like."

{I know it's sudden, but are you available later today? Perhaps we could discuss things over dinner.}

"Dinner? Yeah, sure, uh what time and where?"

{Five, at Fearrington House.}

"That's…" he gave a glance toward his bedroom. "That'll work just fine ma'am."

{Good. I'll see you then.}

"Looking forward to it. Good bye."

{Good bye.} It wasn't two seconds after she hung up that Alfred was dashing for his little bedroom. He flung open the door to his closet, eyeing the few clothes he actually owned before coming to the conclusion he didn't have anything worth wearing to meet a possible employer. So he grabbed his wallet, giving it a disappointed look as he flew to his mustang.

He had some things to do before five.