"I can't do this…"
"Oh come off it, of course you can! You only have to talk to them, right?"
"Easy for you to say, you already have a job, don't you?"
The gorilla just shrugged him off. "You'll be fine! The number's reliable, at least that's what it said in the Yellow Pages..."
"Not winning my confidence here…"
Johnny did a quick job tying his shoes. "Listen, I'll be back in an hour, maybe even less than that. Tell me all about it, yeah?"
"Hey-wait a second! Where do you think you're-?"
The front door slammed. Just like that, the gorilla had left him alone in his apartment again.
That bastard...He really likes getting out, doesn't he?
Wait, who the hell was Maria again? Ah, nevermind...
Mike sighed, staring at the mobile phone he was holding. It was an old piece of technology, a flip phone from the early last decade, but it did its job-and it was cheap.
He dialed the number Johnny gave him before he could let himself back out. The dial tone that rang made him more nervous than he'd admit.
Why am I so damn nervous about this? C'mon, pull yourself together, Mike!
After a moment, a charmingly feminine voice came on the line. "Welcome to the Telephonic Enterprise Detail Corporation, this is Leslie speaking. How may I help you today?"
Mike cleared his throat. "Uh, hey there-" He stopped himself from calling her 'sweetheart'. "Miss...Leslie, right? That was your name?"
She made a small laugh. "That's right! What do you need?"
At least she seems nice...
"I-uh, I heard from a friend-well, an acquaintance really-about a job opening you had. Is...is that still there?"
"Ah yes, the vacancy." Typing could be heard on the line. "I assume you've already sent in your resume through email...what was your name?"
A resume?!
"Oh, ah-I...haven't done that part, actually…Do I need one?"
There was a brief pause. "...You've never done this before, have you?"
"Uh...no." Mike tapped his foot nervously. "To be completely honest with you, this is kinda my first gig-I mean, job interview."
"Do you...not have any qualifications?"
I have a music degree if that helps.
"Uh...not for marketing ." Mike hit himself. "Ah-listen, please, if you have anything I can do I'll take it! I'm...I really need some work ..."
"Sorry, but I don't know if I can-"
"Look, my name's Mike MacFarlane, okay?" The mouse gripped his mobile tightly so it wouldn't slip with the sweat on his palms. "Just...put my name in the system or whatever, and if something comes up-"
"Oh, uh-I'm sorry, but I don't think I can help you on this matter. I deeply apologise, and hope you can resolve your problem elsewhere. Have a nice day…"
"Hey, wait a second, lady!"
The phone cut out.
"Dammit!" Mike threw the phone across the room, letting it violently land on the sofa.
Of course you needed a resume, you idiot! What, did you think they'd let just anyone in?
Then his mobile rang again. Mike looked down and saw that it was an unknown number.
"Yo." A female voice, tomboyishly nervous spoke.
"Who the hell's this?" Mike sighed.
"This is Leslie, the person who just hung up on you. Sorry about that. Sometimes I have to act like a bi-anyway, you're Mike, right? The guy who asked for a job here just now?"
"Yeah, that's me. " Mike tilted his head. "Wait, you're Leslie?"
"Yeah, I know I'm using a different voice and everything. This is how I normally speak!"
"I...Why are you calling me with a different phone?"
"Cause I wanted to talk to you without being monitored by the company. I took your number from our call, and I'm on morning break so...I'm talking to you on my cell."
"This can't be real, you can't be the Leslie I spoke to earlier."
"Are you sure about that ?" Suddenly the voice Mike recognised from his last call spoke to him. "See? That's the voice I use on the job. Like I said, that's how I got your number; I took it from the call log."
"That...sounds a little illegal…"
"Anyway, you're Mike Macfarlane, like, THE Mike MacFarlane? The mouse who sang 'My Way' way back at that concert?"
Mike blinked. "...You know who I am?"
"Sure I do! I'm...actually a bit of a fan. Well, not like obsessed or anything, but ever since that show people talk about you and the gang heaps on forums and-ah, I'm getting ahead of myself! Sorry about that..."
People...say we're popular? That I'M popular?! Huh.
I guess that's...not so surprising.
"Hey no problem, sweetheart." Mike sighed, letting himself relax a little. "Actually it's a bit of an ego-booster hearing that. Not that I mind, of course."
The voice on the other end laughed. "Well, I'm sure you hear that sort of thing a lot."
"Not from a pretty voice like yours."
Mike hit himself again. Not even a week after his breakup and he was already flirting around with a lady on the phone, a complete stranger! After begging her for a job he couldn't even get. What kind of mouse did Mike let himself turn into?
To be fair she had a wonderful voice, whether she was acting professionally or not.
That same eloquent voice took on an amused tone. "Oooh, so now you're gonna smooth talk me for the job, huh? That's what you're going for?"
You caught me.
"Uh...well…"
Another laugh came. "I'm only kidding around! You're just a charmer-type, I get that…"
Mike sighed. "So why did you call me, anyway? Obviously, you ain't giving me a job, are you?"
The mouse could hear the smile coming from the other line. "About that, I wanted to see what you thought about making a deal..."
Today marked Johnny's third visit to his father in prison.
Waiting rooms were hardly ever sized for large gorillas, so the chairs gave little comfort or patience. Johnny didn't mind though, the waiting times were never really that long.
He was partially through reading a men's fashion article when his name was called. Relieved, Johnny was lead through the same usual corridor, past the usual doors and security gates, and finally placed in the visitor's glass phone booth room.
Almost immediately Johnny's father spoke up, with a grin. "Ah, there he is, my young boy!"
Johnny smiled back. "Hiya Dad. How've you been?"
"Just the usual, boy. Sittin' in this craphole of a prison, trying not to lose my bloody mind while my life rots away..."
The younger gorilla knew well enough to feel guilty. "Oh, uh...that sounds...pretty..."
His dad groaned, not in sadness but annoyance. "Christ son, I'm only messing with ya! You never were quick with the black humour, were you?"
Johnny let out a deep breath. "Yeah...I guess you're right."
Their conversation continued the same as it did every other time Johnny visited. While his dad would mildly grumble (and sometimes boast) about rough prison life, Johnny would tell of his own life.
"Glad to see you're still keeping the ol' junker flat in shape." His father remarked. "Hope you're not feeling too lonely without yer old man bossing you around!"
Johnny paused for a beat. In that brief second, he decided against telling his Dad about Mike.
Mike wanted to keep himself hiding a secret. I can always tell Dad later...
"I-I've managed." Johnny replied. "Rent's not even that expensive, and I've got friends to hang with, so it's fine."
"You like your new friends then?"
"...Yeah, I do. They're good people, really, they are."
The older gorilla leaned back in his chair and smirked. "Well, only a matter of time before you find a girl that catches your fancy, eh?"
Oh, here we go again...
"W-what, no Dad I-"Johnny groaned. "Are we really gonna talk about that, here ?"
"Why the hell not? It's the most thrilling part of one's manhood, boy!" His dad exclaimed, banging a fist on his table. "You can't expect me to believe that my own son has no eye for girls, do you?"
"No, but-"
"So tell me, lad! You have someone, don'tcha? Go on, I won't tell the boys in here, I swear."
"Well, uh…" Johnny stalled, wishing he had more time to think of the right way to say it.
"Spit it out, come on!"
"I guess there's this girl at my job!" The younger gorilla spluttered. "A-a doe, named Maria. She's pretty cool, I guess. We talk a bit, in our free time..."
"See, now was that so hard?" His father grinned. "I have every faith in you to do right for her. You deserve a nice girl.."
"Uh, yeah...Sure thing, Dad…."
"Christ, you're really embarrassed, ain't you?" Johnny's father turned his head, acknowledging the prison guard coughing behind him. "Ah blast, looks like me time's up. Same time next week, then?"
"Yeah, of course." Johnny tightened his grip on the phone subconsciously. "Don't get into too much trouble in there, alright?"
"Hah, I wish there was trouble around here! That'd be exciting, wouldn't it?"
"Haha, well...see-ya then."
They both hung up, and were respectively escorted by their own officer out of the room.
The walk back home gave Johnny too much time to think.
Fifteen years before he can get out...unless I can somehow fork up a fortune before then.
But bloody hell, my job only just covers the food and rent, and I don't have anyone to ask, do I?
Money seemed to be the solution to everything these days.
Screw it, I'll figure something out. I just gotta keep working…
At least Dad's managing fine, he's...actually a lot more sociable, relaxed-I think, now that he doesn't run a criminal gang...
...Did I really just tell him I had a thing for Maria? I totally did, didn't I?
Crap, now he's gonna be asking me about that every damn time I come back!
Should I just make something up next time? I'd hate to lie, but…
Argh, whatever.
Johnny shook his thoughts away by the time he made it back home.
When he entered, he saw Mike lying down on the couch, staring at the ceiling. "Gee, you sure took your time, didn't ya?"
Johnny deflected the comment with a smile. "How was the interview?"
"Ugh, don't ask…"
"That bad, huh?"
"Oh no, it went well but uh...I might have made a deal that I can never go back on..."
"What? What happened?!"
"I'll tell you in a second, calm down! You got anything decent to drink?"
Over two cans of soda Johnny listened to Mike's story, then laughed.
