The next few days were spent passing time, waiting for the chance to schedule an interview. One day, Mae had, through some incessant nagging, gotten Bea to try Demontower. At first, she had been demeaning and sarcastic toward it, but a few hours later, she was really into it.
Bea had reached the second-to-last level and was fighting the boss when the phone rang.
"I'll get it. Just don't lose again. I'd rather not be here for another hour waiting for you to beat this level.", said Mae. She got up and went over to the phone, picking it up.
"Hello?", she asked.
"Hello, is Margaret Borowski there?", greeted the person on the other end.
"Yes, that's me."
"Well, I'm calling about the apprenticeship you applied for."
"Did I get it?", Mae asked excitedly.
"We would like to schedule an interview with you."
"Yes!", exclaimed Mae.
"Damn it!", yelled Bea in the background. She died again.
"What was that?", asked the caller.
"Oh, that's just my roommate. She's playing this game, and I think she just died again."
"Hm, okay. So, about an interview. Is there a time in the next few days that works for you?"
"Any day, really. We don't have any big plans."
"That's good. Would tomorrow work?"
"Um, what time?"
"1 o'clock?"
"Yeah, that's fine."
"Okay. See you tomorrow then. Bye."
"Goodbye." Mae hung up the phone.
"Who was that?", asked Bea.
"I got an interview!"
"That's great! When is it?"
"Tomorrow at 1."
Bea immediately looked panicked, "Tomorrow?! We still need to go buy dress clothes! We need to prepare what you're going to say! It's already 5! Why would you tell them tomorrow is okay?!"
"I'm sorry! I didn't know!"
Bea sighed, "It's fine, it's fine. Okay, we're going out now to get you some presentable clothes, and then, we can go over what you're going to tell them in the interview."
"But what about Demontower?"
"That'll have to wait until tomorrow. We've got work to do. This isn't like Taco Buck. They're not just going to hire anybody. You need to make yourself desirable."
"I'm desirable!"
"Not to them, you're not. You're already going to be at a disadvantage with your small size. You also don't have any experience in this area. That means first impressions are out the window. Damn it! I thought we would have more time to prepare." Bea already had her jacket on. It had started snowing. Winter was here.
Mae put her shoes and jacket on, following Bea as she hastily walked out, closing the door after Mae exited. She checked to make sure she had her wallet, and so did Mae. They went outside to Bea's car. Bea didn't even give Mae a chance to buckle in before she pulled out.
Bea found the nearest clothing store and took Mae inside. It didn't take long for Bea to pick out some nice clothes for Mae. It was a simple, black work suit and pants. It blended well with Mae's naturally near-black fur.
Overall, the trip took about twenty minutes. Bea had been pushing the speed limit the whole way there and back. That still left Bea with a couple of hours to coach Mae on how to act and what to say.
"Alright. I'm going to ask you a series of questions you should expect to be asked. I want you to answer them how you would answer them in the interview. Then, I'll tell you what you'll want to change.", explained Bea.
"Okay, lay 'em on me.", replied Mae.
"We'll start with probably the hardest one. What are your weaknesses?"
Mae found herself immediately caught off guard.
"What are my weaknesses? I don't know how to answer that!"
"Geez, the number of things you could list here is huge. Just think of how much is wrong with you. The hard part is trying not to run through the whole interview only answering this one question."
Mae laughed weakly, "Well, I mean, where do I start? I'm completely stupid. I couldn't even make it more than two years in college before suffering a mental breakdown. I'm also the reckless idiot who's probably going to get herself killed one of these days." Bea cut Mae off.
"What the hell, Mae?"
"I'm sorry, did I screw up again?"
"Mae, you can't let them know you've had serious mental problems. Also, don't call yourself stupid and reckless. All of those things are going to get your resume thrown out immediately."
"How am I supposed to answer them then?", asked Mae.
"You have to be self-aware, but you also need to convey the fact that you're improving and working to fix your weaknesses. Instead of saying 'I'm completely stupid', say 'I can be a bit slow, but I also put forth the effort to compensate.'. Also, you're not an idiot. You would have done a lot better in school and college if you weren't dealing with dissociation. You're a smart person, even if you are a bit reckless at times."
"Thanks, Bea. Um, how about 'I can be… impulsive at times, but I've been working to stabilize myself with my friends and family.'?"
"That's good. Thinking like that should get you through that question just fine. Next, why did you choose to work here?"
"I hate sitting around at a counter serving tacos all day. I need something active."
"Okay, I think we could add a bit more to that as well as shaving off a bit of excess information. Try to say something good about the company or the occupation itself, and cut out the part about not liking your previous job."
Mae took a moment to ponder her answer, "Hmm. I want a job where I can be more active, and I feel that the construction industry will be a fulfilling area of work. You're the reason this city exists. It's people like you who built this place, and it's people like you that will continue to help Bright Harbor grow. I want to be a part of that."
"That was… actually pretty great. It'll really go a long way to show that you can look at the big picture like that. It also shows that you have motivation outside of a paycheck. Okay, question 3. Why did you leave your previous job?"
Mae thought along the guidelines Bea had set for her. She wanted to get this first try. "Working at Taco Buck was only a way for me to support myself. Now that I've moved here, I want something more. This is a place where I think I can really make a difference."
Bea nodded her head, "Good. More answers like that, and you should be good to go."
The phone rang again. This time, Bea went to pick it up.
"Hello?… Yes, it is… Uh-huh… I can do tomorrow… Yeah, that works… Okay, bye." Bea hung up the phone.
"Who was it?", asked Mae.
"I got an interview at that hardware store. It's tomorrow at 2:30."
"But you just got mad at me for having mine tomorrow!"
"Yeah, because you don't have experience when it comes to interviews. Trust me, if I'd sent you in there tomorrow with the responses you were giving me at first, your resume would have been thrown out the second you walked out of that building. I've been conducting interviews for years. I know what employers are looking for."
"I guess you're right. So, are we gonna keep going?"
"Yep. Question 4…" They proceeded to build Mae's proficiency for answering questions in a way that will benefit her. About 3 hours later, Bea had gone through all of the questions she could think of multiple times.
"I think you're ready.", said Bea.
"Are you?", asked Mae back.
"Yes."
"Do you have a suit and stuff?"
"Yes. I already had one."
"Okay… Wanna play some more Demontower?"
Bea smiled, "Sure. We still have some time."
Bea managed to beat the game that night, but she didn't get the good ending.
"What the hell kind of ending is that?", asked Bea in frustration.
"Well, you didn't get the true ending."
"You never told me there was a true ending!"
"I'm sorry. I didn't want to spoil it for you."
Bea sighed heavily, "So, how do you get the true ending?"
"Remember that guy with the dots above his head?"
"Yeah."
"Each time he appeared, one of the dots was filled in, and those gave you a code to put in on the way to the final boss in a side room. If you do that and heal the giant cat, you'll get the true ending.", Mae explained.
"Does that mean I have to play the whole game again?"
"You don't have to. You could just look it up online."
"No, no. I'll play it again. Tomorrow, though."
"Really?", asked Mae excitedly.
"Yeah. I actually enjoyed it. We should really get to bed, though."
Mae yawned, "Okay. Let's go to bed."
That night was full of stress for both Mae and Bea. They both had trouble getting to sleep. The upcoming interviews had them both worried. Bea hadn't gotten any other callbacks, despite her work experience, and Mae didn't have any experience to begin with. Tomorrow meant a lot. They couldn't afford to screw up.
The next day, Mae woke up first, unlike most other mornings. She had woken from a stress-induced nightmare. In it, she went into the interview, and everything became shapes. She couldn't stop herself from murdering everyone in the building in cold blood. When she left the building, Bea was there, surrounded by shapes. She was horrified. Mae tried to explain, but her voice wouldn't work. Bea ran away, leaving Mae to be completely consumed by the shapes.
Mae felt tears on her cheeks from the dream.
"What was that?", she wondered.
Mae moving in bed prompted Bea to wake up. Mae panicked. She couldn't let Bea see her crying, so she quickly got up and went to lay out some clothes.
"Mae? You're up already?", asked Bea.
"Yeah. I'm gonna go take a shower. I don't care what you make for breakfast." Mae quickly scrounged up some clothes that looked decent and went into the shower. Bea didn't get the chance to see that Mae had been crying. She did find it odd that she left so fast, but she thought it must have just been her getting anxious about the interview.
As Mae showered, she thought about what would have caused a nightmare like that. Everything was fine. She made up with Andy. She had her friends with her, and she had Bea with her. She was always fine as long as they were there. Then, she realized. This would be the first time since she left home that she'd be alone. No Bea, no Gregg, no Angus, no home, nothing to hold on to.
"Come on, Mae. You'll be fine. You need to be able to be by yourself sometimes.", Mae muttered to herself. Wrapping up her shower, Mae checked to see that any signs of her crying in her sleep were gone. After that, she dried off and went out to get dressed in her room. Bea then entered the bathroom and closed the door.
The formal clothing Bea had bought for Mae were not comfortable. It was way too stiff for Mae's tastes. Why did adulthood have to suck all of the fun out of life? First, they ruined cereal, and now, they're ruining clothes! Despite this, Mae forced herself to hide her disdain for the new clothes for Bea's sake.
When Bea got out of the shower, she looked at Mae and snickered, "Mae, did you just put the suit and nothing else?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, first of all, the interview isn't for another couple of hours. Second, you're supposed to wear something underneath it."
"What? You mean I have to put it on all over again?! This thing is so annoying to get on, though.", said Mae, annoyed.
"I mean, if you want to be super uncomfortable all day, you could not wear a shirt under that.", replied Bea.
"I don't think a shirt is going to fix how uncomfortable this is."
"It'll at least make it bearable. Trust me, I could tell from the forced smile you were giving me that you hated it. I understand how you feel. Sadly, it's something we have to do."
"Alright. Just get out so I can change."
"Um, you do realize I need to change, too, right?"
Mae felt herself blush as it clicked that Bea was completely naked under the towel she had wrapped around her.
"U-uh, well, you can change in here if you want. I can just, uh, turn around so we don't see each other and stuff." Mae quickly turned around to hide the redness in her face.
Bea let out a chuckle, "Well, if you insist."
Mae took off the suit she had on and put on a normal shirt on underneath, all while trying not to make a big deal out of the fact that Bea was standing behind her, naked. Eventually, they had finished, and Mae put off trying to put the suit back on until later.
Bea made breakfast, and Mae and she ate while going over how to answer the questions in the interview one more time. They ate, watched some stuff on Bea's laptop, and got in some last-minute practice. Finally, it was time. Mae and Bea put on their suits and went out to Bea's car. Mae's interview was in one hour.
