And we're back
Once again, huge apologies for the almost month long wait between chapters, my laptop seems to be on its last legs and constantly needs rebooting, for now though I'll have to make do with that
And also there are other things occupying most of my time as of late so every time I consider doing some writing something keeps me from it
But nevertheless, thank you for being patient with me and I hope you enjoy
*No P.O.V*
"She's not in here" Jade said, in a defeated tone, "what the hell do you mean she's not in here?" Tori yelled following Jade into the room, they had both seen that the room was 'empty' from the door way but even then there was still hope, maybe Cat had been hiding in the closet or the bathroom or even under her bed, but the more the girls looked and didn't find anything, the more the optimism drained out of them.
"How could we be so f*cking stupid!" Jade yelled sitting down on Cat's bed, which had been left unattended for so long it was beginning to gather a thin layer of dust, as was everything else in Cat's room, Jade looked at Cat's pillow, imagining her laying there in bed sound asleep as peaceful as ever, remembering all the times Jade had spent the night at Cat's with the pair forced to share a bed, Jade would act as though she didn't want to and tried to push Cat out but inwardly she always wanted Cat to push back a little and stay with her, and every time Jade woke up before Cat she'd watch Cat sleep, so peacefully and so beautiful, for a minute anyway before she'd yell and wake Cat up screaming.
With tears in her eyes and clenched fists Jade grabbed the pillow and threw it aside, hitting Tori in the face who herself was lost in thought looking around Cat's room, remembering all the time she had spent here with Cat, practicing songs, writing homework, rehearsing a dance routine or a play routine, sharing a laugh, cuddling, spending the night together and everything else, Tori even remembered the time she and Cat spent a good five hours playing monopoly together, well I mean with the way Cat absolutely destroyed Tori and left her bankrupt, how could she forget?
"Thanks for that" Tori giggled holding the pillow in her hands, she could smell Cat on it and she found herself lost in a bit of a daze once more holding the pillow, but when she looked at Jade she saw someone who really needed a friend, Jade was sitting in silence with tears and makeup running down her face.
Tori quickly moved to sit beside Jade on the bed, leaving the pillow across both of their laps, putting her arm around Jade who for the first time in her life, Tori saw genuine fear in, not average "afraid of spiders or afraid of heights" kind of fear, more like a "she might actually be dead" kind of fear, and Tori felt the exact same way, the empty feeling in her stomach and the thoughts rushing through her mind were too much for the girl to handle and she found herself silently hugging Jade as the pair sobbed on Cat's bed
*Cat's P.O.V*
Two days left.
I have two days to land some sort of a job or I'll officially be out of time and will officially be homeless.
Derrick had done his utmost to help me, searching high and low for job openings, sending off applications for me, even putting in a reference on my behalf, but every time we tried we got the same response, "too young, not enough experience, blah blah blah" and it was driving me insane.
The closer the deadline got the more I knew I had to pull something off really f*cking quickly, I was sending off for twice as many jobs as the night before, and twice as many more than that the next day, desperate for some good news.
With 48 hours left I decided to give my emails a check to see if I had heard anything from the countless applications and emails I had sent off.
I looked through all the new emails, and all of them seemed to start off with "thank you for your application Miss Valentine, unfortunately" as of that point there wasn't any worth reading the rest of the email because it would just be another soul crushing rejection.
But to my surprise there was an email in there that was different to the others.
"Dear Miss Valentine, thank you for your application, after examination we believe you would be a suitable candidate for the position in question, please give us a call to arrange an interview as soon as possible, regards, Mrs Davis"
I HAD A CHANCE!
I finally had an opportunity! I mean sure its just working in a supermarket but I don't care! its a job! it pays! with real money! I knew I had to seize this opportunity with both hands and make it count.
I took the number down and headed to the payphone across the street, since I didn't have a phone to use, and Derrick would always give me some change for the phone anyway, especially now that I told him it was to arrange an interview.
I dialed the number and waited patiently for a response.
"Hello?"
"Hi is this Mrs Davis?"
"Yes, who's calling?"
"It's Cat, Cat Valentine, I sent an application to you and your email said to call as soon as possible"
"Ah of course Miss Valentine how are you?"
"Nervous, how are you?"
"There's nothing to be nervous about dear, we're very pleased with what we've seen and we're about 90% sure you're the right person for the job, the interview is pretty much just a formality"
"Really? wow that's amazing... thank you"
"So do you know when you would like to come in for an interview?"
"As soon as possible I suppose?"
"Okay great, so, half five tonight okay for you?"
"I'll be there"
"I look forward to it Miss Valentine, however you won't be the only one coming for an interview so be sure to bring your A game, there are a limited number of openings and a lot of suitable candidates applying"
"But I thought you said..."
"I know what I said, and just because we believe you're the right person for the job doesn't mean you're the only right person for the job"
"Oh, okay, so five thirty tonight?"
"Yes dear, just tell a member of staff you're here for an interview and they'll point you in the right direction"
"Okay, thank you, bye"
"See you soon Miss Valentine"
With that the phone call ended, I didn't really know what to think, on one hand they said I was "the right person for the job" but on the other I'm not the only person who falls into that category, so chances are there will be people older than me, people with more experience than me, and people smarter than me, but I knew I couldn't let that throw me off, I knew this was my big chance and I had to make it count.
The day went by slowly, I told Derrick about the interview and he helped me go over some techniques and even practice with me on my mannerisms and how I should conduct myself, he helped with my interview outfit too, and even helped print off a resume as well as a written copy of his reference, how nice can one guy be?
And to top it off, he had arranged for a car to take me to where I needed to go.
The closer I got the more nervous I was, but I kept reassuring myself, thinking about my friends back home and how supportive they would be toward me, telling me what to do.
"Be yourself Cat, its only right that you show them just who you are both inside and outside of the work place, if they like that person you're halfway there already" would be something Tori would no doubt say, always one for confidence in yourself and belief that you're good enough to achieve anything.
"Confidence is key Cat, don't shy away, keep eye contact, smile and answer in full sentences, you need to sell yourself to them" Beck would say, I mean if Mr confidence said it surely it must be true right? he's had countless interviews and he's even been in real movies, only as an extra but still REAL MOVIES.
"Make sure they know exactly what they're hiring when they hire you Cat, not someone else because that'll only end badly, if they don't want to hire who you are then its not the job you want" Jade would tell me, the kind of 'take no prisoners, don't let anyone tell you no, kick the door down and seize the opportunity' kind of person that she is.
And of course my other friends would all have kind helpful words, and the thought of all of these was enough to bring a tear to my eye, but I had to wipe it away since we had arrived.
I headed inside and did what I was told, found a member of staff and told them I was here for an interview, they led me through to the back and told me where to go, I went down to the waiting room expecting to see two maybe three other people applying for the job, instead there were at least ten, and that unnerved me immediately.
I took a seat and waited patiently, I was told to be here for half five and it was five twenty five but all these people were here before me.
I watched the clock on the wall, seconds ticked by, minutes ticked by, I sat there for two whole hours while one by one the applicants went into the interview room and later emerged, I soon realized I was the last person in line so I'd have the biggest task of impressing since they've seen everyone else already before me, and with at least ten people in the waiting room when I arrived, plus the person already having an interview, and who knows how many others had come and gone I knew it was going to be tough.
Finally it was my turn and I was invited into the room.
"Last one?" the woman at the desk asked.
"Yes ma'am" I told her as I took my seat opposite her.
"Ah you must be Cat" I nodded and handed her my resume and the reference, she set them aside for the time being to begin the interview.
After a good twenty five minutes the interview was wrapping up, I felt confident that it had gone well and she was just looking over my resume, and the reference.
"Cat..." she handed me my documents back and looked at me.
"I'm sorry but... its bad news" what? no... really?
This felt like a knife right through my heart, I was so sure I had done a good job, everything seemed right, she liked me, I was confident, I kept eye contact, I answered in full sentences, what did I do wrong?
"Oh, okay, thank you, did I do something wrong?" I asked eager to know
"No no you didn't, its just there were so many applicants and only a few places to go around" so they had already decided on who they would be hiring and I was basically walking into an automatic rejection?
"Okay, well thank you anyway"
"Thank you for your time Cat, you're a bright girl I'm sure you won't have a problem finding a job very soon, I still have your email so if any positions become available I'll personally recommend you for it"
"Thank you" I said standing up, trying my best to hold it together when deep down I just wanted to cry.
The entire car ride back the hotel I spent crying, as soon as I got back I wanted to go straight up to my room.
Heading through the doors Derrick just needed to look at me to know it wasn't good news.
"Cat I'm so-" "I just want to be alone" I said trying my best not to be rude as I went straight for the elevator and up to my room.
I cried and cried to myself thinking what I was going to do, what option did I have left?
And then I remembered, the library, the man, the number, he said he could help me find work.
I went to my jacket and sure enough the piece of paper was still in there, I checked to see if I had any change left and thankfully I did.
On my way back down I had countless thoughts, this man didn't seem like the kind I should trust but at this point in time it feels like the only choice I have, the police told me not to talk to him though... but curiosity had the better of me and I was determined to follow through.
Fortunately Derrick wasn't at the front desk when I went out because I knew he'd want to talk, and I knew his heart was in the right place but I didn't want to stop for anything right now, heading across the road to the payphone, I put the money in and thought long and hard about dialing this number, and what consequences there might be.
But I dialed the number anyway and put the phone to my ear, my heart was pounding as I heard it ringing and ringing, I thought it was going to ring out but then I heard a voice on the other side.
"Hello?"
Well well well, what happens now?
I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter and I hope to be able to bring another one to you soon