The Way It Is

Jeremy knew he'd have to bite the bullet eventually. Standing in front of the derelict payphone, with the morning paper in his hand, was when the situation was finally settling in for him. He'd have to take on more responsibility, more than he ever wanted, more than he'd ever had. A job on top of everything else going on in his life was probably not an idea that he would've entertained in the past. But he knew he'd need the cash and he'd put off his job search long enough. Jeremy knew deep down that if he did not take the first step anytime soon, he would simply give up on all his aspirations and just end up like his father. He would not let that happen, not anymore. Slowly Jeremy started to punch in the number on the page and put a quarter into the machine.

Ring ring ring rin-

"Uh hello, oh uh where's the scrip- ah! Thank you for calling Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, sadly we are not accepting party reservations at the moment but please call back in-" The voice on the other end of the line was abruptly cut off.

"Yeah, that ain't why I called, saw the Help Wanted ad in the paper, and was wondering if positions were still available?" Jeremy spat out quickly, wanting to end this interaction as soon as possible.

"Oh! Yes, there uh is! A bunch actually!" The middle-aged man answered enthusiastically, too enthusiastic for Jeremy's liking. Silence permeated the line for the next ten seconds or so.

"Great, so can I have a position?" Jeremy asked bluntly, not quite sure what to do in this scenario, simply wanting to end the awkward silence.

"You uhhhhh…. Sorry that, um, isn't how this works, I'm going to need you to like, y'know actually show up in person for an interview. Like, a uh, proper one, for y'know." The man on the phone replied, dumbfounded as if he wasn't the one that seemingly offered Jeremy a position less than thirty seconds ago and then stonewalled.

"Sure, whatever. When can I come in for it?" Jeremy replied already beginning to grow sick of this interaction.

"A real go-getter, eh? Hehe ummmm…." The voice trailed off, with sounds of shuffling paper beginning to take up the line.

Jeremy had not even gotten the job, yet he already knew this man would be the eventual death of him. His sheer voice left such an annoying feeling in Jeremy's soul that he was unsure if he would ever be able to cleanse it out of his system. The constant stuttering did not help put the man in Jeremy's good books either, as he could tell it was nervousness rather than some sort of proper speech impediment. No matter how the interaction turned out overall, Jeremy felt like he deserved a smoke for his efforts alone. Maybe he'd finally splurge on some of the high-quality brands if he actually pulls it off and lands the job.

"Look uh, what was your name again?" The voice on the other end of the phone finally asked tentatively.

"You never asked. It's Jeremy, Jeremy Fitzgerald." He spat out as if the words themselves were venomous.

"You're just a pure ball of sunshine huh Fitzgerald?" the older man said chuckling to himself nervously. "Alright look, come to the pizzeria in like an hour or two and I'll make sure that I'm by the front door to let you in. Do you uh know where it is?"

"Yeah, I think I do. Alright, I'll see you then." Jeremy replied, relieved to finally get the conversation over with for the time being.

"Make sure that you-!" The voice suddenly began. Jeremy hung up the phone before he could hear whatever the voice on the other end was trying to tell him. It probably wasn't important. Probably.

Jeremy closed his eyes, sighed, and then repeated an old mantra that he had heard often on TV when he was younger, "That's the way it is."

There had never been a time in Jeremy's life where he had thought that he'd amount to anything significant. He always figured that he'd live a quaint life in his hometown like his parents before him, but now he believed that the only future he'd ever have was to get a degree from DSU and then get the hell out of Hurricane. Hurricane was a town that had once had a bright future but was now becoming a ghost town, both figuratively and, to all the crazies out there, literally.

The town had garnered a reputation over time in the rest of the state for its "eccentric" populace, which meant everyone else tried to avoid it like the plague. Residents of Hurricane weren't exactly saddened by this development, many thought the town was too crowded as it was, but it was clear without a constant flow of trade in and out of town, the place was doomed. There were already growing signs of eventual decay, with a lot of big box brands closing shops in the town and opening new locations right across the border.

It took little time for Jeremy to realize that if he stayed in Hurricane, he'd never be able to live a comfortable life, at least not one where he wasn't constantly giving up the luxuries he was accustomed to. He had grown up relatively upper middle class, even with only one parent supporting him, and selfishly that was not a status that he wanted to give up anytime soon. So, when his junior year of high school rolled around, Jeremy started to focus as much as he could on his studies. He was never a straight-A student, but he made sure to at least study the night before a test, yet he began studying weeks in advance spending more time on schoolwork outside of school rather than in it.

This sudden shift in demeanor alienated a lot of his friends away from him. He'd begun to leave his friends behind without a word and start holing up in the local library going over whatever topics that they had started at school. He started to jump in and answer questions in class and made sure that he'd get on some of his teacher's good sides so that he'd get glowing letters of recommendation. With this newfound resolve, he began focusing on the ACT hoping that he could at least get a good enough score to get some scholarships to reduce the insane tuition some schools asked for that he would never be able to pay.

His dad certainly wasn't going to pay a dime for his education, he was too busy being disappointed that the son that he raised all on his lonesome wasn't trying to get into a more manly field like he had been in. Jeremey didn't care, if he tried to follow in his father's footsteps, he'd end up just as broke and miserable as him. Times were changing and Jeremy did not want to be left behind like his dad, always picking up the scraps of the others ahead of him, complaining all the while.

In the end, Jeremy got accepted into many different universities, both in and out of state, even some high-profile schools that his peers would've killed for the opportunity for. Yet in some twisted turn of fate, the school he ended up accepting the acceptance offer from was Dixie State University, a school that just so happened to be in Hurricane. It was not Jeremy's first choice, hell it wasn't even near the top, yet they gave him an offer that he could not refuse. DSU was still relatively new, and the school lacked both academic excellence and diversity, something that they knew a student like Jeremey Fitzgerald could help offset. So, they offered him a full ride for his undergraduate studies with room and board completely covered, an offer too enticing when compared to the extravagant fees that other schools were asking him to pay. He was able to finally move out of his dad's place, into a quaint little apartment on the outskirts of town, a place that he had for some reason been given to stay alone in even though it was obviously furnished for more than one student.

So, he was staying in Hurricane for a bit, a setback for sure, but now he was going to start properly prepping for his eventual departure. If he got this job, he'd be alright. No worries, no stress, just total bliss. However, of course, he'd actually have to get the job.

The trek back to his car was longer than it needed to be, as he had parked at the opposite end of a mostly empty parking lot that had only a single functioning payphone near a barely used public restroom. Looking around confirming there was no one else in the nearby vicinity, he began to take off his sweatpants and graphic shirt.

He changed into a freshly dry-cleaned white dress shirt that he had hanging above the back seat of his car, making sure to button it up all the way. He then put on worn-out khaki pants, that had once belonged to his father, that had a couple of burnt spots near the bottom, looking as though they'd been singed in a workplace accident. Finally, he combed whatever he could of his unruly hair with his hands and the help of his badly cracked rearview mirror. He started up his car's engine, something that had caused the machine to momentarily sputter before turning on for real, and slowly pulled out of the eerily empty parking lot. Driving his car down to the pizzeria, Jeremy flicked on the radio hoping to calm what little jitters he had for this upcoming job interview.

"Good morning!" An annoyingly cheery male voice instantly blasted out from the radio. Jeremy decided quickly to turn the volume down before the man continued. "This is Jonathon Colters coming to you live from Salt Lake City Studios this fine October morning! With the weather finally beginning to cool off as we begin to gradually switch into a much more chilly season, make sure to start bundling up to stay warm! And seeing as it's finally October, I hope all you trick-or-treaters out there are starting to get prepared with costume ideas that will blow our socks off this year! But now let's talk about the news at the top of the hour, Janice?"

"Thanks, Jon, not much going on this morning in the state, with all focus still on last week's report of a growing decrease in childcare centers for families with children in Utah. Many state legislators are currently prioritizing looking for private corporations that would be willing to sponsor programs that could help families with young ones in the future, with currently minimal success. In other news, many well-known economists are warning of an impending worldwide stock market crash that may happen later this month that could rival even the great depression." The female reporter crisply said.

"Sure sounds like another boring day for news! Well, if there's nothing more to add, let's get back to the music huh?" The male reporter said, clearly faking whatever enthusiasm that was emanating from his voice.

"Actually Jon, there still is something that may catch people's attention, especially those currently living in the small town of Hurricane!" The other reporter, Janice, said quickly, seemingly trying to make sure she got out whatever she had to say before they went off the air for some other program. Jeremey looked down quickly, away from the road, and raised his eyebrow at that remark, he didn't know of anything special going on in the town, not worth state media mentioning anyway.

"A controversial restaurant from years ago has decided to rebrand but reopen under the same name. A restaurant chain that many Hurricane residents are still wary of, and for good reason." Janice stated with mild excitement seeping through her voice.

"Wait you're not talking about…" Jon started to ask with the typical exaggerated enthusiasm in his voice wavering ever so slightly, replaced by an almost childlike interest. Jeremy could already tell where this was going.

"That's right Jon! Freddy Fazbear's-" Jeremy turned off his radio before he could let the woman finish. He was already nervous enough as it was, he didn't need some tall tales of the past adding to it.