“Hello, this is Emily Miller.”
“Emily, this is Jim from Alpha Investments, we spoke yesterday. How are you?”
Emily’s heart thumped loudly and suddenly she was wide awake. Dear Lord, perhaps they were calling her in for another interview. Or maybe she’d left something behind at the office yesterday, it was probably nothing to get excited about. She took a deep breath and tried to calm down.
“Emily, are you there?”
“Oh, yes, sorry Jim, I’m doing well. How are you?”
“Good, good. I was wondering if you’re still interested in that internship position?”
Oh God. Her heart was thumping loudly again, but she tried to stay calm and answer properly. “Yes Jim, I’m very interested. Is there another round of interviews ahead?”
Jim laughed briefly, and said, “No, I’m calling to offer you the position. So?”
Emily squealed and jumped out of bed, unable to control herself and Jim laughed again. “I assume that means yes?”
“Yes, yes, sorry about that. I’m so excited! Are you serious?”
“Yes, I am. Can you come into the office next Monday? We have an orientation day lined up, so you’ll be signing the contract, getting your new ID card, and having a brief tour. I’ll see you then.”
“Yes, you will! Thank you, Jim!”
They hung up and Emily squealed softly again. She wanted to do a jig, she wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, but she lived in a tiny apartment in New York, and if she did those things, her neighbors would complain.
She walked excitedly out of her bedroom, looking for Isabel, but her housemate had already gone to work. Isabel was a secretary at a small accounting firm in Manhattan, and had been living in New York for four years now. She was also the daughter of family friends, and Emily knew that her mom felt safer, thinking that Emily was with the daughter of someone she knew.
The person she really needed to talk to was her mom. It was a conversation she’d been trying to avoid – Laura Miller could be tactless, and her frequent reminders to “look for a nice job” didn’t help.
A sudden bout of loneliness hit her – she’d received such wonderful news, but didn’t know who to share it with. To postpone calling her mother, she dressed slowly, and made herself a breakfast sandwich.
A few bites in, her phone rang. This really was a day of unexpected phone calls. Groaning inwardly, thinking it was her mom, Emily grabbed her phone and was pleasantly surprised to see that it was the owner of the diner, Su-Jin, calling her. One of the waitresses had fallen sick – Su-Jin wanted her to come in that night, and to work double shifts the next few days.
“Prefect,” she said, “It’ll be great to earn a bit extra.”
Normally, she’d have felt conflicted about working extra at the diner – sure, she’d earn more, but she’d also lose opportunities for job-hunting. So Su-Jin sounded a bit surprised at her enthusiasm, but said he was glad she was free.
Tapping her feet happily, Emily finished up her breakfast and started packing her bag for work. Things seemed to be finally looking up! The extra work at the diner came at a perfect time, and it would be good to save a bit of money.
The one cloud marring her horizon was the fact that she’d need to call her mother. Might as well get it over with.
Her mom answered after one and a half rings. “Emily!” she said, sighing loudly. “I was starting to get worried about you.”
Emily rolled her eyes, knowing her mother couldn’t see her. The theatrics had gotten annoying by the time she was three years old. “I just talked to you a few days back.”
“Yes sweetheart, but I tried to call you yesterday and your phone was off. Didn’t you get my voicemail message?”
“Yes, that’s why I’m calling you today.”
“Would it hurt to call me back sooner? You know I worry about you.”
“I was tired.”
“Well of course,” her mother scoffed, “Doing God-knows-what in New York City.”
Emily took a deep breath. “You know what I do. I work at the diner and I look for jobs. I don’t have time for anything else.”
“Well, apparently not even to call your poor mother.”
“I was busy, Mom. I had an interview.”
“Oh my goodness! Finally! How did it go, how much do they pay? Did you get the job?”
“It’s an internship, so it doesn’t pay much. But yes,” Emily smiled happily, “I got it.”
Her mother was silent for a moment and then said, “Hmm.”
Worry pricked at Emily. “It’s at a very successful hedge fund, Alpha Investments. It’s a really prestigious position.”