Chp. 5

Days later.

Walking was good for the soul and body, Solana told herself, ignoring the shared cab honking to get her attention. The man's car was not yet full and he needed just one more passenger to complete the seats in order to earn his full money for the trip. 

Her job required sitting most of the time, so walking was good exercise. Never mind that her house was some twenty-five minutes walk from the supermarket where she worked. And she didn't have any extra calories to burn. This workout was not needed at all unless she was trying to lose her non-existent weight.

Who was she kidding? She didn't want to walk home. The only thing she liked about her job was its proximity to the house. She always arrived home five to ten minutes after her shift, depending on the traffic situation. 

That was something very few people enjoyed in this busy city. But walking instead of taking a cab meant not getting back as quickly as she liked to. 

The only problem was she hated spending money nowadays. Not that saving 100 bucks would help her afford rent on her own in the next ten 10 days. But still, she hated spending her little cash unless it was necessary. 

Julie was leaving this Saturday, which meant she would be all alone with her shitty job and nowhere to live. Solana decided there was no point rushing home, so she kept on walking while racking her brain for what to do about her housing predicament.

A man bumped her on the shoulder while walking past her. 

"Use your eyes, lady." He said harshly. 

This was the reason she hated being on the road after work hours. Too many people. Inconsiderate pedestrians. Inconsiderate drivers. Everyone was always in a hurry to get back home. The streets only calmed once it was nightfall. If she were working the evening shift, she would avoid all the rush. But then would she walk home at midnight by herself? She wondered.

Deep in thought, she didn't see the red Honda CR-V speeding out of a building's parking lot. It nearly ran her over, causing her to stop abruptly as the car zoomed past into the main road. Another inconsiderate driver.

"Idiot!" Cursing silently, Solana had almost walked past the place when she saw the notice.

There was a bold sign on a chalkboard sitting just by the corner before the same parking lot where she was nearly killed seconds ago.

The first thing that caught her eye was the boldly scribbled phrase at the bottom of the job ad:

"and Housing," it said. 

Solana moved closer to the board to read everything. "Wanted urgently! Marketing Associate for the Motel. Send your application and resume to [e-mail]. Benefits: Competitive pay and housing."

“Housing?” But the Geemail account made her scoff. Add to that, the ad was on a chalkboard. She'd bet competitive pay here meant a pittance, not more than what her current job offered. She raised her head to look at the building. 

"Guess you could call this a one-star hotel-" 

"It's a Motel! Mo. Tel." A man's voice spoke from beside her.

Had she spoken out loud? She turned quickly. Standing beside her was a man. Or maybe he's still a boy. He was looking at her disapprovingly. His large build, the cornrows, and the tiny earring on his right ear made her unsure if he was security or just someone else working there. 

He had one hand in his left pocket and looked ready to tell her off. Sizing him up, she decided he was security when she noticed the hotel name and logo on his shirt. Motel, not Hotel. 

He couldn’t be the clerk, she thought. He certainly was not a manager here because managers don’t wear uniforms. Or do they? Hopefully, he wasn’t the manager. She reminded herself that hotel work was not exactly a white-collar job, so men didn’t have to cut their hair and wear suits. The man or boy continued to stare down at her. Perhaps waiting for her to say something?

"Ah. Yeah. Motel." She replied in a small voice. 

Redirecting her face back to the building, she recalled she had always noticed the place. It used to be the only one on this street and it used to be huge. Popular. She stopped noticing it at some point. The new one down the road had stolen all their shine, now they were struggling to get back up, huh? Well, at least, they repainted the place. That was a good start. 

“Can you give me more details about the role?” She asked the unfriendly pretty guy when he started to move away.

“It’s all on the blackboard!” He replied without stopping.

Solana felt a little annoyed by the attitude, so she called out after him, “It's a chalkboard! Chalk. Board.”

The guy turned and looked at her, and Solana found herself thinking how desperately she needed a job. She needed this one because it promised housing. Being rude to one of its staff would not help her case in any way. 

“It’s also called a blackboard. If you don’t know that, please don’t apply.” The man or boy turned away and kept walking.

Well, maybe everyone was hostile around this time of the day, Sol thought. She looked at her wristwatch. It was four thirty-five. Yeah, the time had something to do with his attitude. Lunchtime was hours ago. People started getting hungry around this time, so that could make them unfriendly and rude. 

Either that or calling the place a one-star hotel must have truly pissed the pretty guy off. Hopefully, her application wasn’t going to him. Even if it did, he couldn’t identify it unless she was selected for an interview. Judging by her luck, the chance of that happening wasn’t too high in her favor.

Focusing on the job ad again, she brought out her smartphone and took a snapshot. Beggars can’t be choosers here, and she may not even get the role. Hiring managers never liked her, anyway. Or she just had very little luck when it came to jobs. But still, it was worth trying.

A smallish motel using a Geemail account couldn’t pay well. But a marketing associate was a thousand times better than a supermarket cashier for her resume. Not to mention the fact that getting the job would immediately solve her most pressing problem at the moment.

Despite her initial doubts about the place, the rest of the walk home gave her time to consider what she stood to gain. Solana prepared and sent her application as soon as she got home that day.