Struggle to find a job

The scorching sun continued hitting against Elaine's smooth skin, and she couldn't take it any longer. She squinted her eyes, and saw a closed shop that was close by. She nodded at herself, and tightened her grip around her back, worn-out bag.

"I'll stay there for now," she muttered to herself, and started walking towards the shop, which had a huge roof over it. When she got to the shop, she let out a small sigh of relief, happy that she was finally able to escape from the terrible heat.

Elaine looked down, and saw that her skin was already red from the effect of the heat. She started rubbing it, thinking it would make it better.

It didn't only make it worse, but it also increased the pressure that was already on the skin.

The frustration was way too much for her to handle, and she rested her head against the iron surface of the shop, not minding it pressing against her already red skin.

She started wishing she could see a chair, or a bed, she didn't mind. Anybody that saw her at that moment, would know that she had been through a lot. She really had.

Even if her worn-out brown sandals weren't saying anything, her dusty, scattered hair was definitely screaming the words 'i'm tired!'.

She really was. Elaine left the house the moment the day was bright enough, she didn't even wait for the sun to come out, and her mouth hadn't touched water.

That was many hours ago, and she was getting weaker by the minute. If she wanted to think about the way the two companies treated her that day, then she wouldn't even bother searching for more vacancies, but no! She was determined to.

She had been seeing Eden's struggles, and she knew that if she didn't see a job, then their situation was definitely going to get only worse, not better.

Elaine tightly shut her eyes, and rested her head against the shop gate again. She didn't close her eyes because she was trying so hard not to cry, the way her head was banging loudly was the reason.

"God, I'm tired!" Elaine cried out, and sighed.

"If you're tired, please go somewhere else, and not my shop. Thank you!" A woman's voice pierced through Elaine's thoughts, and she slowly opened her eyes to meet a woman, who could be sued for using make-up the wrong way, staring at her with a scornful look on her face.

Elaine was sure that the wrinkles at the sides of the woman's face wasn't a result of old age, but too much use of make-up, but she wasn't ready to go into that.

"Good afternoon, ma'am. I'm guessing this is your shop?" Elaine asked, but she regretted saying those words, the moment they came right out of her mouth.

"I'm standing right here, holding the keys to the padlocks, aren't I?" The woman said, and eyed her repeatedly. Elaine was too tired to say anything, so she just muttered a "sorry," under her breath, and turned around to leave.

"Ya should dress better when ya going out next time, ya hear?" The woman screamed after her. Elaine almost laughed at the woman's weak attempt at forming an accent.

When she got home that day, she ignored all complaints that were being directed towards her, and she collapsed on her bed, knowing that she was going to wake up several hours later.

*****************

Eden knew Elaine to be a consistent and relentless woman. So, when she told him that she wanted to go out and try to get a job the next day after she almost died from stress, he wasn't surprised.

Elaine left the house an hour earlier than the previous day. She did that because she wanted to arrive at the first company early, thinking that they might actually consider her because of that.

When she got into the first company of the three companies that she planned to enter that day, the receptionist hadn't even allowed her to speak, when she told her that they weren't searching for cleaners.

"Cleaners? I'm here to-" Elaine tried speaking, but she was cut off when the receptionist started dialling a number on the landline.

"Yes, you saw her too? Please, come take her out of this office," the receptionist said into the phone, and turned towards her with a frown on her face. With the way she spoke to the person on the other side of the line, Elaine suspected the person to be a security person.

"I'm here for the vacancy post that was displayed outside," Elaine tried trying her luck again. The receptionist scanned her body from her head to her toe and back to her face, to eye Elaine properly.

"That vacancy post isn't meant for people like you. When we need a cleaner, we'll do our very best to call you for that," the receptionist said, and stared towards the door, wondering why the security man hadn't arrived.

Without waiting to be thrown outside, Elaine clutched onto her bag, and she turned around to leave.

She managed to control the tears until she was out of the office, but by the time she got to the gate, she had streams of tears, trickling down her pretty face.

The enthusiasm that she had that morning was far gone, and she was just slowly walking to the next company with no hope of getting it.

Elaine was walking by the road side, when a car started honking at her, trying to get her attention by all means. She didn't think that the car was trying to get her attention, because there were so many cars passing by her, so she just thought the car to be one of them.

By the time Elaine was about to cross to the other side of the road, the car stopped in front of her. Elaine was about to move away from the car, when a familiar voice called after her.

"Elaine!" Richard called out, and in response, Elaine threw him a smile. She felt a bit relieved to see him, after what happened to her.

Richard gestured to her to enter the car, and without thinking, she did.

"How. Are. You?" Richard asked, stressing each word as his eyes slowly scanned her body.

"I'm okay. How are you?" Elaine asked, with so much enthusiasm she could gather.

"Let's leave me. Are you fine?" Richard asked, with a corked brow.

On hearing that, Elaine let out a sigh and she took a long pause before she spoke again.

She told him how she had been searching for a job with no luck, how she had been to many places, but none of them was willing to take her because she barely had decent clothes.

"You don't deserve to go through that, El. You're too special for that, aren't you?" Richard asked, and moved closer to her. His shoulder was about to touch Elaine's, but she didn't mind at all.

"I don't know, Richard." Elaine replied, and looked out the window almost immediately. She felt a bit awkward after telling Richard about her struggles.

"I have a solution to your problem, Elaine," Richard said, with so much pride masking the deep tone of his voice. Immediately Elaine heard that, she turned her head away from the window and started smiling at Richard.

"What's that?" She asked, with a wide grin on her face. Richard moved closer, and playfully tapped the tip of her nose, like he was talking to a little child.

Things were going fine between Richard and Elaine, but they quickly turned sour when he offered to help her find a job in exchange for sex. If a camera was available to capture the moment Elaine's grin turned into a deep frown, it'd have been iconic.

Elaina thought that was ridiculous of him, and she refused, but not before giving him a hot slap, the hottest that Richard had ever gotten in his life.

She was feeling empowered, and she left his car with an immediate effect, before he started any funny movement.

***************

Later that day, Elaine saw an advert for a Secretary position at a company called A-Jay. She hesitated at first, thinking she was underqualified, and not dressed properly for it, but she decided to give it a shot after much thought.

She made a call and was given an interview, but when she arrived at the company, everyone looked at her ragged clothes with surprise and judgement.

Even with that, she was still determined to carry on with the interview.

During the interview, she realised that the company was looking for someone with her exact qualifications. She was nervous, but confident.

With Eden's praises ringing in her head, she gave the interview her all, answering every question with precision and thoughtfulness.

Elaina was struck by the professionalism and efficiency of the company. She saw people working hard and efficiently, and she felt that that was a place where she could thrive, but despite being impressed with her skills and experience, the company rejected her for the position.