“I’m definitely going to get it right one day!”
Henry gives himself the pep talk that has become an important part of every morning in his life. It is silly, He knows. But He just can’t help it. He is all by himself, lonely and frustrated.
He was so naïve to think life after school would be soft on him. Had it been he knew better, he would’ve compromised all the effort and attention he put into his academics. Because seriously, there’s no point to it. He is done with school, yet he is still living in shambles.
“Are you ready for ABI Conglomerate?” He shout out jokingly to his best friend who is already in the living room, waiting impatiently for him.
“Yeah, you're funny!” David replies to him with a sarcastic toothy grin that makes him smile.
“Come on, stop being grumpy. It’s just a job interview. I’ve gone to thousands of it for me to know that it is nothing to feel anxious about.”
He says nonchalantly, trying so hard not to sound pathetic. But David being David, will always notice.
“Henry… You know that trying to be better every time doesn’t make you less perfect, right?”
David says to him with sympathy written all over his face, making him want to bawl his eyes out at that moment, but Henry holds the tears in with everything in him. He hates this. He hates his situation. But most of all, He hates getting sympathetic looks from people.
“Whatever, man. Let’s not go there this morning.” He dismisses.
“A few minutes won't hurt.”
“What do you want me to say, David?”
"I don't know. Anything that will make you ease up your mind. I know you, Henry. I know that when you pent up the frustration, it explodes at your least favorable time. So please, just let them out."
David says with a calm tone that almost makes Henry vulnerable, but he knows that will do him no good. Crying to him about his predicament will not solve his problem.
"Forget it, man. I need to go now. I don't want to be late for this interview. As you said, it may actually work out this time after about a thousand times of trying and failing."
He replies to him with a fake smile as he pick up his worn-out leather bag. It is very early in the morning as he open the door and step out of the house in his only neat corporate dress. But before he can close the door, David also comes out of the house with his bright smile that reassured him again, telling him “I’ve got this!”
**************
A few minutes later, Henry is seated in front of a stern-faced man who looks at him like he hates his guts already. He has this grumpy expression on his face as he looks him up and down condescendingly, causing the boldness and confidence he had summoned up earlier with David before entering crumble in seconds.
“Do you know the position you are applying for?” The man finally speaks up.
“Yes, sir. I’m applying for the position of the Sales Manager.” He tries not to let his fears show through his voice.
“Sales Manager? You’ve got to be kidding me.” The interviewer laughs mockingly before he clears his throat and continues.
“And you think you are qualified for that position because you are wearing some fake designer suit? Seriously?”
“What do you mean?” Henry asks with confusion evident on his face.
"Trying to impress me with your dress will not cover up for the fact that you are lacking. You don't strike me as a good Sales Manager. What you do strike me as, and I'm willing to give the vacant position to you, is a gateman. That fits you better than you ruining the company's future with your incompetence."
The man says nonchalantly as he snatches Henry’s documents from his hand and goes through them grumpily before dumping them on the table before him again. While all Henry can do is just look at him unbelievably as he tries to process every word that comes out of his mouth.
“You can leave now. If you’re interested in the only position we can offer you, resume work tomorrow. Now, get out!”
He is being shooed out of the interviewing room while still in shock. Is this how all conglomerates are? He has been to other interviews and he has never been embarrassed this much by any other. Why is he treating him like He is some disease?
He walks aimlessly out of the building, still lost in confusion and self-pity, until a very familiar hand grabs his forearm to stop him.
“Are you okay? Did you get the job?” David asks.
"Oh yes, I did. Who could have imagined? I got the job I never thought I would be qualified for." He replies sarcastically while still trying so hard not to let any tears slide down his face.
"That is supposed to be good news, right? Why don't you look like you are happy?"
“That’s because the only job I am qualified for is not inside that building, it is right here, outside. I got the gateman job.”
“What?”
The unbelievable expression on David's face at that moment was the same as Henry had when he heard this. He is sure still have it on his face.
“From a Sales Manager to a Gateman? That’s absurd!” David says again.
“You don’t say.”
“So what are you going to do?”
"That's a million-dollar question." He sighs as he think about his situation.
This is the first real job he has been offered ever since he graduated. Every other job he had been doing for the past two years was menial jobs with little pay. He has been leeching off David so much that he feel so ashamed of himself. As much as the job He is being offered isn't the one he was expecting, he can't just turn it down. At least, he will be getting paid monthly. He needs the money.
As he get lost in his thoughts, David just looks at him patiently as he awaits his answer. He knows that nothing he says at that moment will make him feel better, and Henry really appreciate the fact that he understands that.
"I guess I will take it. I have no choice." Henry finally reply to his friend’s question.
“I am glad you are seeing the positivity in this, man. And who knows? Maybe there is a kind of promotion for you if you do the job well.”
David says, trying to make him feel better, while Henry just smiles at his comment.
“Yeah, right!”
They joked as they left ABI Conglomerate’s premises. David cracks some jokes to cheer Henry up and make him forget his situation, but sooner rather than later, the realization of his situation creeps into his mind.
I wanted a job so badly. I have finally gotten one. The most exasperating of them all. I am officially a Gateman, now. Isn’t that just amazing?
“Good morning.”This will be the sixth time Henry will be saying the same words to six different workers of the company. He get that is how it is going to be for him hence on, greeting the people He is supposed to be working with respectfully while they all reply to him with their noses as if they've got no mouth.“It’s going to get better.”He does the thing he do best, reassure himself that everything will be miraculously okay when he knows deep down within himself that they are just his wishful thinking.He is broken out of his self-pity session when a beautiful-looking Black Mercedes car stops just outside the gate, honking impatiently for him to open the gate as if the car didn't just arrive about a second ago.He doesn’t need the genius to tell him who that is, for some reason, he already know who exactly can own that kind of car in such a company.He opens the gate hurriedly, running over to the side of the gate in order not to be crushed by the angry driver of the car, but he
“What is my offense again?”Henry is left to wonder this question over and over again in his mind as he stand idly beside Mr. George’s secretary who doesn’t seem to give a crap about him, even with the fact that he has been standing beside her for the past 32 minutes ever since she informed him that he is being summoned by Mr. George.A part of him wants to question the secretary about the time Mr. George would have his time, but he know that would be stupid of him. So he just bite his tongue hard in his mouth, preventing himself from blurting out the wrong word that may cost him his job.After some time that feels like forever, Mr. George finally places a call to his secretary through the intercom for Henry to come into his office. So without wasting any moment, he makes his way diligently and carefully to Mr. George office’s doorway, trying his best not to give in to the tiredness of his leg after standing for over an hour without any tangible reason.He knock politely on his offi
“I thought you wouldn’t return. You were supposed to be here 20 minutes ago. I only gave you an hour.”These are the first words Henry get from his boss after trying so hard to keep to the unreasonable time he gave him earlier. Now, he is going back on his words, because he can’t understand how 90 minutes has turned into an hour.“I wonder why I pitied him earlier.”"I'm sorry, sir," He says the words I feel he his boss wants to hear."Apologies won't cut it next time. I'm a man of my word, and I am very time-conscious. So when I tell you to keep to a specific time, you do it, especially when you are being sent on an official errand. Do you understand me?"Henry nod consistently to all the words that come out of his mouth, although he know that everything is wrong about all he has just said. What he sent him wasn't official, he know it deep down within his guts, and it was also confirmed by the recipient's reaction when she got the letter. No one would react to an official letter lik
“Not bad!”Henry sigh tiredly as he look around his new apartment after about four hours of trying to make it look more decent and less of the way he got it rented out to him. It was a piece of garbage when he first saw it, but this is the only apartment he can afford at the moment. He is glad he can finally make it look more inviting.As he slumps down on the only couch he have tiredly, he pick up his phone and call the only person who has been on his mind since he got the apartment, Sarah.She is the reason he hurries up his apartment hunting. he knows she hated it whenever she came over to the house where he used to live with David. She is the type that loves her privacy, so she always feels like David's presence in the house when she wants quality time with her man is uncomfortable.“Sarah, come on. I already apologized. I said I’m sorry.” Henry says immediately when she answers the call with a grumble.It has been two days since the call she gave at the office. You can a
“Calm down, man. It’s not the end of the world.”David says comfortingly as Henry paced up and down his room, trying to fathom what just happened between him and Sarah. He has a lot of questions going through his mind that he has no answers to. He feels hurt. He feels useless. He feels like Sarah was being too extra with her reaction. Still, he cannot help but wonder many things about her.“What if she leaves me? Can I survive it with everything going on? Can I live with the fact that the only girlfriend I have ever had left him because I’m poor?”He feels helpless as he wonder about all these questions. He just wants her back. She is his anchor. She is the main reason he believe that he still have some good things left in his life. She is the main reason for his happiness.“I can’t lose her, David. I can’t!”Henry cries to his friend as his slump down on the couch beside him, while he just gives him a reassuring look that comforts him that everything will be okay.He called David o
The city streets are bathed in the soft glow of the evening lights as Sarah briskly walks away from the shattered remains of what she once considered a relationship. The distant hum of traffic seems to echo the turmoil within her. She can't endure another moment with Henry, a man whose financial troubles have left their mark on both his apartment and their connection.Sarah, with her radiant beauty and curves that turn heads, feels a sense of superiority. She's convinced she could have any man she desires, and Henry's impoverished circumstances have become too much for her to bear. As she walks, her mind is already concocting a plan to liberate herself from the shackles of a relationship she deems unworthy of her allure.The cityscape, with its towering buildings, reflects the towering ego within Sarah. Her steps are confident, and her eyes, adorned with a touch of disdain, survey the world around her. She feels entitled to a life of opulence, one that Henry, with his threadbare pocke
The sterile office environment seems to amplify Henry's sense of desolation as he shuffles through the entrance, his heart still heavy with the fresh wounds of a broken relationship. The fluorescent lights overhead cast a harsh glow, reflecting the inner turmoil that clouds his eyes. The once-familiar surroundings now feel alien, as if mocking the shattered pieces of his personal life.As Henry mechanically takes his position as the company's gateman, his usual warm greetings to the employees entering the building are replaced with a vacant nod. His mind is a whirlwind of emotions, and the weight of heartbreak is palpable with each passing moment.Just when Henry thinks the day can't possibly get any worse, the ominous presence of Mr. George, the overbearing and abusive boss, looms over him. Mr. George, a man with a penchant for cruelty and an ego that rivals the skyscrapers surrounding the office building, eyes Henry with a disdain that makes his heart sink even lower."Henry," Mr. G
The sterile office environment seems to amplify Henry's sense of desolation as he shuffles through the entrance, his heart still heavy with the fresh wounds of a broken relationship. The fluorescent lights overhead cast a harsh glow, reflecting the inner turmoil that clouds his eyes. The once-familiar surroundings now feel alien, as if mocking the shattered pieces of his personal life.As Henry mechanically takes his position as the company's gateman, his usual warm greetings to the employees entering the building are replaced with a vacant nod. His mind is a whirlwind of emotions, and the weight of heartbreak is palpable with each passing moment.Just when Henry thinks the day can't possibly get any worse, the ominous presence of Mr. George, the overbearing and abusive boss, looms over him. Mr. George, a man with a penchant for cruelty and an ego that rivals the skyscrapers surrounding the office building, eyes Henry with a disdain that makes his heart sink even lower."Henry," Mr. G
The city streets are bathed in the soft glow of the evening lights as Sarah briskly walks away from the shattered remains of what she once considered a relationship. The distant hum of traffic seems to echo the turmoil within her. She can't endure another moment with Henry, a man whose financial troubles have left their mark on both his apartment and their connection.Sarah, with her radiant beauty and curves that turn heads, feels a sense of superiority. She's convinced she could have any man she desires, and Henry's impoverished circumstances have become too much for her to bear. As she walks, her mind is already concocting a plan to liberate herself from the shackles of a relationship she deems unworthy of her allure.The cityscape, with its towering buildings, reflects the towering ego within Sarah. Her steps are confident, and her eyes, adorned with a touch of disdain, survey the world around her. She feels entitled to a life of opulence, one that Henry, with his threadbare pocke
“Calm down, man. It’s not the end of the world.”David says comfortingly as Henry paced up and down his room, trying to fathom what just happened between him and Sarah. He has a lot of questions going through his mind that he has no answers to. He feels hurt. He feels useless. He feels like Sarah was being too extra with her reaction. Still, he cannot help but wonder many things about her.“What if she leaves me? Can I survive it with everything going on? Can I live with the fact that the only girlfriend I have ever had left him because I’m poor?”He feels helpless as he wonder about all these questions. He just wants her back. She is his anchor. She is the main reason he believe that he still have some good things left in his life. She is the main reason for his happiness.“I can’t lose her, David. I can’t!”Henry cries to his friend as his slump down on the couch beside him, while he just gives him a reassuring look that comforts him that everything will be okay.He called David o
“Not bad!”Henry sigh tiredly as he look around his new apartment after about four hours of trying to make it look more decent and less of the way he got it rented out to him. It was a piece of garbage when he first saw it, but this is the only apartment he can afford at the moment. He is glad he can finally make it look more inviting.As he slumps down on the only couch he have tiredly, he pick up his phone and call the only person who has been on his mind since he got the apartment, Sarah.She is the reason he hurries up his apartment hunting. he knows she hated it whenever she came over to the house where he used to live with David. She is the type that loves her privacy, so she always feels like David's presence in the house when she wants quality time with her man is uncomfortable.“Sarah, come on. I already apologized. I said I’m sorry.” Henry says immediately when she answers the call with a grumble.It has been two days since the call she gave at the office. You can a
“I thought you wouldn’t return. You were supposed to be here 20 minutes ago. I only gave you an hour.”These are the first words Henry get from his boss after trying so hard to keep to the unreasonable time he gave him earlier. Now, he is going back on his words, because he can’t understand how 90 minutes has turned into an hour.“I wonder why I pitied him earlier.”"I'm sorry, sir," He says the words I feel he his boss wants to hear."Apologies won't cut it next time. I'm a man of my word, and I am very time-conscious. So when I tell you to keep to a specific time, you do it, especially when you are being sent on an official errand. Do you understand me?"Henry nod consistently to all the words that come out of his mouth, although he know that everything is wrong about all he has just said. What he sent him wasn't official, he know it deep down within his guts, and it was also confirmed by the recipient's reaction when she got the letter. No one would react to an official letter lik
“What is my offense again?”Henry is left to wonder this question over and over again in his mind as he stand idly beside Mr. George’s secretary who doesn’t seem to give a crap about him, even with the fact that he has been standing beside her for the past 32 minutes ever since she informed him that he is being summoned by Mr. George.A part of him wants to question the secretary about the time Mr. George would have his time, but he know that would be stupid of him. So he just bite his tongue hard in his mouth, preventing himself from blurting out the wrong word that may cost him his job.After some time that feels like forever, Mr. George finally places a call to his secretary through the intercom for Henry to come into his office. So without wasting any moment, he makes his way diligently and carefully to Mr. George office’s doorway, trying his best not to give in to the tiredness of his leg after standing for over an hour without any tangible reason.He knock politely on his offi
“Good morning.”This will be the sixth time Henry will be saying the same words to six different workers of the company. He get that is how it is going to be for him hence on, greeting the people He is supposed to be working with respectfully while they all reply to him with their noses as if they've got no mouth.“It’s going to get better.”He does the thing he do best, reassure himself that everything will be miraculously okay when he knows deep down within himself that they are just his wishful thinking.He is broken out of his self-pity session when a beautiful-looking Black Mercedes car stops just outside the gate, honking impatiently for him to open the gate as if the car didn't just arrive about a second ago.He doesn’t need the genius to tell him who that is, for some reason, he already know who exactly can own that kind of car in such a company.He opens the gate hurriedly, running over to the side of the gate in order not to be crushed by the angry driver of the car, but he
“I’m definitely going to get it right one day!”Henry gives himself the pep talk that has become an important part of every morning in his life. It is silly, He knows. But He just can’t help it. He is all by himself, lonely and frustrated.He was so naïve to think life after school would be soft on him. Had it been he knew better, he would’ve compromised all the effort and attention he put into his academics. Because seriously, there’s no point to it. He is done with school, yet he is still living in shambles.“Are you ready for ABI Conglomerate?” He shout out jokingly to his best friend who is already in the living room, waiting impatiently for him.“Yeah, you're funny!” David replies to him with a sarcastic toothy grin that makes him smile.“Come on, stop being grumpy. It’s just a job interview. I’ve gone to thousands of it for me to know that it is nothing to feel anxious about.”He says nonchalantly, trying so hard not to sound pathetic. But David being David, will always notice.