3. Haelyn
THREE
HAELYN
I was an idiot for thinking an hour and a half was enough to get some rest before my shift. Now, I came to the conclusion that I shouldn’t have slept at all.
My alarm rang at six-fifty and I woke up feeling like a zombie to head to work. My head ached and every time I moved my eyes left or right, the pressure convinced me not to do it again.
Thankfully, there weren’t many customers this morning.
As much as I was feeling like shit today, I had a great night talking with the guy. And it wasn’t only that. I told him about my job and he somehow persuaded me to apply to a few high-paid jobs. He gave me the confidence that it’s better to try than regret that I didn’t.
I didn’t even remember how many times I wrote my CV and never sent it. That’s mainly because all of my previous jobs were a mess.
How could I hope for more when I always screwed up the simplest tasks?
The stranger said it was because I didn’t find a job that was made for me, but I couldn’t buy it. People chose their jobs. They studied and prepared, it wasn’t the other way around. And I had never focused on one thing I wanted to do—I just applied to every job that appeared in my way. If I happened to get it, I worked there without considering if it was something I liked to do or not.
My phone pinged with a message and I jolted awake, unplugging the charger.
A broad smile pulled my cheeks up to my ears when I zeroed in on the notification from Unlock. I glanced at the clock.
It’s twelve p.m.
It didn’t take him long to text me again.
Unknown
How are you holding up? Because I’m dreaming about going back to bed
Me
that makes two of us *crying emojis*
maybe we can talk when the sun is still shining so we won’t end up here again
Unknown
Why?
Me
what do you mean why? *laughing emoji*
neither of us got enough sleep to be able to carry a whole shift
Unknown
Yeah. But it was worth it.
A blush crept upon my cheeks and on instinct, I looked around me to make sure no one caught it.
That was actually sweet of him to say.
Me
you’re right, it was worth it *tearful emoji*
also, thank you for pushing me to send my CV to bigger companies. It doesn’t even matter if none of them wants me, at least I know I’ve tried
Unknown
Why are you so sure no one wants you?
Why?
Because the fact that I had so many jobs only proves I wasn’t stable or trustworthy. Why would a known and respectable company want me as their employee? And on that kind of salary?
But that wasn’t the point.
Until now, I only dreamed about working in a place like that, now it depended on me to make it real.
Unknown
We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, but I’m not as sure as you are. Have some faith.
My phone vibrated in my palm and my eyes widened at the notification. It was from the app, announcing that we just unlocked our first lock.
I swiped it off my screen and instant laughter took over me when I read his name.
This had to be a joke.
Chad Bitt
Haelyn is a beautiful name.
Me
so is Chad Bitt
is Chad Bitt really your name?
Chad Bitt
Why do you ask me as if it’s a coincidence and I’m not THE Chad Bitt?
Could he… ?
I shook my head.
No, he couldn’t be that Chad Bitt. He talks like a twenty-something-year-old, not sixty.
Chad Bitt
You’re thinking about the possibility of it, aren’t you?
I smiled.
Me
you got me *laughing emoji*
Chad Bitt
I’m not Chad Bitt, but my name is Chad Bitt.
Me
good.
because if you were him, I would’ve asked for an autograph, then closed the conversation
Chad Bitt
What? How can you say that? I bet even breathing next to him would turn on most women.
Me
well, yeah. If I was at least 40 *laughing emoji*
Chad Bitt
So you’re around… 30?
Younger?
Me
don’t cheat. we’re supposed to find out things about each other gradually!!!!
Chad Bitt
Party pooper.
“Excuse me. Are you done?” My eyes snapped up to the woman in front of me and the people who were waiting in line behind her.
I put my phone to the side, giving her a curt smile. “I’m sorry. Family emergency,” I lied, then took two shirts and a pair of sneakers from her hands so I could scan them.
The woman rolled her eyes, looking after her card. “Yeah. Right.”
“What does that mean?” I squinted my eyes at her.
Her brown eyes met mine as she put her card on the POS. “You don’t smile like that when there’s an emergency. Have a great day,” she said, taking the bag I handed her and leaving with the sound of her annoying heels.
My mouth fell agape.
Even though she’s been rude about her point, it didn’t mean she wasn’t right. I was simply surprised by her boldness.
I bit my bottom lip and greeted the next customers while my mind was solely focused on getting over it so I could go back to my phone and talk to Chad.
Hah.
Chad Bitt.
I couldn’t believe his actual name was Chad Bitt. I bet his mother was obsessed with the famous actor and hoped his son would take after his steps.
Once everybody was out of the store, I grabbed my phone in a hurry, ready to text Chad a message to ask if he had any actor inclinations but stopped when I saw an unusual notification.
It was an email from Graves Automobile Company, letting me know they’d be happy to meet me for an interview tomorrow morning at 8.
You’ve got to be kidding me.
I dropped onto my chair, my wandering gaze not settling on a destination as I pressed my fist to my mouth.
This had to be a mistake.
My head shook in disbelief and I read over their email over and over again. No matter how many times I read over it, it still said the same thing. I had an interview tomorrow at Graves Automobile Company.
Holy shit.
This is huge.
Something tightened in my chest when the first thing I wanted to do was open the Unlock app and tell Chad about it. I lingered on the conversation for a while, not sure if he was the one I should tell before anyone else.
But after all, he’s the one who pushed me to try something tha was out of my league. He deserved to know.
Me
guess what *star eyes emojis*
Chad Bitt
You realized I’m Chad Bitt and changed your mind about closing the conversation?
Another laugh stolen. This guy made me laugh more in twenty-four hours than I had in the past month.
Me
no *laughing emoji* I still stand my ground about that.
Chad Bitt
Then I’m not Chad Bitt.
Me
I got a job interview tomorrow *celebrating emoji*
Chad Bitt
Is this the part where I say I told you so? Because I did
Me
Yes and I have to thank you for that. It means a lot to me *red heart emoji*
Chad Bitt
It was all you.
Me
thank you, but you know that’s not true
I just have a small problem *grimace emoji*
Chad Bitt
What happened?
I took a deep breath, then told him.
Me
I have a shift tomorrow at 7 am
How am I going to get to the interview? *crying emojis*
Chad Bitt
Quit.
What?
He couldn’t be serious about this. I just got this job a month ago and if they weren’t going to accept me tomorrow, I had to find another way to make money and I wasn’t ready for that kind of headache.
That’s why I was going to quit only when I was sure I’d work somewhere else.
Chad Bitt
Would you rather lose the opportunity or quit your current shitty job?
I sighed.
He had a point, but I also couldn’t afford to be jobless. I had to pay for my mom’s health care and if I got only half of the salary this month, I wasn’t going to be able to afford it. I didn’t have much left for me anyway and having half of the money would mean starving the whole month.
To some extent, I was already doing that, and cutting off my meals more would guarantee my death.
I couldn’t just quit my job, so I was going to ask my boss for a free day and if she wouldn’t agree, maybe she would be okay with letting me come to work a few hours later.
And if she wasn’t… well… I was going to quit.
Before my shift ended, I searched on the internet ‘how many days can a human survive without food’.
Around thirty or fifty days.
I’ve survived more.