Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Cam
T here should be a rule about giving job applicants a specific turnaround time for feedback on their application status. I’d sent my files to Tritech last Saturday. It was now Friday. How long did it take to read a couple of docs?
The not knowing wreaked hell on my nerves, so I typed a follow-up to their last email. If I didn’t pass their screening, I’d rather find out sooner rather than prolong the waiting period.
I was checking my drafted message when an email notification appeared.
We’re happy to inform you that you have passed our initial screening. For the final part of the application process, we would like to invite you to our five-day in-person boot camp ? —
My eyes bulged out at the words in person . I didn’t need to continue reading to know what that meant, because there was one place in the Philippines where majority of work events happened.
Manila.
I glared at my screen, wishing I could change the message’s contents with the force of my eyes.
What did they need an in-person thing for?
They were an American company with remote employees.
And a boot camp? Wasn’t that why we had to submit our portfolios and testimonials, so they could gauge our abilities?
Were they flying in all their applicants for that?
What about those who had full-time jobs and couldn’t afford to take that many days off?
As I read on, the email answered my questions one by one:
To assess culture fit and encourage connections…
To test applicants’ problem-solving skills and capacity to adapt to business needs…
This is a pilot program created to ensure a mutually successful partnership between the company and its potential employees…
Of all the times I could have applied, it had to be when I’d be part of the guinea pig squad.
I wanted to say thanks but no thanks , but the next sentence silenced me.
We know this entails time away from your current work, so we are happy to extend an allowance of twelve thousand pesos in addition to the meals that will be provided on all five days.
If I budgeted correctly, that money could cover my costs for the trip and then some.
It was just one week. If I took the earliest bus on Monday and the last one on Friday, that meant five days. I could tolerate five days in Manila in exchange for a remote job.
Needing a sounding board, I hit my speed dial.
“What’s up?” Nikki said.
“I need to go to fucking Manila.”
“What? You need to go fuck Manila?” she asked, deliberately mishearing my words. “I knew it!”
“Funny. I need to go to Manila. The city.” The one I’d promised myself to never return to unless absolutely necessary.
As much as I wanted to deny it, this was one such time.
“I like my version better.”
“Of course you do,” I muttered. Any chance of her quitting her Lonzo campaign died after he pulled through for me.
“What’s happening in Manila?” Nikki asked.
“Apparently, the company I’m applying for has this boot camp thing to—get this—ensure my success at the company. For a week.”
“ What ? What if you have work? Are you supposed to go on leave when you’re not even sure you’ll get the gig?”
“They’re giving an allowance.”
“Still—if you don’t go, that’s it? You lose your chance?”
“Apparently. Damn it.” I glared at the email.
“That sucks.” After a second, she said, “You’re going, right?”
I heaved a sigh. “Desperate people do desperate things.”
“Hey, let’s not call you desperate. You’re practical. Doesn’t that sound better?”
“It doesn’t change the fact that I have to go back there.” The mere thought had my skin crawling.
“You survived it before, Cam,” Nikki said, her voice gentling. “You’ll survive it again. At least it’s just a week, right?”
“Five days.”
“You want me to try to go with you?”
Her offering to do so meant the world to me, but I couldn’t accept it. “You have Jo and the café to take care of. I can handle it.”
“Are you sure? I can ask my parents to come over. Or maybe Eric’s free…”
“No,” I insisted. “Don’t worry about me.
You know I can take care of myself. Could you just check on Inang from time to time?
I want to make sure she sticks to her doctor’s orders.
” Although I’d convinced Inang of the importance of regularly drinking her meds, I wouldn’t put it past her to skip them, whether out of forgetfulness or the desire to cut down on expenses.
“Of course,” Nikki said. “When’s this camp going to be?”
“In two weeks.”
“I can?—”
“I’ve got it, Nikki. Stop stressing.”
Though I wished she didn’t worry about me, part of me loved that she did. It reminded me that she cared.
As I typed up my response to the email, I took comfort in the fact that I had her to come back to. Her, Jo, Eric, and Inang. That was so much more than I had when I first arrived in Juana.
Alonzo
As part-time jobs went, I’d lucked out with Kada Kape.
The owner’s husband was a lawyer who’d studied at my school, so they understood our class schedules and gave us the flexibility to choose our shifts.
Plus, it was about midway between the campus and my home and shared the same jeepney route, so the commute was simple.
Next week, business would pick up as the class load got heavier for most students, who comprised eighty-five percent of our customer base. In the meantime, I savored the relaxed pace and took the opportunity to catch up on my readings.
My coworker Fred asked me to handle cleaning duty on my own since he had a birthday party to attend. It meant I finished later than usual and had to hurry to catch up to my study session. We had a big recitation tomorrow, and I couldn’t afford to come unprepared.
As I waited for the jeepney, I checked my phone and found a missed call and a text from Nikki. Her message was short: Pls call me when you can . The absence of her trademark pleasantries concerned me, and the first thought I had was that there had been an emergency. Was it Cam? Or Jo?
My stomach churned as I waited for Nikki to pick up. When the line finally connected, I blurted out, “Is everything okay?”
“Hey, Lonzo. Yeah, everything’s good. I was just wondering…”
Her hesitation set off a different set of alarm bells in my head. Was she going to ask for money? Some favor related to Jason?
“The thing is,” she continued, “Cam’s going there.”
I frowned. “You mean to Manila?”
“Yeah.”
“I thought she hated it here.”
“Oh, she does, but she needs to go for her job application.”
“Okay…” Was that why she needed the certificate? If so, what was it about that specific job that compelled her to do something she hated?
“She doesn’t know anyone there, and if she was only going to be there for a day, I wouldn’t worry,” Nikki went on.
“But she has to stay for a week. I was wondering if maybe you could check in on her? I’d go with her if I could, but with Jo and the café, I can’t take off.
Eric has a work trip, so he can’t go either. ”
“Yeah, sure,” I said. “When’s she coming?”
“Monday after next.”
Spotting an incoming jeepney, I waved my hand. “Got it. She’s taking the bus, right?”
“Yup, she is.”
“Can you send me the details? I’ll see if I can pick her up before my class.”
“I’ll text you after this.”
“Sounds good,” I told her as the jeepney pulled up in front of me. “I have to go.”
“Okay. Thank you so much, Lonzo. This means a lot.”
“No problem. Take care, Nikki.”
My phone vibrated as I got into the jeep. Once I had settled in for the ride, I studied her text with Cam’s travel schedule.
It wasn’t a big deal—nothing I wouldn’t do as a favor to my siblings or my other friends. But as I headed to Miggy’s apartment, my mind was less on my readings and more on my unexpected visitor.