One year ago...
“Hello Ms. Washington, my name is Albert. I’m an HR rep and I’ll be interviewing you today. So, Ms. Washington, why Bakersfield?”
“Well first, you can just call me Ellie. Second, Bakersfield is a great company. I grew up in this town and I’m proud to have Bakersfield be the center of this city’s economy, as well as the greatest technological production company in the country.”
“You attended Apple Creek University and were at the top of your class in both mechanical and electrical engineering.”
“That’s correct.”
“In your freshmen year you invented a chip insert for keys which linked up to an app to help people find their lost keys. It was a brilliant feat for someone with little experience in the technology field.”
“Thank you.”
“So tell me, Ellie, why would you ever apply for a low level data entry position at our company when you are qualified to enter straight into the technology department?”
“I believe I still have more to learn.”
“How? You have more experience building technology than a few of our top engineers!”
“Maybe I don’t think technological engineering is something that I want to do with my life.”
“Your grades say otherwise.”
“Can I be frank? I have wanted to work at Bakersfield my entire life. I worked hard in college to achieve that. But I’m at a point in my life where I don’t know what I want to do. I want to help people, I want to change the world, but I don’t believe that being in the spotlight as one of Bakersfield’s engineers is something that I want with my life or will help me achieve my life goals. I’ve worked hard for everything I’ve done and it wouldn’t feel right to jump ahead without starting at the bottom. I’m only looking for a job.”
“Ms. Washington, you have incredible references, experience beyond your years, and everything that we look for in our top engineers. Building tech for Bakersfield can help you to change the world.”
“I’m not someone who likes to be in the spotlight.”
“If I’m being frank, I think Brandon Baker would have my head if I sent someone with your background to work in data analysis.”
“Data entry. I applied for data entry.”
“That’s lower than data analysis!”
“Correct.”
“...?”
“Sir, I know it seems a bit unusual, but I’m only looking for a job. Something simple.”
“I can’t in good conscience let you take this job.”
“Albert, it was Albert, right? Look I’ve always been the kind of person to speak my mind. In fact, I came in here prepared to behave, to not ramble the way I normally do. It takes all my willpower to not blurt out the random insane ideas that pop into my head. And yes, sometimes those ideas are productive and create interesting technological things that can help society, but for the most part I’m a mess. I’m unpredictable. Like a bomb with no idea of when it’ll go off. Trust me when I say you don’t want someone like me working high up in this company.”
“But Brandon Baker…”
“Brandon Baker is the CEO of a multi-million dollar company. I don’t think he’ll be concerned with a single employee staying at an entry-level position.”
“Ms. Washington…”
“Ellie.”
“Ellie. Is there anything I can do to convince you to take a higher position.”
“No.”
“Entry-level then. Data entry. All it is is typing in numbers. We give this job to some of our own children when they are too lazy to go to college.”
“I’m okay with that.”
“What’s going to happen in a year when you get bored of this job?”
“Well maybe by then I’ll have figured out how I want to help people.”
“I wish you the best of luck Ellie. You deserve more than this.”
“Thank you.”
“One last question. You are aware that Bakersfield has a strict anti-supers policy? Despite being the cause of superpowered human beings in this city, we do not allow anyone with powers to be employed here, as one of our priorities is finding a way to rid the city of these superpowered beings. So, before I can hire you I need you to be completely honest with me. Do you have any superpowers?”
“No.”
“And you’re not lying?”
“Never.”
“Ms. Washington…”
“Ellie.”
“Ellie. Welcome to Bakersfield.”
____________________________________________________________
What? What is this? If you're confused, let me explain. This September I will be releasing a series of short stories on my blog called Heroes & Villains. The above segment is an introduction to one of our main characters, Eleanor Washington.
If this story interests you be sure to follow me on all my social media sites so you can find out when new segments are added to the story. But keep in mind, the above segment is not an accurate portrayal of what will be coming. This one has only dialogue. That won't be happening in the future.
Don't forget to let me know what you thought of this story in the comment section below and share it with your friends using #SupersSaturday, yes, it's supers not super. Or #HVSeries. Either one. I'll be checking those two hashtags often so if you post anything with them I will probably like it or retweet it or comment on it and tell you how awesome you are.
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