The Untitled Job

-1- The Offer

Bing. For about the third or fourth time my laptop had notified me of a notification. The first few times were my friends so I ignored them but what I saw in the notification bar caught my attention.

In bold black writing I saw 'Help Wanted'. I saw the email was forwarded to me by my mum. She must want me out of the house just as much as I want to be out of here myself. The details were very brief and that it was a full time working mother who needed help around the house. In all honesty, the lack of information made me want to know more about the job. All the information I had was the wage I would have and where I would be working. The house was only about a mile or so away which meant it was very accessible for me to be able to get to.

I look at the time and notice it is 7:13 pm. I drag myself off my bed and let my hair out of a messy bun, letting it fall out into light waves. I look over to my wardrobe and look at my outfit for tonight hanging on the door. I decided to go for a white laced vest crop top, black dungaree shorts with my Chelsea boot heels. I put on a little mascara and winged eyeliner and make my way outside, avoiding running into my mum and brother.

I make my way over to my Vauxhall Corsa SXI and go to the café in the village where I live. I pull up outside a small semi-attached building with a sign saying 'Coffee Time'. I get out of my car, lock it and make my way towards the door to the café. From the door I can see two of my best friends at a table. I walk to the counter and order a strawberry Shmoo milkshake with whipped cream and marshmallows on top and make my way to the table with my friends on. Lyla runs up towards me and jumps into the arm that doesn't have the milkshake in. Shortly after being ambushed by Lyla, Mel burst into laughter at the looks we were getting from other people. I felt my cheeks start to heat up and walked to my seat as fast as I possibly could.

"Lex, are you trying to impress us or is there someone you're not telling us about?" I heard the familiar voice of my best guy friend Nate as he took a seat across the table from me and in between the two cackling maniacs either side of me.

"Natty, I didn't realise you cared so deeply about the way I dress, are you sure it's not you who has something to tell us about?" I retaliated. The girls laughed harder as Nate turned a bright red and lowered his head trying to cover his face. After a while of having a conversation with our usual banter and gossip I notice Lyla and Nate's faces paling as if they had both seen the same ghost. Lyla catches my eyes as a look of confusion takes over my previous smile and shakes her head telling me not to turn around. I listen to her and wait for the moment to pass. Mel remained oblivious the whole time, as usual, and carried on with her gossip of the week. A few minutes pass and Lyla nudges me and nods her head towards the toilets. I nod in response and we both head to the toilet.

"Lex, I know you're probably wondering what the hell that was all about but I just didn't want you to see it," I can tell from the cracks in her voice she's hesitant to tell me. I decide to stay quiet and let her continue when she's ready, "I just couldn't let you see Skylar with Cody." The whole situation shocked me but I wouldn't expect any less. Of course the one girl who could make my life hell in one sentence would go after my brother, who also hates my guts. Seeing how shaken up my friend is about telling me I pull her towards me and hug her tightly. She takes a second or two to process what I was doing before hugging me back and relaxing in my arms. We pull away from each other and I gave her a light smile before dragging her back to the table with me.

"Now that that's cleared up, I do have some news for you guys after all." They all turn towards me wide-eyed and internally asking me to carry on talking.

"My mum forwarded me this email about a job offer, it seems quite interesting. Although, there wasn't much information about the job itself." I let out a light chuckle at the end of my sentence as a way of lightening the mood. They read the situation the same way that I did.

"That seems great and all but is tha-" Nate's the first one to pipe up before I wave him off with my hand.

"Let's not get into that now, I thought the same but think of it my way. If we're going on this road trip in the summer then I need money for it AND it will be an excuse to get out of the house." They all nod in response but remain silent. It stays like that in an awkward silence for a couple of minutes until Mel tries to get rid of some of the awkwardness.

"So how's the singing coming along Lex?"

"Well, it's the same as usual, I practice but I won't ever do anything with it. It's just a hobby that I can get you guys to join in with every once in a while." I eye each of them separately as if to make them feel guilty for not singing or playing along with me. In some ways I actually was trying to make them feel guilty.

"What if we went to Karaoke Night tonight? It is that time of the week in the social club." We all chuckle at Lyla before agreeing with her before she can change her mind. We gather up our stuff, thank the owner of the shop and walk across the road to the social. It's only a building in the middle of the village that's a pub but almost everyone knows everyone in this village and a majority of which gather here on a daily basis. After doing a few shots each we head over to the machine to choose a song for all four of us to sing. Our choice comes down to the Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen, Don't Stop Believin' by Journey, Before He Cheats by Carrie Underwood, Livin' On A Prayer by Bon Jovi, or Sweet Child O' Mine by Guns 'N' Roses. In all honesty, any of them are better than having to hear Nate try and hit the high note for Wake Me Up Before You Go Go again. For that exact reason we decided on Sweet Child O' Mine. As the intro to the song starts playing through the speakers people started to gather around the small stage area, which was only a foot higher than the floor. Lyla nodded towards me to say she wanted me to start and the others nodded with her.

"She's got a smile that it seems to me, reminds me of childhood memories, where everything was as fresh as the bright blue sky."

"Now and then when I see her face, she takes me away to that special place and if I stared too long I'd probably break down and cry." Mel sang after me before we all joined together for the shorter (than most) chorus.

"Oh sweet child o' mine, Oh sweet love of mine."

"She's got eyes of the bluest skies as if they thought of rain, I'd hate to look into those eyes and see and ounce of pain." Nate sang aiming it to Lyla before she took over.

"Her hair reminds me of a warm safe place where as a child I'd hide, and pray for the thunder and the rain to quietly pass me by."

"Oh sweet child o' mine, Oh sweet love of mine." I sang on my own waiting for the solo to finish so the others would join in this time.

"Oh sweet child o' mine, Oh sweet love of mine. Oh sweet child o' mine, Oh sweet love of mine." The music faded before the 'where do we go now' part started and people began to clap and cheer as we made our way back to the bar area laughing.

As we talked about starting to do that regularly the barman complimented us on taking on such a big, well known song and for doing a good job at singing it.

"Hey Lex, what do you say about having regular practices like we used to? You guys too, that was just too good to not do it all the time." Mel suggested.

"Only if everyone wants to again. I mean if Nate will play guitar again and all four of us want to sing like we used to then I'm willing to. Oh, and I'll have to work it around the job hours if I decide to get the job that is. What do you guys say?"

"I'm up for it." Lyla was beaming at the enthusiasm Nate was showing and agreed with him.

"Let's get the band back together, or whatever they say with things like this." We burst into laughter and carried on talking until we all decide to head home.