And Your Girl Can Sing

Chapter 45: General Tso's Chicken, Finger Lickin' Good

Hi lovely people! I hope you all have had a wonderful Saturday. Uni is going pretty okay. We're getting our spring break on March 31st, so I'm counting down until then. Thanks for waiting for this chapter! Honestly, I'm having a little writer's block right now, trying to map out where I want the story to go. It's all a bit of a tangle, but I'm sure I'll get it sorted out.

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Until then, Happy reading!

Miraculously, my application had gone through, the application that I had filled out that day when I had met John, after I had sat in that office with the interesting psychedelic swirls on the floor. The people from the stationery company had rang up George's house number. That day I was sitting on George's couch across from George, my chin in my fisted hands, staring in concentration at the board. I owned Boardwalk, and John was eyeing it all throughout the game.

"Need some help there, love?" John had asked during my turn. I knew he wanted Boardwalk. I hovered a hand over it, cocking my head at him. "I'm good, Lennon, Boardwalk is not for sale."

"My turn," George said. "Cora, I'll make you an offer you can't refuse." His fingers pointed out several properties he was willing to trade for Boardwalk and we exchanged a grin.

"You sly devils," John groaned. "Just—"

"Cora?" I heard from the hallway. "Phone call for you."

I placed my cards on the table, walking over to Mrs. Harrison, the phone in her hands. "Hello?" I asked into the speaker. "This is Cora speaking."

"Hello!" A chipper female voice said over the speaker. "This is Kathleen Richards from the stationery company you applied to a couple of weeks ago. I'm pleased to say that we have an opening for you."

"That's great!" I said, barely able to contain my excitement. "Should I come in for an interview?"

"That won't be necessary," she responded. I remembered her, her honey colored hair, big brown eyes, and I imagined her winding the telephone cord around her pinky finger. "You can start Monday, dear, your hours are nine to five."

Nine to five... I was so used to spending my time with the band all day that this was a shock for me. "Um... okay," I managed to squeak into the phone. Besides, I could quit whenever I wanted, right? Besides, I had to get a job. I hung up the phone and closed my eyes, soaking it in, until I heard John's call from the next room. "Cora, I made him an offer he couldn't refuse!" And a retaliation from George.

Through my closed eyes I grinned. I would make this work. If this was the only job I could get, so be it. I would do the best with it.

***

Kathleen Richards turned out to be my work partner, the other secretary who worked next to me. I was number two, and I had a typewriter of my own. The keys were so much more spread apart and were harder to push down than a MacBook pro. I had to do the best with whatever I had made up on the resume, and I shifted to try and find a comfortable position on the wooden seat in my houndstooth dress and heels from Germany.

Kathleen watched me. "Where did you get that dress? It's real classy."

I smiled. "Hamburg. My boyfriend played in a band there and—well, we met there."

Her eyebrows rose. "Oh! So you're from Hamburg!" she breathed out.

I tried to explain. "Well, not really—" how could I explain this? "I'm from London. We—er—just met in Hamburg."

Kathleen laughed, a clear sound. "That's really great." She turned back to her work and carefully placed a piece of paper into the typewriter. I casually grabbed a piece and attempted to imitate her motion, but I couldn't find where it was supposed to go. Kathleen watched me struggle for a few moments. "Have you ever worked with a typewriter before?"