(no subject)
The first of the writing prompts. It is based on this page, part way down, the picture of the bank of phones. I have no idea why I came up with it. It's a rough draft, but boy it was fun to do.
"If you do anything bug, you find yourself a job and get out of this town." Margie's dad had said this to her many times over the years, wanting nothing more for his only daughter than complete independence from small-town life. Bow Neck Lake, Ontario was halfway between Thunder Bay and the Manitoba border, down a country road from the Trans-Canada Highway.
Cornelius De Kirk had raised his daughter alone ever since his wife had died of cancer ten years ago, and the town expectations had been that Margie would marry a nice local boy, have kids and look after her dad. Cor wanted more for her. He knew Margie was smart, so he pushed her to always learn new things. There had been piano lessons, tutors for school, language lessons, computer camp in the summer and now Cor knew a smattering of all sorts of new things, but nothing had been quite right for Margie. Until, one day when they had been visiting Thunder Bay. Margie had spotted the museum and dragged them in. The atmosphere caught her attention immediately and she asked so many questions of the tour guide that he called the curator to come out and help satisfy the curiousity of an eager thirteen-year-old girl. That conversation stayed with her for years and when the guidance counselor at her high school asked what she wanted to do she swiftly replied, "I want to be a museum curator."
Now Margie was waiting to speak to the employment officer at the University of Toronto which felt as close as she would ever get to actually going to university. There was no money for school; she didn't get enough in scholarships and her father couldn't get a loan at the bank, but she came to Toronto anyway, determined to save up and even just one course at a time. First though, she had to get a job.
"Margaret De Kirk?" asked the young man at the counter.
"That's me" she said and got up and went over to the long counter separating the staff from the public. Behind the counter were three desks with people typing on computers, phones were ringing and other staff moved in and out from the back. It was a busy place, thought Margie, it gave the air of organized optimism. The clerk, who had called her name, laid out a folder on the counter and pulled out the top counter.
"I've got a clerical opening in the registrar's office. Do you have experience with phone systems? You mention typing and filing on your resume, and that's great."
All Margie heard was 'phone', she was nervous being interviewed.
"Yes" she said and they went through several more questions before they wrapped things up.
"Fine then, you start Monday at eight-thirty a.m. and the registrar with fill you in on what shifts you'll have."
Monday came too quickly and Margie found herself staring at the most complicated phone she'd ever seen. It had three sections of buttons spread over the desk and lights were already flashing all over it. At first it had been east and Margie actually thought she might make it and then more than one line rang at a time and she panicked. How could a phone be this hard? Just as she answered one call, another one came in, and she hung up on the first one rather than putting them on hold. It was a disaster. More and more calls were blinking on the stupid phone and she started hitting buttons at random trying to guess what to do.
Pat Adams, the registrar, came rushing out of her office, eyes wild at the chaos that was erupting. "What is going out here? All the phones are ringing and I've got people phoning my private line who can't get through."
Even as the registrar spoke, the phones were ringing again and Margie looked helplessly as her boss dealt efficiently with each call. Margie's face was hot and she wanted to run away from this mess. Having got the phones sorted out, Pat sat back at the reception desk and gestured for Margie to grab another chair.
"Ms De Kirk you assured the employment centre that this job was not too much for you. I can see that you don't know the first thing about our phone system. I'm fairly annoyed at being deceived, and my first inclination is to send you back to them, but what do you suggest I should do?"
As they sat in the now quiet reception area, noise from passing students filtered in and Margie took courage from how much she wanted to be here, how much she wanted to be part of the academic world. "I know I lied and that was wrong of me." She paused and gathered her thoughts, this was so important. "You could fire me and hire someone who is more skilled than me, but I'm a really quick learner. I'm sorry I messed things up, but I really want to keep this job and I'd like to learn how to do it properly."
Pat looked at the young woman sitting across from her and sighed. She was pretty with a fragile English maiden look, pale skin and grey eyes with shimmery golden hair. Her clothes were secondhand, but carefully chosen and she seemed eager and attentive. "I'm inclined to agree with you. I think you can learn the phones easily enough and the other systems as well. When Sandra gets back from her lunch, we'll get her to walk you through it slowly. How does that sound?"
Sandra turned out to be a wonderful teacher and the office with its warm red and oak interior become Margie's favourite place. Over time she had saved enough to take some classes and with her staff discount she got by financially. Being independent, learning new things, and meeting new people gave Margie power over the world, that was a thrill.
* * * * *
Winters in Toronto seem to hang on forever, the cloudy skies and the slush bring down the spirits of even the most determinedly cheerful souls, but eventually April bring warmer weather and rain clears out the last proof of winter's hold. It is the season of graduations and universities are full of hyper students who are done with the grind of study and have nothing more serious to do than try on their gowns and plan parties.
University of Toronto was no different with students sprawled across the grass as Margie got out of her cab. The noise of the crowd was deafening and as she turned towards the Admin office she failed to notice she was moving into an ongoing frisbee game and the plastic disc flew by her face, scraping her nose on the way by and falling at her feet. A sheepish young guy in cargo shorts and nothing else, with complex braids tied with beads at his neck came running up.
"Oh man, I'm sorry, that was really stupid of me." He leaned down to pick up the frisbee and Margie couldn't help admiring how fit and tan he was. On standing up, he leaned in to inspect her nose and she was struck by his eyes. They reminded her of mica, flecks of rainbow leapt out of the deep brown.
"I'm Amir bye the way," he said, and she jumped. He was grinning at her, well aware she'd been staring at him. "How's your nose?"
"It's fine thanks, you didn't even break the skin" she said.
"Well it's a nice nose, I wouldn't want to mess it up," and that warm smile lit up his face again. Margie was feeling lightheaded and wonderful and she'd never reacted that strongly to anyone before. She wondered if she had the nerve to ask him out somewhere before he took off forever. Although he didn't seem in a rush to leave, as he settled against a nearby tree, but she had to take the chance.
"Uh, would you like to go out for a coffee or something later on? I have to do some errands but I'm free at about four." Now that she had blurted it out, Margie was mortified. He probably had a girlfriend or something. She started to take it back, and he waved her down.
"Hey, let me answer before you do that. I'd like to go for coffee, I really would. If you hadn't asked, I would have."
* * * * *
Graduation Day was rainy and windy. The lawn was covered in chairs, festival tents and a platform for the presentation of the diplomas. As the wind picked up, the tent billowed out and a rope snapped sending it flying into the chairs. The organizers decided that as the rain got worse, everything should be moved inside, and as the students and families crowded the front hall of the auditorium building, the organizers tried to get a grip on the chaos. The smell of damp gowns filled the air, as Margie eased her way through the crowd and found Sandra, her old work-mate, now promoted to head of Student Services, calling out jobs to people and making cell calls.
"Hey, Sandra, could you use any help?" Sandra's eyes lit up, at the sight of her friend and she dropped everything on the table next to her and leaned forward and hugged Margie hard. Her soft green sweater was a good contrast to her short, spiky hair.
"Could I ever use the help. This is nuts. If you could show Stu here to the lighting and sound booth, that would be great," and she pointed at a scruffy looking kid with equipment piled around him.
* * * * *
Despite all the setbacks, the ceremony went well and afterwords Margie found herself in the empty auditorium, standing under the one spotlight on the stage. The darkness outside the light made the space beyond the stage go on forever. She was savouring the silence, thinking back on her years here and the last few years after with her job at the National Museum in Ottawa. Life had been good to her and this was where it had started. Amir's voice floated out of the darkness like a ghost and she strained to see where he was.
"So Ms. De Kirk, what do you want to be when you grow up?"
"I want what I have now to keep on, the happiness, the fulfillment; I want to learn new things, travel the world. I want it all!" and she smiled out to her best friend's voice. Amir and Margie had discovered that they were best friends nothing more, and happily he had found a woman who loved him and now he had a home, a marriage a new baby on the way.
"That sounds like you," he said and she grinned at him, as Amir moved up to the stage.
"Yeah I'm consistent that's for sure, and happy, how 'bout you?"
"Things are good right now. Amy is almost due now, and my contract with government is being renewed, but that's not why I showed up. I knew you would be here. Think of this as the anniversary of our first meeting."
He leaned in and they hugged, standing comfortably close in the silence, just being together, friends together.
"If you do anything bug, you find yourself a job and get out of this town." Margie's dad had said this to her many times over the years, wanting nothing more for his only daughter than complete independence from small-town life. Bow Neck Lake, Ontario was halfway between Thunder Bay and the Manitoba border, down a country road from the Trans-Canada Highway.
Cornelius De Kirk had raised his daughter alone ever since his wife had died of cancer ten years ago, and the town expectations had been that Margie would marry a nice local boy, have kids and look after her dad. Cor wanted more for her. He knew Margie was smart, so he pushed her to always learn new things. There had been piano lessons, tutors for school, language lessons, computer camp in the summer and now Cor knew a smattering of all sorts of new things, but nothing had been quite right for Margie. Until, one day when they had been visiting Thunder Bay. Margie had spotted the museum and dragged them in. The atmosphere caught her attention immediately and she asked so many questions of the tour guide that he called the curator to come out and help satisfy the curiousity of an eager thirteen-year-old girl. That conversation stayed with her for years and when the guidance counselor at her high school asked what she wanted to do she swiftly replied, "I want to be a museum curator."
Now Margie was waiting to speak to the employment officer at the University of Toronto which felt as close as she would ever get to actually going to university. There was no money for school; she didn't get enough in scholarships and her father couldn't get a loan at the bank, but she came to Toronto anyway, determined to save up and even just one course at a time. First though, she had to get a job.
"Margaret De Kirk?" asked the young man at the counter.
"That's me" she said and got up and went over to the long counter separating the staff from the public. Behind the counter were three desks with people typing on computers, phones were ringing and other staff moved in and out from the back. It was a busy place, thought Margie, it gave the air of organized optimism. The clerk, who had called her name, laid out a folder on the counter and pulled out the top counter.
"I've got a clerical opening in the registrar's office. Do you have experience with phone systems? You mention typing and filing on your resume, and that's great."
All Margie heard was 'phone', she was nervous being interviewed.
"Yes" she said and they went through several more questions before they wrapped things up.
"Fine then, you start Monday at eight-thirty a.m. and the registrar with fill you in on what shifts you'll have."
Monday came too quickly and Margie found herself staring at the most complicated phone she'd ever seen. It had three sections of buttons spread over the desk and lights were already flashing all over it. At first it had been east and Margie actually thought she might make it and then more than one line rang at a time and she panicked. How could a phone be this hard? Just as she answered one call, another one came in, and she hung up on the first one rather than putting them on hold. It was a disaster. More and more calls were blinking on the stupid phone and she started hitting buttons at random trying to guess what to do.
Pat Adams, the registrar, came rushing out of her office, eyes wild at the chaos that was erupting. "What is going out here? All the phones are ringing and I've got people phoning my private line who can't get through."
Even as the registrar spoke, the phones were ringing again and Margie looked helplessly as her boss dealt efficiently with each call. Margie's face was hot and she wanted to run away from this mess. Having got the phones sorted out, Pat sat back at the reception desk and gestured for Margie to grab another chair.
"Ms De Kirk you assured the employment centre that this job was not too much for you. I can see that you don't know the first thing about our phone system. I'm fairly annoyed at being deceived, and my first inclination is to send you back to them, but what do you suggest I should do?"
As they sat in the now quiet reception area, noise from passing students filtered in and Margie took courage from how much she wanted to be here, how much she wanted to be part of the academic world. "I know I lied and that was wrong of me." She paused and gathered her thoughts, this was so important. "You could fire me and hire someone who is more skilled than me, but I'm a really quick learner. I'm sorry I messed things up, but I really want to keep this job and I'd like to learn how to do it properly."
Pat looked at the young woman sitting across from her and sighed. She was pretty with a fragile English maiden look, pale skin and grey eyes with shimmery golden hair. Her clothes were secondhand, but carefully chosen and she seemed eager and attentive. "I'm inclined to agree with you. I think you can learn the phones easily enough and the other systems as well. When Sandra gets back from her lunch, we'll get her to walk you through it slowly. How does that sound?"
Sandra turned out to be a wonderful teacher and the office with its warm red and oak interior become Margie's favourite place. Over time she had saved enough to take some classes and with her staff discount she got by financially. Being independent, learning new things, and meeting new people gave Margie power over the world, that was a thrill.
* * * * *
Winters in Toronto seem to hang on forever, the cloudy skies and the slush bring down the spirits of even the most determinedly cheerful souls, but eventually April bring warmer weather and rain clears out the last proof of winter's hold. It is the season of graduations and universities are full of hyper students who are done with the grind of study and have nothing more serious to do than try on their gowns and plan parties.
University of Toronto was no different with students sprawled across the grass as Margie got out of her cab. The noise of the crowd was deafening and as she turned towards the Admin office she failed to notice she was moving into an ongoing frisbee game and the plastic disc flew by her face, scraping her nose on the way by and falling at her feet. A sheepish young guy in cargo shorts and nothing else, with complex braids tied with beads at his neck came running up.
"Oh man, I'm sorry, that was really stupid of me." He leaned down to pick up the frisbee and Margie couldn't help admiring how fit and tan he was. On standing up, he leaned in to inspect her nose and she was struck by his eyes. They reminded her of mica, flecks of rainbow leapt out of the deep brown.
"I'm Amir bye the way," he said, and she jumped. He was grinning at her, well aware she'd been staring at him. "How's your nose?"
"It's fine thanks, you didn't even break the skin" she said.
"Well it's a nice nose, I wouldn't want to mess it up," and that warm smile lit up his face again. Margie was feeling lightheaded and wonderful and she'd never reacted that strongly to anyone before. She wondered if she had the nerve to ask him out somewhere before he took off forever. Although he didn't seem in a rush to leave, as he settled against a nearby tree, but she had to take the chance.
"Uh, would you like to go out for a coffee or something later on? I have to do some errands but I'm free at about four." Now that she had blurted it out, Margie was mortified. He probably had a girlfriend or something. She started to take it back, and he waved her down.
"Hey, let me answer before you do that. I'd like to go for coffee, I really would. If you hadn't asked, I would have."
* * * * *
Graduation Day was rainy and windy. The lawn was covered in chairs, festival tents and a platform for the presentation of the diplomas. As the wind picked up, the tent billowed out and a rope snapped sending it flying into the chairs. The organizers decided that as the rain got worse, everything should be moved inside, and as the students and families crowded the front hall of the auditorium building, the organizers tried to get a grip on the chaos. The smell of damp gowns filled the air, as Margie eased her way through the crowd and found Sandra, her old work-mate, now promoted to head of Student Services, calling out jobs to people and making cell calls.
"Hey, Sandra, could you use any help?" Sandra's eyes lit up, at the sight of her friend and she dropped everything on the table next to her and leaned forward and hugged Margie hard. Her soft green sweater was a good contrast to her short, spiky hair.
"Could I ever use the help. This is nuts. If you could show Stu here to the lighting and sound booth, that would be great," and she pointed at a scruffy looking kid with equipment piled around him.
* * * * *
Despite all the setbacks, the ceremony went well and afterwords Margie found herself in the empty auditorium, standing under the one spotlight on the stage. The darkness outside the light made the space beyond the stage go on forever. She was savouring the silence, thinking back on her years here and the last few years after with her job at the National Museum in Ottawa. Life had been good to her and this was where it had started. Amir's voice floated out of the darkness like a ghost and she strained to see where he was.
"So Ms. De Kirk, what do you want to be when you grow up?"
"I want what I have now to keep on, the happiness, the fulfillment; I want to learn new things, travel the world. I want it all!" and she smiled out to her best friend's voice. Amir and Margie had discovered that they were best friends nothing more, and happily he had found a woman who loved him and now he had a home, a marriage a new baby on the way.
"That sounds like you," he said and she grinned at him, as Amir moved up to the stage.
"Yeah I'm consistent that's for sure, and happy, how 'bout you?"
"Things are good right now. Amy is almost due now, and my contract with government is being renewed, but that's not why I showed up. I knew you would be here. Think of this as the anniversary of our first meeting."
He leaned in and they hugged, standing comfortably close in the silence, just being together, friends together.