Ten months ago I was full of hope, ten months ago I had daydreams about what grand things I might do in the future or at which company I might work. But back then was naive me, because since then I have arrived in the bitter reality.
I took off my glasses, so I could rub my sore eyes with my fingers, I had stared into my computer all day, sending applications, trying to make my CV look more impressive, yet the only mails I received were rejection after rejection. After reading the twentieth "We wish you all the best" of the day I finally snapped.
"Are you telling me I sat all those years in school, in college, in uni for nothing?" I was frustrated. Just two years ago everybody told me getting a job would be easy and that everybody was fighting over every single potential employee, but nothing.
Angry at the world I pressed the power button of my computer with a bit too much force, snapping the weak plastic support that held it in place, causing it to break through the top and fall into the case of my computer. I didn't say anything. Screaming "Fuck!" or anything like that would've been my normal reaction but at this point I couldn't manage anything more than a deep, long and sharp exhale, before turning away and leaving my room and apartment to get some fresh air.
With my headphones on, due to the lack of any good music not playing anything, I walked down the main street, cars rushing past me. Down here on the city floors it was dark, as all of the sunlight was blocked by the tall skyscrapers.
"I came out here to calm down for god's sake!" I cursed as another car shot past me. I really needed a good cup of coffee right now, but remembering the state of my wallet I had to walk past the small coffee shop.
I wandered around the city like that for a few more minutes, thinking again and again what I had done wrong, scenes from the few interviews I had occasionally popping up in my head.
One of them was where the interviewer never looked at my eyes, but at some other spot on my face… Did I have something stuck in my teeth? Did my breath smell? "Uhhh…" I slapped my cheek, trying to stop myself from thinking about that interview.
"Ok, I think it's time to head home, I still might have some instant noodles kicking around somewhere." I thought, turning around on my heels and for the first time in about 20 minutes looked up from the floor.
The houses around me looked run down, a few buildings missing windows and a few others having containers that were clearly not from this century. "Where am I?" I looked around. The sun was slowly setting and the temperature was dropping noticeably, causing goosebumps to form on my arms.
'I better get back home quick' I thought pulling out my trusty old phone to pull up my maps app. As I pressed the power button the image of a grey battery popped up on the otherwise black screen, before disappearing again. "Oh no, come on!" I pressed the button a few more times, but the result I got didn't change.
Another deep breath later I took off my headphones and started to look around. "Hopefully somebody can tell me how to get back to the city center" My eyes wandered from building to building as I continued to walk. Vinyl shops, Supermarkets, Model Railway shops, Barbers and even a gym, some of them with smashed windows, some facades already being reclaimed by the plants growing through the cracks in the pavement.
"With my luck I might've ended up in some kind of ghost city" I chuckled kicking an old can down the street, the sound of metal hitting concrete echoing down the empty streets.
"Wait! There's a light burning!" In one of the many old shops, through the old and dirty glass, I could see a faint light coming from one of the stores. It was a rather small one, placed directly between a travel agency and what seemed to be a video rental store.
As I walked up closer I noticed the weak red neon signs, its letters flickering "OPEN". Slowly I pulled the heavy door open, glancing into the rather dark interior. "Hello?" I asked.
"Just come on in!" a female voice answered. The one who greeted me was an older woman standing behind the counter, her makeup trying hard to cover the countless wrinkles in her face, her makeup style clearly reflecting that just like this place she hadn't quite kept up with the world around her.
The pipe she held in her gloved hand made her look like a character from a 1930s movie.
"Ah, perfect!" she exclaimed, a wide smile spreading across her lips as she signaled me to get closer "just the one I need!"