13 October 2022, Entrance of the headquarters.
It's been 2 years since his younger brother has been dead, and yet, our lost young adult is still grieving his death. Obviously, this affected his life choices a lot, especially during this stage of transitioning into a fully independent adult.
College assignments? Missing.
Messages from friends? Ignored.
Dinner with parents? Awfully quiet.
Restful nights? Insomnia and haunting memories.
His parents encouraged him to move on and focus on college. However, is it really that easy when your closest buddy has passed away under your hands? Knowing if he would have been more careful, he could have avoided all of this tragedy. With this in mind, blaming himself has always been a daily thought in his head, and recently it worsens.
His mind was snapped back from his deep thoughts by the honking of the heavy traffic behind him. He looked up to see the tall and menacing building wearing a prominent sign. "X Headquarters", the sign reads. Looking in front to the main automatic sliding door, there were many tireless agents and horrified customers walking in and out from the entrance. It was a complete contrast to the lonely room he had spent his last 2 years in.
With a deep breath, he walked into the building, taking in the overwhelming sight of the bustling. He took his number and a seat, waiting among the other gossiping customers.
"Oh my God! I'm really too scared to go home now! I just want to file a ghost report and live in a hotel forever!"
"I know right?! I can't believe there is a whole department that actually deals with these kinds of problem! Even if it's about things like ghost or monsters..."
While they were here to report some sort of unexplainable events or complain about supernatural sightings, he is here with a different goal in mind.
"Number 3077. Counter 5." The announcer said.
He stood up and walked towards the counter with steady steps. Despite this, his heart is beating inside, very heavily. He look at the receptionist with a polite smile along with an additional sweet dark eye bags.
The receptionist is a woman in her 40s. She looked up with an impatient expression upon seeing the sad young adult. Her hand placed down her pen, noticing how his face looked more depressed rather than scared, she assumed this guy is like the other youths who are here to complain about irrelevant events.
"What's with that look, boy? You look awful. If you are here to complain about how your girlfriend dumped you, then your wasting your time." She said almost nonchalantly, while she clicked her pen absentmindedly. "Do you actually have something to report? Or do you want me to call a therapist?"
She continues to observe his form, she thinks to herself...
Messy brown hair? Neat, but contrasts with his dark eye bags.
Wears a black jacket with a simple T-shirt? Mhmph, typical.
A crucifix necklace? Probably has religious parents.
His posture? Surprisingly confident, but his face says otherwise.
Speaking of his face, he looks like a bottomless pit of regret.
"I'm here to get hired. Is that possible?" He said, his voice firm and surprisingly determined.
The receptionist look up at him, completely shocked. She glances to her side to check if her colleagues had heard what this odd customer had said. Her previous assumption? Completely shattered. Never once had she seen someone walking up to the counter wanting to get hired.
"Are you serious? Do you know what you just said?!" Her voice full of disbelief. "Someone your age should be pursing their study, partying with friends, discovering their talents, or finding a job. And this is no ordinary job, especially not suited for someone like you in that state." She said bluntly, clearly hinting at his depressed state. But her voice was surprisingly concerned about his well-being.
He was slightly taken a back by her words. He had already dropped college, isolated himself from his friends. Not to mention, since when did he had talents? Probably forgotten.
He simply nodded to her response. "I know, I'm aware and sure about this. Is it possible if I apply for the job at this counter?"
She looked back down and sighed. She had already been tired working her 6 hours shift, and seeing his unshaken determintion had only made her lazier to advise this young man. She handed out a piece of paper.
"This is the application form. They don't usually provide it in these counters dealing with customers." She said, while glancing at him curiously.
He nodded gratefully and started to fill the form. His hands were shaking while he writes, yet his handwriting is neat and tidy. After a few minutes, he returns the form.
"Alanzo Collins, 19 years old... Is that right? And the rest of the information, looks good enough." The receptionist looked at the form with admiration at how neatly he filled the form, as if he has been prepared.
She inserted the form in one of the files. "Honestly, you would be hired without a doubt. We are currently lacking agents who are willing to get their hands dirty doing missions and dealing with the supernatural. However you are the youngest here..."
Alanzo chuckles awkwardly and replied, "I am not surprised, after all this is an odd job to apply for." He looked down, hoping she won't question his reason for requesting this job, especially if it is sensitive and related to his deceased younger brother. "So I will be working on my own then?"
She paused, her hands stopped swirling the pen between her fingers. "Actually, there has been another guy around your age that had applied. And let's just say, he looks more optimistic unlike your long face."
Alanzo looked surprised at the revelation. Normally, he would rather do things on his own. But part of him also craves for someone to work together with, especially if this person has a similar age as him and works in the same profession. Surely he won't judge right?
Alanzo snapped back from his thoughts as the receptionist called an agent to escort him to the staff only room. The agent approached him hastely, as if wanting to quickly finish this job so he could move on to his other tasks.
"He will take you to where the others usually gather. There you could learn more about your job. I'm running out of time here, I got other customers to entertain. Before that kid, don't stress yourself out.Now shoo!" She swated her hand, signalling Alanzo to leave.