Christina Moran had prepped for this job interview like a soldier going to war.
She had printed her résumé on thick, glossy paper. She wore her best blazer — the one that made her look like she had opinions about quarterly reports. And she had even practiced her answers in front of the mirror, nose tilted slightly downward to avoid any accidental waterboarding.
The company was called Global Synergy Nexus, which sounded like a cult but paid slightly better than Horizon Online.
She walked into the lobby, confident. The receptionist smiled, handed her a clipboard, and whispered, "Good luck. The interviewer is… intense."
Christina nodded. She had survived worse. She had survived soup sneezes and sugar snorts. She could handle intensity.
Then she met Mr. Delgado.
He was the kind of man who wore suspenders unironically and had a mustache that looked like it had its own LinkedIn profile.
"Miss Moran," he said, peering over his glasses. "Tell me about your strengths."
Christina smiled. "I'm resilient, adaptable, and I've never cried during a call escalation."
He nodded. "Impressive. And your weaknesses?"
She hesitated. "Rain."
He blinked. "Rain?"
"My nose," she clarified. "It's inverted. When it rains, I drown."
There was a pause.
Then Mr. Delgado leaned forward. "How do you handle pressure?"
Christina replied, "With tissue. And sarcasm."
He scribbled something on his notepad. Probably "Needs umbrella."
Then came the final question.
"If you were a piece of office equipment," he asked, "what would you be?"
Christina thought for a moment. "A headset. Slightly damaged, but still delivering results."
Mr. Delgado stared at her. "You're… different."
She nodded. "So is my nose."
Suddenly, the air conditioner kicked in. A gust of cold air hit her face. Her nose, ever dramatic, whistled.
Loudly.
Mr. Delgado jumped. "Was that…?"
"Yes," Christina said. "My nose. It's musical."
He blinked. "You're hired."
She blinked back. "Wait, really?"
"We need someone who can handle chaos," he said. "And clearly, you've lived it."
Christina walked out of the building, nose whistling proudly in the wind.
Because sometimes, being different wasn't a disadvantage.
Sometimes, it was a job qualification.