Before I could force myself to sleep, I heard my phone ringing beneath me.
It was a text from Thoreau. “I’ll take that as a yes. Fourteen days.”
Burden of Proof (n.):
The obligation to prove or disprove a disputed fact.
Andrew
“Did I tell you that I landed the leading role for that ballet I auditioned for?” Alyssa said to me the next morning.
I’d been talking to her since I arrived at work, but I’d made no mention of the fact that she’d hung up in my face last night; I was going to punish her for that later. Severely.
Thirteen days...
“Did I tell you about it?” she asked again.
“No, and if you’re not going to tell me when and where the show is, then I don’t care.”
“Oh, wow.” She laughed. “You’re mad about last night, aren’t you?”
“Furious.”
“Because I hung up?”
“Because I know you screamed yes when you came, and you hung up because you didn’t want me to hear it.”
She was silent, and I was about to say something else, but Jessica suddenly stepped into my office, smiling at me.
“Hold on one second.” I put my phone against my chest. “Yes, Jessica?”
“The final interviews are going to start in twenty minutes. They need you in the conference room now.”
“I’ll get there when I get there.” I acted as if the kiss she was now blowing me wasn’t happening, and waited until she closed the door. “I’ll have to call you back later, Alyssa. I have a meeting.”
“Must be bad timing for both of us. I have a meeting, too.”
“Your doomed gunshot client?”
“No, something much worse. An intern interview.”
“Must be in the air then.” I sighed as I slipped into my jacket. “I have to sit through a few of them myself, unfortunately.”
“Any advice you want to share?”
“Try to look like you’re actually paying attention while they answer the questions, and make sure your cell phone is fully charged so you can get on the internet.”
“Not for me.” She laughed. “For the interns. Something I should say if one of them is nervous.”
“Oh.” I shrugged. “Tell them my motto.”
“And what motto would that be?”
“It is what it is.”
“Why do I ever ask you anything?”
“Because I always tell you the truth.” I hung up.