Job Opportunities

It occurred to me today when I was riding the bus home just how desperate the current economic situation is.

I was riding on the bus, as I said. It was already on the freeway, and I was sitting towards the back with my legs propped up on the seat next to me. Some weird guy with a mustache was sitting behind me, and a grounds worker for some city was sitting in front of me. I was listening to my music and staring out the window I was leaning on, looking directly at the ground.

The road was stripped. That is, there were little lines that ran through the concrete the bus drove on. I don't know why this made me think about getting a job, but it did. Those lines screamed to me conformity. They were all parallel to each other, moving side by side down a block of concrete, heading to the same destination and never changing direction. Even when the road curved, these little lines stayed true to their direction. If the road did in fact curve, those lines were replaced by other ones, slightly off the previous ones. Everything kept moving, no matter what.

When the bus finally got off the freeway, I was bombarded by "Going Out of Business" and "Property for Sale" signs. Very few "Now Hiring" signs to be seen everywhere. When I got off the bus, and walked into the nearest 7-11 to meet my dad, the guy behind the counter walked up to me (obviously, there wasn't very many people in the store.)

"You here to apply?" He asked. I was sort of alarmed. I mean, it's not a question people usually start a conversation with.

"For what?" I asked.

"A job. You're young. You look bored. You looking for a job?"

"Oh. No, sorry. I'm waiting for my ride to pick me up."

The guy apologized and turned to walk back to the counter. I walked up and down a few aisles for a bit, waiting for something to catch my eye that I could spend my 57 cents on. To no surprise, there was nothing. I got bored of wandering so I walked back up to the register and put my backpack on the counter.

"Do you get a lot of people in here looking for jobs?" I asked him, playing with the lighters on the counter.

"Sure. I mean, sometimes. Mostly just teens that live around here. There's a lot more job opportunities opened up for teens lately." He stared at my hand as I flicked the lighter on and off. It was making him uncomfortable.

"Why is that?" I noticed his stare, and I put the lighter down, this time picking up a Disney-themed pen.

"Nobody's hiring adults anymore. I guess businesses know that people with more age and more job experience have to be payed more than kids in high school." He kept his eye on the pen this time.

I put the pen back down and leaned my head on my backpack. A bell rang, and someone walked in, two girls about 19 or 20, looking to buy some alcohol.

The guy behind the register straightened up and looked at the girls who walked in. He was going to try some moves on them. He looked back at me and I could see it in his face that I was in his way. "Are you going to buy anything?" He asked, looking away from me and back at the girls. I shook my head no, opening my hand to reveal the whopping half a dollar in change I carried. He looked down and my hand and back at my face, almost as if he was trying to tell if I was serious or not. "Well, then, do you think you could leave? I need to tend to my paying customers."

I pulled my backpack back on and walked out the door, sitting on the post in front.

A few minutes later, the girls walked out, without alcohol. One of them was joking with the other one about the guy behind the counter was hitting on her.

-Ayden