Light Falls Away

The first few days were rough, especially when trying to find a job. Apparently, because I'm from Texas, people here thought I didn't know too much, as if I were inbred white trash. I currently was looking around the city, trying to see if there were any non-judgmental workplaces that would hire. There's no way I was going back home.

Walking into a theater of some sort, I saw people bustling about. Everyone was either dressed, covering themselves up with a sheet, or somewhere in between. I bit my lip to stifle a laugh. Seeing someone who appeared to be more business looking over something on a clipboard, I made my way over.

"Excuse me, sir?" I said, the man's eyes flicking up and looking at me with a bit of boredom. "I was wondering if you were hiring? Anything will do."

"Are you any good with lighting and wires?" he asked, causing me to nod.

"Yes, sir. I was mainly working on electrical issues back home," I replied honestly, causing him to motion to me to follow. I silently cheered, following behind the man just enough to where I wasn't right on his heels. We wove through crowd after crowd of amateur actors, all of whom didn't give me a second glance.

"Our last guy ended up taking a bad fall, causing him to become paralyzed. We've been trying to find someone who could do the job, but everyone we've found was way under-qualified," the man said, grabbing a set of keys from his pocket. Coming to a halt at a door, he found the right key quickly and unlocked it.

I walked in behind him, and looked at everything. I noticed a few wires were frayed, touching them with gentleness. "Are there replacements or will I have to go out and get them?" I asked, a hand full of wires being immediately shoved in my face. "Oh, well. I'll get to it then. If that's okay."

"We have a play starting in an hour. Any chance of you getting this done right the first time before then?" he asked, causing me to look at him for a moment.

"I could do it five times, and have a three-course dinner by then," I said, getting a rather sarcastic laugh from him. "Don't worry. I'll have it done in time," I said, immediately getting to work.

Time Elapse

Halfway through the play, there was a knock on the door. "Come in," I said, in a whisper just loud enough for the person to hear. The door opened and I saw a guy about my age coming in, closing the door quietly behind him.

"Hi! I know you're busy, but I'm trying to find the director," he said, his brown eyes seeming to scan the room we were in. "I just moved here a few days ago, and it's been hard finding a job."

"You're telling me. I also just moved here, and I kept striking out until I came here," I said, grabbing the prepaid cell phone I bought the other day. Checking the time, I realized there was still about forty-five minutes to go. "As for the director, unless he comes up here within the next forty-five minutes, you'll be a bit out of luck. I was strictly told to not call him during a play unless it was of utmost importance." The guy sighed, seeming flustered. "I'm John, by the way," I said, sticking my hand out.

"Paul," he replied, gripping my hand. As we talked about how trips here, and a bit about our home lives beforehand, we both ended up loosing up a bit.

Before we knew it, the play ended. Once everyone on stage dispersed, spotlights went out and the main lights came back on. As I straightened everything up, the director came in. "You are a life saver. We would have bombed if you hadn't shown up when you did," he said, looking more relaxed than before. "Would you take on this job full time?" he asked, seeming a bit hopeful.

"That'd be great," I said, shaking his hand. "Oh, this is Paul. He got here about an hour ago and was wanting to talk with you. I told him he'd have to wait until the show was over."

"Smart boy," he said, looking at Paul and studying him for a long moment. "You would fit the lead role of the next play we're doing perfectly," the director said, more to himself. "Come with me so I can see how well your skills are."

Both walked out of the room, and I went back to straightening up. "Oh, John?" the director said, causing me to glance back at him. "Monday, 7:00 AM sharp."

"Yes, sir," I said, a small smile appearing on my face. Things were looking up for the first time in a while. For that, I felt happy for the first time in a very long time.