This Is a Wasteland
Chapter Four
*Kellin’s POV*
Finding a job was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Actually, it wasn’t even that finding a job was hard- it was finding a job that didn’t require a degree that could pay a living wage. It was almost impossible.
I was on my second week of living at Justin’s house and I felt like more of a burden every day I stayed. I picked up the classifieds from the newspaper every day and tried to find something. I asked around at a few places that were hiring, but none of them wanted a teenager fresh out of high school.
“I think you’re aiming too high,” Justin told me as I used his computer to scan Craig’s List. I was getting pretty desperate.
“You can never aim too high,” I reminded him, even though I didn’t really believe it. He started to say something else, but I wasn’t paying attention to what he said, because one of the ads caught my eye.
‘No experience needed (though high school education preferred), Must be at least 18 years old, 25 dollars/ hr.’
“Whoa, this place is paying twenty five an hour,” I said, quickly reaching for the house phone that I had set on his desk.
“Damn, what is it for?” He wanted to know. I briefly scanned the description.
“Some secretary thing,” I mumbled, punching in the numbers and pressing the phone to my ear. The phone rang twice and a British man’s voice answered. “Hi, my name is Kellin Quinn, I’m calling about your ad on Craig’s List.”
“Oh, yes, are you interested?” the man’s voice said. “How old are you? You sound very young.”
“I’m eighteen,” I assured the man. “And yes, I was wondering if you had an application, and if so where can I find it?”
“No application, just come in for an interview . . . let’s see . . . I have a two-thirty appointment available for today and then-“
“I’ll take it,” I said, quickly. I wanted to do this as quick as possible. Who knows- if I waited too long he could have found someone else to do the job.
“Well alright, I like your enthusiasm already,” the man chuckled. “Come to the address listed on the site and ask for me.”
“Great, and your name is?”
“Oliver Sykes, you can call me Mr. Sykes though,” he said. “I look forward to our interview, Kellin Quinn.”
I said good-bye to Mr. Sykes and hung up the phone, quickly turning to Justin. I gave him a hopeful grin.
“What do you want?” he moaned.
“Drive me across town for a 2:30 interview?” I asked, batting my eyelashes at him.
“Only if you stop that,” he chuckled. I stopped and nodded quickly, turning back to the computer so that I could scribble down the address.
--
I found myself sitting in the waiting room of an office of some sorts. I wasn’t quite sure what the business was, or what exactly my job would entail if I got it. It was fifteen minutes past my scheduled appointment and I still hadn’t been called by Mr. Sykes.
I hadn’t even met him yet. Just as I was about to let out a long sigh, this random lady in a pant suit appeared and stopped in front of me.
“Are you Kellin Quinn?” she asked. I nodded and sat up straight. She smiled, but it seemed forced.
“Good, Mr. Sykes would like to see you now,” she said, pointing down towards a door on the other side of the room. I thanked her and stood up. I walked over to the door and knocked, only to hear the same man’s voice from earlier call for me to enter. I stepped inside to find a fairly well-furnished office space.
The man who I assumed to be Mr. Sykes sat in a large leather swivel chair on the other side of a giant wooden desk. He smiled when he saw me and motioned for me to sit down in the less comfortable looking swivel chair in front of him. I cautiously took a seat after shaking his hand.
I felt a little uncomfortable as his eyes followed me, but maybe I was just nervous. Getting this job would be so awesome- I didn’t care what I had to do.
“Nice to meet you,” I offered, trying to be polite as possible.
“Indeed,” he said, grinning. “So tell me about yourself, Kellin. Why should I hire you?”
“Well . . . I’m a very hard worker- I graduated early from high school with a 4.1 GPA-“
“4.1?” he stopped me. I tensed as he laughed. “How can you get a 4.1 GPA?”
“I had a lot of honors classes,” I explained. “There’s the weighted and unweighted-“
“I don’t care all that much, I guess it just means you were a pretty good student?” he said. I nodded. “Well why aren’t you going to college?”
“I can’t afford it . . . My, uh, I got kicked out of my house,” I said, lowering my voice. He pouted sympathetically which I found odd. He didn’t strike me as the stern professional I thought he’d be.
“That’s too bad,” he said, sympathetically. “So this job would be a big deal to you, I supposed?”
“Yes sir,” I said, quickly. “I haven’t seen anywhere else willing to pay so much and-“
“Well of course you haven’t,” he said, adding a smug grin. I just sat still. “What would you be willing to do?”
“Anything,” I said, without thinking. I saw a glint of something almost sinister in his eyes and I immediately regretted what I said.
“Kellin, I have a problem,” he said, slowly. “If you’re willing to help me with my problem, then I will hire you.”
“W-what’s your problem?” I stuttered, feeling nervous. What was he doing? He stood up and walked around his desk so that he was standing next to me. He gripped the arm of my chair and turned me so that I was facing him. I froze, looking up at him. I was so confused- what was going on? Surely this wasn’t a typical interview-
I jumped as he reached out and dragged his thumb across my lips. What the fuck?
“I definitely think you can help me,” he chuckled, suddenly fumbling with the buckle on his belt. Suddenly I was very clear on what he wanted me to do, and I did not want to do it.
“I don’t think I can,” I said, quickly.
“Oh, well that’s too bad . . . I guess you’ll have to settle for minimum wage at McDonalds then,” he sighed.
“No,” I said, feeling incredibly conflicted. I didn’t know this man- I didn’t want to pleasure him . . . but at the same time I really wanted this job. I knew I would regret it later, but I figured the fact that I would be able to afford a roof over my head would make it better . . . right?
“So then we have a deal?” he snickered. I held back the growing lump in my throat and nodded.
*Vic’s POV*
It had been two weeks and I still hadn’t heard from Kellin. I felt a little bad, but a part of me was really hoping he would call. I guess it was silly- he didn’t need me anymore. I mean, did he deserve my help after everything? I wasn’t sure.
“Jaime, are you still awake?” I whispered to him. He was staying the night in my room because my roommate, Craig, was out for a long weekend and I didn’t want to be alone. I guess it was stupid and clingy, but whatever.
“Mmm,” he mumbled, shifting.
“Sorry,” I whispered, rolling onto my back as he shifted and slung an arm across my stomach.
“What’s wrong?” he mumbled.
“I can’t sleep,” I sighed. “It’s only eleven.”
“Can’t be up all night, babe, exams start Monday,” he reminded me. “Get your sleep now.”
“I can’t though,” I whined. He sighed and lazily kissed at my neck. “I’m going to go for a walk.”
“Mm, fine,” he mumbled, still sounding half-asleep. I gently slipped out of his embrace and pulled on a hoodie that was on the floor before stepping out into the hallway. The halls were emptier than usual- I guess there were more people cramming for their exams than partying so that was a good sign. I found my way to one of the lounge areas and sat down in one of the chairs. What was I even doing?
I pulled out my phone, and oddly enough, my phone started ringing when I did. I didn’t recognize the number, but I decided to answer it anyway. Whoever was calling this late had to have a reason, right?
“Hello?” I said into the phone.
“Vic, I need you,” I heard Kellin’s voice say over the phone. My heart practically stopped, especially because it sounded like he was crying.
“Kellin? Where are you?” I asked him, without hesitation. I wanted to be mad at him still, but I just couldn’t bring myself to- definitely not while he was crying.
“I’m at a payphone b-by the mall,” he sniffled. “I’m sorry if I’m bothering you I just- I need someone to talk to.”
“I’ll be there, hold on,” I said, before hanging up and jumping out of the seat. I hurried back to my room and grabbed my keys off of the desk and took off, without Jaime even stirring. Once in my car, I took off towards the mall, knowing exactly what he was talking about. There was only one pay phone outside the mall, which was outside the entrance where I had run into him initially.
Of course, I felt like I hit every fucking red light on the way over, but whatever. It gave me a little time to try and process what I was doing. I was driving at eleven thirty at night to comfort my ex-boyfriend while my current boyfriend was asleep in my bed. This felt wrong, but at the same time I knew I had to help Kellin. Helping someone when they needed me didn’t count as cheating, so I was alright, right?
I finally got to the mall and pulled up to the curb where I saw Kellin sitting on a bench. He looked up when I pulled up, then quickly got up and came over to my car and got in.
“Everything okay?” I asked him, pulling into one of the parking spots so we could talk. He sat still and I could see him trembling.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” he whispered.
“Then why-“
“I don’t know, okay?” he said, harshly. Fuck, he seemed really upset. What even happened? “I just . . . Is it too much to ask you to hold me?”
I was a bit surprised by his request.
“Kellin-“
“I know you’re with Jaime, I’m not trying to do anything funny, I just – I just need a hug,” he said, lowering his voice as he sat back in his seat. “I’m sorry that was stupid.”
“It’s not stupid, come here,” I said, taking off my seatbelt and holding my arms out to him. Hugging was innocent, right? He looked over at me with sad eyes before finally clinging to me. He wrapped his arms around my middle , burying his face against my shoulder as he cried. I didn’t know what to do, so I just sat there, alternating between rubbing circles on his back and combing my fingers through his hair. I wanted to know what had him shaken up, but I knew he didn’t want to talk- I just hoped it was nothing too serious.
Finding a job was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Actually, it wasn’t even that finding a job was hard- it was finding a job that didn’t require a degree that could pay a living wage. It was almost impossible.
I was on my second week of living at Justin’s house and I felt like more of a burden every day I stayed. I picked up the classifieds from the newspaper every day and tried to find something. I asked around at a few places that were hiring, but none of them wanted a teenager fresh out of high school.
“I think you’re aiming too high,” Justin told me as I used his computer to scan Craig’s List. I was getting pretty desperate.
“You can never aim too high,” I reminded him, even though I didn’t really believe it. He started to say something else, but I wasn’t paying attention to what he said, because one of the ads caught my eye.
‘No experience needed (though high school education preferred), Must be at least 18 years old, 25 dollars/ hr.’
“Whoa, this place is paying twenty five an hour,” I said, quickly reaching for the house phone that I had set on his desk.
“Damn, what is it for?” He wanted to know. I briefly scanned the description.
“Some secretary thing,” I mumbled, punching in the numbers and pressing the phone to my ear. The phone rang twice and a British man’s voice answered. “Hi, my name is Kellin Quinn, I’m calling about your ad on Craig’s List.”
“Oh, yes, are you interested?” the man’s voice said. “How old are you? You sound very young.”
“I’m eighteen,” I assured the man. “And yes, I was wondering if you had an application, and if so where can I find it?”
“No application, just come in for an interview . . . let’s see . . . I have a two-thirty appointment available for today and then-“
“I’ll take it,” I said, quickly. I wanted to do this as quick as possible. Who knows- if I waited too long he could have found someone else to do the job.
“Well alright, I like your enthusiasm already,” the man chuckled. “Come to the address listed on the site and ask for me.”
“Great, and your name is?”
“Oliver Sykes, you can call me Mr. Sykes though,” he said. “I look forward to our interview, Kellin Quinn.”
I said good-bye to Mr. Sykes and hung up the phone, quickly turning to Justin. I gave him a hopeful grin.
“What do you want?” he moaned.
“Drive me across town for a 2:30 interview?” I asked, batting my eyelashes at him.
“Only if you stop that,” he chuckled. I stopped and nodded quickly, turning back to the computer so that I could scribble down the address.
--
I found myself sitting in the waiting room of an office of some sorts. I wasn’t quite sure what the business was, or what exactly my job would entail if I got it. It was fifteen minutes past my scheduled appointment and I still hadn’t been called by Mr. Sykes.
I hadn’t even met him yet. Just as I was about to let out a long sigh, this random lady in a pant suit appeared and stopped in front of me.
“Are you Kellin Quinn?” she asked. I nodded and sat up straight. She smiled, but it seemed forced.
“Good, Mr. Sykes would like to see you now,” she said, pointing down towards a door on the other side of the room. I thanked her and stood up. I walked over to the door and knocked, only to hear the same man’s voice from earlier call for me to enter. I stepped inside to find a fairly well-furnished office space.
The man who I assumed to be Mr. Sykes sat in a large leather swivel chair on the other side of a giant wooden desk. He smiled when he saw me and motioned for me to sit down in the less comfortable looking swivel chair in front of him. I cautiously took a seat after shaking his hand.
I felt a little uncomfortable as his eyes followed me, but maybe I was just nervous. Getting this job would be so awesome- I didn’t care what I had to do.
“Nice to meet you,” I offered, trying to be polite as possible.
“Indeed,” he said, grinning. “So tell me about yourself, Kellin. Why should I hire you?”
“Well . . . I’m a very hard worker- I graduated early from high school with a 4.1 GPA-“
“4.1?” he stopped me. I tensed as he laughed. “How can you get a 4.1 GPA?”
“I had a lot of honors classes,” I explained. “There’s the weighted and unweighted-“
“I don’t care all that much, I guess it just means you were a pretty good student?” he said. I nodded. “Well why aren’t you going to college?”
“I can’t afford it . . . My, uh, I got kicked out of my house,” I said, lowering my voice. He pouted sympathetically which I found odd. He didn’t strike me as the stern professional I thought he’d be.
“That’s too bad,” he said, sympathetically. “So this job would be a big deal to you, I supposed?”
“Yes sir,” I said, quickly. “I haven’t seen anywhere else willing to pay so much and-“
“Well of course you haven’t,” he said, adding a smug grin. I just sat still. “What would you be willing to do?”
“Anything,” I said, without thinking. I saw a glint of something almost sinister in his eyes and I immediately regretted what I said.
“Kellin, I have a problem,” he said, slowly. “If you’re willing to help me with my problem, then I will hire you.”
“W-what’s your problem?” I stuttered, feeling nervous. What was he doing? He stood up and walked around his desk so that he was standing next to me. He gripped the arm of my chair and turned me so that I was facing him. I froze, looking up at him. I was so confused- what was going on? Surely this wasn’t a typical interview-
I jumped as he reached out and dragged his thumb across my lips. What the fuck?
“I definitely think you can help me,” he chuckled, suddenly fumbling with the buckle on his belt. Suddenly I was very clear on what he wanted me to do, and I did not want to do it.
“I don’t think I can,” I said, quickly.
“Oh, well that’s too bad . . . I guess you’ll have to settle for minimum wage at McDonalds then,” he sighed.
“No,” I said, feeling incredibly conflicted. I didn’t know this man- I didn’t want to pleasure him . . . but at the same time I really wanted this job. I knew I would regret it later, but I figured the fact that I would be able to afford a roof over my head would make it better . . . right?
“So then we have a deal?” he snickered. I held back the growing lump in my throat and nodded.
*Vic’s POV*
It had been two weeks and I still hadn’t heard from Kellin. I felt a little bad, but a part of me was really hoping he would call. I guess it was silly- he didn’t need me anymore. I mean, did he deserve my help after everything? I wasn’t sure.
“Jaime, are you still awake?” I whispered to him. He was staying the night in my room because my roommate, Craig, was out for a long weekend and I didn’t want to be alone. I guess it was stupid and clingy, but whatever.
“Mmm,” he mumbled, shifting.
“Sorry,” I whispered, rolling onto my back as he shifted and slung an arm across my stomach.
“What’s wrong?” he mumbled.
“I can’t sleep,” I sighed. “It’s only eleven.”
“Can’t be up all night, babe, exams start Monday,” he reminded me. “Get your sleep now.”
“I can’t though,” I whined. He sighed and lazily kissed at my neck. “I’m going to go for a walk.”
“Mm, fine,” he mumbled, still sounding half-asleep. I gently slipped out of his embrace and pulled on a hoodie that was on the floor before stepping out into the hallway. The halls were emptier than usual- I guess there were more people cramming for their exams than partying so that was a good sign. I found my way to one of the lounge areas and sat down in one of the chairs. What was I even doing?
I pulled out my phone, and oddly enough, my phone started ringing when I did. I didn’t recognize the number, but I decided to answer it anyway. Whoever was calling this late had to have a reason, right?
“Hello?” I said into the phone.
“Vic, I need you,” I heard Kellin’s voice say over the phone. My heart practically stopped, especially because it sounded like he was crying.
“Kellin? Where are you?” I asked him, without hesitation. I wanted to be mad at him still, but I just couldn’t bring myself to- definitely not while he was crying.
“I’m at a payphone b-by the mall,” he sniffled. “I’m sorry if I’m bothering you I just- I need someone to talk to.”
“I’ll be there, hold on,” I said, before hanging up and jumping out of the seat. I hurried back to my room and grabbed my keys off of the desk and took off, without Jaime even stirring. Once in my car, I took off towards the mall, knowing exactly what he was talking about. There was only one pay phone outside the mall, which was outside the entrance where I had run into him initially.
Of course, I felt like I hit every fucking red light on the way over, but whatever. It gave me a little time to try and process what I was doing. I was driving at eleven thirty at night to comfort my ex-boyfriend while my current boyfriend was asleep in my bed. This felt wrong, but at the same time I knew I had to help Kellin. Helping someone when they needed me didn’t count as cheating, so I was alright, right?
I finally got to the mall and pulled up to the curb where I saw Kellin sitting on a bench. He looked up when I pulled up, then quickly got up and came over to my car and got in.
“Everything okay?” I asked him, pulling into one of the parking spots so we could talk. He sat still and I could see him trembling.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” he whispered.
“Then why-“
“I don’t know, okay?” he said, harshly. Fuck, he seemed really upset. What even happened? “I just . . . Is it too much to ask you to hold me?”
I was a bit surprised by his request.
“Kellin-“
“I know you’re with Jaime, I’m not trying to do anything funny, I just – I just need a hug,” he said, lowering his voice as he sat back in his seat. “I’m sorry that was stupid.”
“It’s not stupid, come here,” I said, taking off my seatbelt and holding my arms out to him. Hugging was innocent, right? He looked over at me with sad eyes before finally clinging to me. He wrapped his arms around my middle , burying his face against my shoulder as he cried. I didn’t know what to do, so I just sat there, alternating between rubbing circles on his back and combing my fingers through his hair. I wanted to know what had him shaken up, but I knew he didn’t want to talk- I just hoped it was nothing too serious.