“Me too.” He grins and stays in the same spot, watching as I pull away from the apartment.
And despite all my reservations, I smile like a fool the entire drive back to the dorms.
Monday afternoon, I reserve a private room at the library for my video call interview with Dalton Technologies. Kelsie, the HR woman conducting the interview, smiles brightly at me when I join the call.
“Hi, Sienna!”
“Hello.” I wave and fidget with the collared dress shirt. I’m not nervous, but I really hate interviews. Does anyone like them? Kelsie sure seems like she does.
And she’s good. Within two minutes, she’s cut through the awkwardness and put me at ease. She tells me all about the company, then the job. It’s an entry-level position that creates sales materials for the healthcare software the company sells. The company is big, with two locations, which they call campuses. And each campus has amenities like a cafeteria, game room, meditation space, and a gym that rivals the one here at Valley.
I knew a lot of these facts already. My dad has worked at Dalton for twenty-five years. In fact, the position I’m interviewing for is one he held early on in his career. He worked his way up to being an executive in the customer education department, where he works now, but over the years, he’s held a lot of different jobs with Dalton, so at least some of what Kelsie tells me makes sense.
“Do you have any questions for me about the campus or the position?”
“No, I don’t think so,” I say. “I’ve been to both locations with my dad so I’m familiar with where they are and everything.”
She smiles big again. I wonder if they teach that in HR classes. I try to mimic her. I’m not positive I want this job, but I know that I need to act like I do.
“Your dad is the best. Everyone loves him around here.” Another huge smile. “Well, should we talk about next steps?”
“Umm, sure.”
“I’m going to email over information packets with all the details I told you on the phone. Look over everything, and you can just email me back if you have questions. The healthcare benefits are incredible. I think you’ll be really pleased with that. I know preexisting conditions can be difficult.”
I blink a few times, trying to think what to say. Kelsie doesn’t pick up on my hesitation, and I manage to compose myself.
“Thank you. I will look everything over.”
“If you’d like to talk to one of our sales managers, I can set that up, but I’ve already been given the go-ahead to extend an offer to you, so I will also be emailing that over.”
“Wow. Really?”
She nods enthusiastically. Big grin. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks.” I guess?
“It was really wonderful to meet you, Sienna. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions at all, and congratulations again.”
We say our goodbyes, and Kelsie ends the meeting. With a what the heck just happened sigh, I sit back in the chair. I just got a job.
I pack up and head back to the dorm.
“Hey,” Josie calls from her desk without looking up. “How was the interview?”
Her hair is piled up on her head with two pencils sticking out of it. Josie is an art major, and I know how deep she is in the creative zone by the number of colored pencils holding up her hair. Right now we’re at a point she can still communicate. Four or more, and there’s no talking to her. She might speak, but she won’t remember it later.
“Good. I got the job.”
She swivels in her chair. “Oh my gosh, Sienna. Congratulations!”
“Thanks.”
She gets up to hug me. “Or not? You don’t look very excited.”
“I’m stunned. They just gave me the job. I thought I’d have to answer questions about my strengths and weaknesses, tell them all the really amazing attributes I have that make me the perfect candidate.”
She snorts. “You were just grumbling about those questions last night.”
“I know, but I spent two hours preparing. What a waste.”
“What is your greatest strength, Sienna Hale?” she asks, crossing her arms over her chest.
“I am disciplined and focused, and action-oriented,” I say, just as I rehearsed.
“That’s three, wow.”
“Right? And I can provide examples for all, mostly around skating.”
“Which would be great if you were interviewing for skating jobs.” She gives me the look—the one that says she disapproves of me giving up skating after college.
The thing is, very few people make it as a professional skater like Elias and Taylor. Far more take jobs with ice dancing shows. Those are great. Josie works for one every summer and plans to do it after she graduates next year, but those shows are high-performance. There are flashing lights and loud music and all sorts of drama and flair. That’s what makes them super fun and exciting for an audience, and also dangerous for me. Even if my doctor signed off, most companies wouldn’t hire me, knowing the risk.
If I just came right out and told Josie that, she’d stop giving me that look. I guess I don’t want her to. Some part of me wants to let her believe I’m capable of that. Half the battle with my heart condition is keeping people from feeling sorry for me or treating me differently.
And, I’m okay with skating being a hobby from here on out. I love it, but I accept that it’s not my destiny. The problem is nothing else interests me enough to be excited about doing it for the rest of my life. I like my business classes, and I’m sure once I settle into a job, everything will be fine. It just seems like everyone else is so excited about their plans after graduation, and I feel very meh.
I reach for one of the positives. “They have a really great fitness studio with yoga classes.”
“The selling point is yoga?” She laughs. “You can do yoga anywhere.”
“Thanks for ruining the selling point.”
She sits on her bed. “Well, what are the other selling points then? Outside of yoga.”
“It’s close to my family, the health benefits are excellent, 401k match, and I know it’s a great company that’s treated my dad well. I just thought I’d feel more excited.”
“I don’t know if anyone takes an entry-level job thinking it feels great. You can work up to a better position, though. It takes time.”
I don’t point out that she’s ecstatic every summer when she heads off for her job. Last year she was performing on a cruise ship, though, so her job definitely has more selling points than the one I was just offered.
“Thanks, Dad.” I stick out my tongue at her. “That’s exactly what he said when he recommended me for the job.”
“Are you going to take it?”
“I don’t know.” I fall onto her bed and slump over so my head is in her lap. “I don’t think I’m cut out for the real world. Maybe I’ll get a bunch more degrees. What is women’s studies anyway?”
She snorts and runs a hand over my hair. “You’ll figure it out, and you’ll be great at whatever you do.”
My phone rings in my backpack.
“What’s your weakness?” Josie asks as I get up to retrieve it. That’ll be my family ready to Zoom.