The Secret Life Of Billy Chase 8 - 2. Chapter 2

Saturday

- I had my very FIRST job interview today!

Is that a good thing? I mean, like...is it supposed to be a big deal? Or am I just being a big dork about all of this? I don't know. I think it feels kinda cool. You know? It's like...so 'adult' or something. (This coming from someone who's being having threesomes with two other boys over the past few weeks! Really? THIS is what feels adult to me?) Anyway, I made sure to wake up extra early this morning so I could get my head on straight, as I was already kinda nervous about the interview to begin with. I mean, I wasn't quite sure what to do with myself. I honestly thought about calling the place up and asking them if I needed to dress up or anything. But, thankfully, I didn't. I thought twice about how utterly stupid that would make me look. I'm 15, I should know how to dress myself by now. Ugh!

I sorta practiced what I was going to say once the boss or whoever started asking me questions. That's when I realized that I had absolutely no idea what questions he was going to ask in the first place. I don't even know what kind of job I signed up for, or what I'll be doing there all day. I just knew that if I could somehow stay still and look busy for long enough that it would magically turn into money that I could spend on...you know...shiny things and what have you. So I had no idea what they were going to ask, but I didn't want to come off looking like I was unprepared. Even if I totally was.

My mom was giving me this really sugary sweet look today as she put some breakfast down on the table for me. Kind of like she was constantly thinking, "Awwww, my little boy is growing up!" You know the face when you see it. I don't know what it was, but it was kind of embarrassing, to be honest. I wish I knew why. Anyway, I avoided that sentimental mush as much as I possibly could while I scarfed down some grub. She just smiled and tried to get me excited...she 'picked' over me, brushing lint off of my shirt and making sure my hair looked nice. She even offered to give me a ride to the mall instead of having to take the bus. I didn't take her up on it though. I don't know. I don't want my mommy dropping me off at my first job interview. No way.

I made sure to catch a super early bus, just in case it decided to pick today of all days to break down on me and make me late. Luckily, there was no problem getting to the mall whatsoever. In fact, I was almost a whole forty minutes early. So I decided to roam around for a bit and window shop. I didn't want to show up quite that early and look all desperate and needy. But I did make it a point to keep away from the food court, at least for today. Just my luck, AJ will be over there cruising for one of his 'Summer Boys', as he called them. And I certainly didn't want to be caught up in any of that drama today. Or any other day, for that matter.

I wonder just how many other unsuspecting boys he'll get his hands on over the next three months? How many hearts will he break? How many V-cards will he steal? I wish I could understand the allure behind AJ's Satanic smile. It can't just be the fact that he's cute. I mean...he is cute, but he's hardly something that I'd be willing to sell my eternal soul over.

And yet...even now, when I'm writing about him, I think about the very taste of him and how good his warm skin felt against me...and I'm almost tempted to go back for more. I think that's what bothers me the most. Knowing that it's soooo wrong, but being helpless against wanting it anyway. Seriously...I WANT some sex! Geez...I just can't help it. And with AJ, I know that I'll have no problem getting it. Maybe that's the most potent part of his charm. And maybe...when Jimmy and I decide to 'step things up' a little...the whole AJ spell will be broken for good. For both me and Jimmy. Because something tells me that Jimmy's not going to be a hard sell when it comes to asking him for long hot afternoons of passionate love making. Hehehe! I am Billy-fucking-Chase, after all!

Hey, those were HIS words, not mine!

I was just killing a little time when I saw Bobby and Ian coming out of one of the electronic stores over there in the West wing of the mall. I guess that Ian is soooo anxious to grab his new camera and tripod that he just comes in from time to time to stare at it and sigh. Hehehe, like a kid at Christmas. It's not like I don't know the feeling though. It's understandable. I was like, "So what are you guys up to?"

Ian blushed slightly as Bobby sighed and said, "We're just waiting for my mom to leave the house." They giggled at one another, and Bobby was like, "She's getting a full tune up on her car today. Oil change, rotated tires, the whole nine yards. But she doesn't leave for another...." Bobby looked at his watch, "...Thirty two minutes at least."

I smiled at both of them, and I was like, "Annnnd then what happens?"

Ian said, "Annnnd then Bobby and I go back to his house and enjoy...um...his mom being gone."

Bobby added, "As many times as we can." And they actually rubbed noses for a moment before giving each other a light peck on the lips. It was absolutely adorable! And to think, they almost talked themselves out of even giving this relationship a chance. Bobby was like, "Besides, Ian wanted to look at some more equipment that he might be able to get for his movie too."

Ian instantly got anxious, saying, "OH! That reminds me, Billy! I'm typing up all of my notes and everything with all of the new changes and stuff. I'll print out copies and you can have it so you can start studying everything."

I said, "One day out of school, and you're already trying to give me more homework?"

He's like, "It won't be that bad. I promise. It'll be fun! You'll see!" How could I say no? Ian was practically bouncing on his heels waiting to get started on this thing. He had been showing me his notebooks and stuff for so long that I feel like I know the whole story back to front already.

Bobby asked me, "So what are you doing here? You just hanging out, or what?"

I was like, "Nah. Believe it or not, I've actually got myself a job interview today."

I think both of their jaws dropped simultaneously. Hehehe, maybe it was a big deal after all.

Bobby was like, "Omigod, cool! Where at?"

I said, "The music store upstairs. Just right of the escalator."

Ian says, "I know that place! Sweet! Best of luck, dude." Then he asks, "Are you gonna get lots of free stuff?"

I'm like, "You know...to tell you the truth, I don't really know. I think so." I honestly had no idea, but that seems to be what people keep telling me.

Anyway, they both wished me well and all, but I couldn't help but to notice that Bobby started to reach for Ian's hand while we were all talking. And then he moved a little closer. And before long, Bobby sorta leaned his head over on Ian's shoulder. Just for a second or two, but...I kinda felt like I was intruding, you know? Like...the two of them were getting antsy about having things just be between them, and I was sort of getting in the way of that. So I made up an excuse and let them get back to being all cuddly and stuff with each other. Wow...I'll just bet that they're going to be totally breathless by the time they get back to Bobby's house. Sighhh...I'd love to be a fly on the wall for that little event.

Anyway....

OK! So...the interview!

I get there about ten minutes early, hoping to make a decent impression and stuff, and after all the times that I've been in and out of that store...it felt so WEIRD walking in today. I was actually a bit shaky as I approached the front counter to talk to some of the people behind the register. There was a girl back there with shoulder length blond hair and wearing a nametag that said 'Calleigh' on it. There was also another boy back there short blond hair and these really bright greenish blue eyes. He was really slender, maybe a year or two older than me, but I could just tell from the very look of him that he was gay. I mean, there was no guess work needed for that one. His nametag had the name 'Ollie' on it.

So Calleigh was looking at her cell phone when I first came up, but she noticed me first, and she was like, "Hello. How can I help you?"

Why I was soooo nervous, I'll never know. But I managed to mumble, "I think I'm here for an interview today?" 'I think'? I'm messing up already.

She was nice enough about it though. She's just like, "Ok. No prob. Hold on a second." Then she calls out to an open door just to the right of the counter. "Hey, Scott? Your one O'clock is here."

Whoever was in the back said he'd be there in a minute, and that's when the other boy behind the counter smiled at me. He's like, "Hi..." It made me wonder if this was one of those moments when I was completely exposed to him. Like...if he could tell I was gay as easily as I could tell he was. He's like, "I'm Ollie." His voice was really light. Not too camp or overdone...but, um...gay.

I was like, "I'm Billy." But I looked down at the counter after that. Mostly because I didn't know what else to say to him. Or either one of them, for that matter. Geez, it was like the first day of school all over again.

I stood there with an awkward lean for a moment, and I saw one of the other employees hurry over to run behind the counter and head to the music controls in the back. I hadn't even been listening, really, but he was like, "No, no, no...NEXT!" And he changed the song playing on the speakers overhead.

Ollie and Calleigh both grunted, and Ollie says, "Come on, Taylor. Dude, you can't keep doing that. We're gonna get in trouble. Just let it play."

The 'Taylor' boy was like, "NO Bieber! I draw the line at Bieber! It makes my ears bleed."

Calleigh told him, "We're not deejaying your personal birthday party, Taylor. We've gotta promote everything. If A&R's hear you doing that they're going to give us hell for it. Just tune it out or something."

Taylor grumbled, "I swear, I'm gonna take my car keys to the back of that CD when nobody's watching. I swear I will."

While I was listening to them joke about it all, a man with glasses walked out of the back room and gave me a grin. "Hi. Billy Chase, right?"

I'm like, "Yes, sir." He gave me a really firm handshake, and I tried to return it as fast as I could. I can remember my dad telling me that a firm handshake was a good thing.

He's like, "I'm Scott. Just follow me to the back, alright?"

I remember how weird it felt to actually walk behind the counter for the first time. I had never seen the store from this angle before. It was kinda cool. Then he took me into the back office, which was smaller than I thought it would be. The desktop was full of paperwork, and against the wall was a huge pile of CDs right next to the computer and a wall mount full of time cards. This Scott guy seemed friendly enough. He asked me how I was doing, how I heard about the job opening, if I had ever shopped there before, etcetera. I was still a bit nervous, but it wasn't nearly as much of an interrogation as I thought it would be. It was more like a casual conversation, just to make sure that I wasn't some psycho that was planning to burn the store up with everybody inside. I had to take a small test on music, but it was really REALLY basic. With questions like, 'What section would you find B.B. King in?' and 'Which artist made Jailhouse Rock?' I don't know how anybody could fail a test that easy, but I suppose there are people out there who don't have a clue, otherwise they wouldn't need a test I the first place.

I think the whole thing took a total of fifteen minutes, tops. I thought it would have been much longer. At least as long as one of my Finals at school. But nope. Soon Scott grabbed my application, and he was looking at it and stuff. Then he says, "So it says here that your availability is open, correct?"

And I'm like, "Yes."

So he's like, "And when would you be able to start?"

I said, "Umm...whenever, I guess."

So he marked down a few things on my application and he says, "Ok. Well, how about I put you on schedule for this Thursday at 2 PM? Is that alright with you?"

My breath got caught in my throat! Wait...put me on schedule??? Does that mean...wait...hehehe! Did I get the job??? Is he actually just gonna 'give it to me'? Just like that? Like...TODAY???

The BIGGEST smile ever spread out across my lips, and I just couldn't control it! I must have looked like an escaped mental patient, but I was like, "Yeah! Yeah, that would be awesome!"

Scott smiled at me, and stood up to give me another firm handshake. "Alright then, welcome aboard, Billy. Come in a little bit early on Thursday, and we'll set you up with a nametag and get your W2 papers in order. And I'll have one of these knuckleheads show you the ropes around here. You'll pick it up in no time, I'm sure." Then he's like, "We can start you off at $8.50, and if everything works out, raises are easy to get. Show up to work, be on time, get along with the customers, and keep the store clean. Got it?" Is he kidding me? $8.50??? For every hour? That's WAY more than my allowance ever was! That's like...BIRTHDAY money! Even more than that, even! SWEET!

So as we walked out of the office, I just kept telling him, "Thank you. Thanks so much! Awesome, thank you!" I was super happy, and I think I was trembling even worse than when I went in there. But I was floating on air. I sort of overheard Scott telling Calleigh and Ollie that I got the job behind the counter, but I was already on my way out of the store. I felt like...I dunno...running or skipping or something! I just had this burst of energy that tickled all over. I've got a job. Like, a real job. How cool is that?

As soon as I got home, I told my mom, then I called Sam, then I called Jimmy, then I tried to call my dad and Trace, but no one answered the phone. I'll have to call tomorrow, I guess. Hehehe! I would have called Bobby and Ian, but I'm sure they didn't want to be...um...'disturbed'. Hell, I even thought about calling Stevie, if you can believe that. I just...I couldn't stop thinking about it. I can barely sleep even now. So...yeah, that was my day today.

Thursday. What do I wear? Oooh....imagine when I can start buying new clothes and stuff! I'm gonna go listen to some music right now! Hehehe, just to get myself ready! I'll write more soon! Seeya soon!

- Billy Chase (Working Man!)