By Dominik Slusarczyk
I toss and turn all night. When the sun comes up enough that my room is brightly lit I give up on sleep and get out of bed. I drink three cups of coffee but I am so tired they barely help.
I search my memory but find nothing. I have to answer another question: it says to answer two questions at the top of the exam paper.
“A third isn’t very good, is it,” the interviewer says. “As a general rule I don’t usually interview people who got less than a two one.”
“I got a first on my dissertation,” I say. “The job is writing. I’m perfectly qualified.”
I let out a long sigh as I stare at the blank document open on my computer. It’ll take hours to write this article and it’s already half four. I’m going to have to stay late again.
“What you doing staring at a blank page?” Jimmy asks. I didn’t hear him approach . His voice shocks me so much I jump a little.
“This is the Jefferson article,” I say.
“The Jefferson article? That’s supposed to be in tomorrow’s issue.”
“Tell me about the scientist thing,” Jane says. She is as cute as her pictures. Her nose is daintily curved and her lips are full. I think our first date is going pretty well. The lobster was OK but not really good enough to justify the price tag.
“I write articles for a science magazine,” I say. “It’s more journalism than science but the job title says scientist.”
“So you don’t do experiments or nothing?’ Jane asks. She looks thoroughly unimpressed.
“Your articles are good,” Tim says. Tim is the editor of the whole magazine. Everything I write has to be approved by him. In spite of the dress code he is wearing jeans and a t-shirt.
“Thank you,” I say. “I work really hard on them.”
“You can tell. You’re a way better writer than anyone else we’ve got here. I want you to write more. Write Jimmy’s articles as well. Jimmy is useless: nothing he writes makes any sense.”
My heart sinks. I don’t really want to write Jimmy’s articles: I’ve got too much work as it is. I never wanted to be a writer. I never wanted to be a scientist. Life is a flume. We rush down it at break neck speed without knowing what is around the next corner. When we reach the bottom the pool we emerge into is always an unpleasant surprise.
Dominik Slusarczyk is an artist who makes everything from music to painting. He was educated at The University of Nottingham where he got a degree in biochemistry. His fiction has been published in various literary magazines including The Raven Review and Odd Magazine. His fiction came 1st in The Cranked Anvil Short Story Competition, 2nd in The Streetlight Magazine Flash Fiction Contest, and 3rd in The Northwind Writing Award. His full-length poetry collection Reaction is out now with Cyberwit.
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