You hand over your last 20 dollar bill to the driver, of course he doesn�t have any change for you. As you exit the cab it begins to pour harder. You quickly move up to the front door of your building. After a bit of a struggle you force open the door. You pass the broken elevator and head up the stairs to the fourth floor.
As you approach your door you see a note tacked to it.
you are hereby informed that you have thirty days to vacate this apartment due to a failure to pay rent. If you have not left the premises by that time the county sheriff will have you removed and placed under arrest.
You tear the notice from the door and enter your apartment. You drop your backpack on the kitchen table along with the note as you head to the fridge. You remove the last of your frozen dinners and place it on the radiator to thaw (the stove hasn�t worked in months.) You take the newspaper out of your bag and begin to read the want ads. All of the secretarial, receptionist & girl Friday jobs are for less then you make now. One ad grabs your attention.
NEED MONEY?
731-555-7081
You dial the number. The girl on the other end of the line snaps her gum in your ear than says, �Flieshman Pharmaceuticals, how can I help you.�
�Hello, I calling about the ad�.�
She interrupts you with an abrupt �HOLD.� The muzack version of Hotel California plays softly in your ear.
�Hello my dear, my name is Dr. Fitzsimmons, so you are interested in our little ad.�
�Yes sir, I was just wondering what position it is for.�
�Oh, I�m sorry, I think you misunderstood. We are looking for people to test a new medicine that we are developing.�
�Uh, I see�that is not exactly what I had in mind, thank you anyway.�
�No problem dear, if you change your mind just come down to our office tomorrow at 11 A.M.�
�Okay doctor.� You can bearly stifle the laughter as you hang up. Seriously, medical experimentaion. You are not that desparate.
The rest of the night is uneventful, you eat your thawed dinner and crawl into bed.
The sun on your face wakes you ever so gently. In your half awake half asleep state you can�t understand why the sun is so strong at 6:30 in the morning. Like a bolt of lighting it hits you. Your head snaps toward the alarm clock, the display is not lit.
�Shit, the power company must want their money too.� You mutter.
You reach for the phone on your end table, before you can pick it up it rings. You have a bad feeling.
You answer in a slightly nervous tone, �Hello.�
�, Hi its Joan from the office�
�Joan, I was just calling, the power company shut me off last night and I over slept.�
�Well hun, I�m afraid you day isn�t going to get any better. Ben just told me to call you and tell you not to bother coming in�.ever�.I�m sorry.�
�Well, it was great working with you Joan� You say trying not to sound too depressed.
�Yeah, you too, again, I�m sorry, good luck with every thing .�
Forty minutes later you are walking through the doors of Flieshman Pharmaceuticals. The floor to ceiling windows make the lobby extremely bright. As you move toward the receptionist�s desk your footsteps echo. You hear the same muzack version of Hotel California playing. You wonder if this is the girl you spoke with yesterday.
�Hello, I�m looking for Dr. Fitzsimmons.�
The receptionist snaps her gum and sighs (must be her). �Justa minute.� She calls the doctor on the intercom. When the doctor picks up her demenor suddenly changes. �Good morning sir, I have a woman here that wishes to see you. Yes sir, I�ll bring her right back.�
Her gaze once again focuses on you. �Follow me.�
You follow the girl through a maze of halls and finally arrive at Dr. Fitzsimmon�s office. The doctor greets you and asks you to sit.
�How can I help you my dear?�
�Hello doctor, I spoke with you yesterday about the ad.�
�OH YES, Yes, right. I�m glad you decided to stop in. Just fill out these papers and waivers and we can get started.�
�Before we start doctor, I need to ask you about the, uh, compensation.�
�Yes yes, the compensation, by that I guess you mean payment. Well after the tests today you will receive a cashier�s check for 00 and then after the six weeks are up you will receive another check for 00, so you will have a total of 00.�
After you fill out the paper work, Dr. Fitzsimmons performs some simple tests on you, a few psychological questions, a physical and finally a throat culture. He then abruptly stops.
�Please follow me.�
You follow the good doctor into the next room. There is a table with two glasses, each filled with a clear liquid, and an envelope. The glasses are marked I & II. Behind the table is a door.
� all you have to do is drink the entire contents of either glass I or glass II, then take the envelope with your cashier�s check and exit through the door behind the table.� |