Bold- Chinese/Mandarin
Normal- English
Italics- thoughts
Edited
November 13, 2009
It was Friday, and after countless attempts at begging her mom, Kiara had her job interview. She sat in her Geometry class, working on her résumé. Unbeknownst to her, she began muttering under her breath.
"Skills?" She muttered, twirling her pen on her fingers.
Photography maybe?
She let out a small sigh of frustration as she continued to write and mutter. She began to bounce her leg up and down.
"What're we muttering about over here?" Cheng asked, looking over at her paper. She instantly got defensive and glared at him.
"None of your business" She said.
"Ouch. That was rude" Cheng said, faking a hurt expression.
"Thanks, I try my best" Kiara said as she gave a fake smile. Cheng hummed before quickly snatching the paper from Kiara.
"Give it back!" Kiara said loudly. She looked at Mrs. Liu who was facing the board. No one seemed affected by her voice.
"Keep your voice down. You wouldn't want to alert Mrs. Liu" Cheng said, looking at her résumé. Mrs. Liu had a nasty habit of taking student's homework for other classes, if they were working on it during Geometry. So if Mrs. Liu got her hands on Kiara's résumé, she'd tear it up without a second thought.
"She'd be very upset to see you weren't working on Math" Cheng smirked.
To say I hate this asshole is an understatement
Kiara tried to grab it back, but he grabbed her wrist and put it down on the table. She tried using her other hand to pry his off of her wrist, but failed. As she struggled to get out of his grasp, he read through her résumé.
"This is a job application" Cheng said.
"No shit. Give it back" Kiara spat as she reached for it.
"Special Skills....cleaning at a proficient speed?" Cheng read.
"What a joke" Cheng smiled as he continued to read through her résumé.
"Let me go and give it back" Kiara said, still trying to pry his fingers off of her.
"The Fighting Dragon Studio. That's where I train" Cheng said. Her heart dropped to her stomach. It became apparent that she couldn't escape him.
"This is gonna be fun" Cheng said as Kiara snatched her wrist from him. He tossed her résumé at her face and turned to face the front with a satisfied smile. Kiara looked to her right and saw Vanessa with an angry expression. Vanessa was about to say something but Kiara shook her head no.
"Since we're putting our hands on each other..." Kiara said before balling her left hand into a fist. She then used the side of her fist to punched Cheng in the stomach, making him hunch over in pain. He sat up, holding his stomach. She quickly sat up and folded her hands together, trying to look as innocent as possible incase Mrs.Liu saw them. She peaked over at Vanessa who was fighting back a laugh. She looked at Mei Ying who looked concerned. Cheng sat up, slightly coughing. He grabbed Kiara by the collar of her shirt.
"Careful. You wouldn't want to alert Mrs. Liu. Would you?" She said smugly. He grumbled something and let her go. She continued working on her résumé and he put his head on his part of the table.
"I really hate you" Cheng said.
"Likewise, little boy" Kiara said, not looking at him. School ended and Kiara walked our to the front. She was supposed to wait for Vanessa and someone else she was bringing.
"Kiara!" She heard. She saw Vanessa waving her over. She walked towards her with a smile.
"Hey V" Kiara said, hugging her friend.
"Is Emiko coming?"
"Thats what Im wondering"
"Sorry Im late" Emiko said breathlessly.
"Where were you?" Kiara asked.
"My Biology teacher wanted to discuss my grade. She thought I cheated" Emiko explained.
"Did you?" Vanessa asked, earning the dirtiest glare from Emiko.
"It was just a question" Vanessa quickly backtracked.
"Are you ready now?" Vanessa asked Emiko
"Yeah" Emiko said. They began to walk away from the school at in the direction of the Fighting Dragon Studio.
"Are you ready for your interview?" Vanessa asked excitedly.
"Kinda. Look at my résumé for me" Kiara said as they walked down the sidewalk. Vanessa and Emiko went over her résumé. They were disappointed to say the least.
" 'Flexible schedule'? Your mom wants you home by 8 o'clock" Vanessa said, making Kiara roll her eyes
"Actually its 8:30" Kiara said.
" 'Private school education'?" Vanessa said in disbelief.
"Is that true?" Emiko asked.
"No" Kiara said, looking at her shoes.
"Why are you lying?" Vanessa asked.
"I need to in order to get this job" Kiara said.
I don't have many of the qualifications they're looking for
My best bet is to lie my ass off and hope for the best
"No you don't. He's picky but many people have quit" Vanessa said, making Kiara stop in her tracks.
Is
This
A
Fucking
Setup?
"Why?" She asked, while looking at Vanessa skeptically.
"He's an asshole. He's acts as if he's never felt love in his life." Emiko deadpanned and Vanessa nodded on agreement.
"Wow" Kiara said.
So long story short, I'm fucked
They reached the studio and Vanessa opened the door.
"So this is where magic happens." Vanessa said, gesturing to the building.
"After you" She said and Kiara walked inside. Emiko leaned on the side of building and brought out her phone.
"Are you coming?" Kiara asked Emiko.
"I'll drop dead before I look that asshole in the face again" Emiko said, making Vanessa nod
"Understandable" Vanessa said. Kiara and Vanessa walked into the empty studio.
"His name is Master Li" Vanessa whispered to Kiara. As if on cue, a tall man with short black hair walked up to the girls, seemingly trying to intimidate them.
"Master" Vanessa said with a bow.
"Zhao. Who is this" Master Li said coldly.
"I am Kiara Parker. I'm here about the photography position" Kiara said after her bow.
"I brought some of my work with me—" she said as she pulled a folder out of her bag. She held it out to him, but he merely spared a disgusted glance at it.
"Follow me" he said, before turning on his heels and walking towards his office. Kiara looked at Vanessa who gave an encouraging smile.
'I need the money. Don't get picky'
She entered his office and sat across from him. His office was decorated with trophies, medals and plaques. As well as a picture of himself directly behind him.
I need to love myself like he loves himself
"So, I have some photos to show you along my résumé" Kiara said in the nicest voice she could muster. Master Li held out his hand without a word. Kiara looked him up and down in disgust but handed him the work. He sat in his chair behind the desk and looked through her résumé as well as her pictures.
"Your work is decent" Master Li said.
"Why do you want this job" he asked.
Because Im broke....
And I need the money
"Photography is a passion of mine and I want to be paid for my art" Kiara said. Master Li did not seem to convinced of her motives.
"I believe that Kung Fu is a beautiful martial art that needs to be shared. I hope that my pictures can do that" she continued.
"Why should I hire you?" He asked harshly. Kiara wanted to roll her eyes.
BECAUSE IM BROKE!
AND I NEED THE MONEY
"I am very reliable, respectful and I always complete my tasks in a timely manner. You will only have to instruct me once to do something" Kiara said.
"I expect you here at 4:00 tomorrow. If you come in a moment later, you are fired. Understood?" He said, coldly. Kiara let out a light sigh of relief
"Yes sir I understand" Kiara said.
"You may go." Master Li said.
"Thank you" Kiara said. She quickly left the office and lightly smiled. She saw Vanessa across the room. She made her way to Kiara before stopping.
"Fall in!" They heard Master Li yell. Vanessa scurried away to the mat and fell in with her classmates. Someone came in from the bathroom and ran to stand next to Vanessa. Cheng noticed Kiara standing by the door. He gave a wink and went stone faced as his Master began talking. Kiara walked out of the studio, confused.
Did he just wink at me?
Is the world ending?