***
I yawned and rolled over in bed, getting used to the idea of not having to rush to a class or get myself to a shift. Although it sucked facing possible complete broke-ness, I didn’t mind lounging about.
Lazily, I reached for my phone. It was past ten thirty, and a few weeks ago, I would have had to vault out of bed and rush to my first class of the day. Now I lazily checked my notifications to see what I had missed in my sleeping hours. First thing I noticed was a text from Nick, which I opened quickly.
Talked about u with Manager. Come fill out app ASAP.
Well, what did ya know? It looked like I was going to have to vault out of bed anyway. As quickly as I could, I rushed to my dresser, grabbed some clothes, and practically sprinted to my bathroom. I splashed some water on my face, dabbed it off, and then brushed my hair back enough to look somewhat professional.
From there, I got dressed and hurried to my very cold car, which, of course, I would then have to sit in for ten minutes while it warmed up. On second thought, I decided to take the subway. With the holiday rushes, it would take me forever to get to where Nick worked, and it wasn’t like I could afford all that gas anyway.
Heading back to my house, I grabbed the monthly metro pass my parents had left behind when they visited for a week after Thanksgiving. Then I walked to the nearest subway entrance. Thankfully, it wasn’t that far, so I was only half of a human Popsicle when I finally arrived.
My slightly shaking hands slid my card through the reader, and I was infinitely grateful that my start was underground. I would hate to have one of those outdoor stops or worse, the elevated outdoor stops like the first half of the Woodlawn line.
Looking around, I saw hundreds of people going about their day, living their best lives while they huddled under layers and layers of clothes. I couldn’t blame them. Even with my extra mass, I was feeling the bite of winter winds getting down to my bones.
Of course, looking around meant I couldn’t avoid spotting several couples walking hand in hand together or snuggling up on the subway. Sure, it was sweet, but it made me feel a bit lonely.
While I’d never really had trouble with the ladies, I had pretty much put all relationships on the back burner while I focused on my senior year. And obviously, it had paid off, considering I already had a job and all, but now that the big finish to graduate was over, I couldn’t help wishing I had someone to cozy up to.
Sure, I had my booty calls and sex friends I could call up. In fact, they were pretty much vital for me to get through the more stressful times of the school year. I had a pretty strong sex drive, and nothing helped me unwind from a test better than a little horizontal tango.
But I could have as much sex as I wanted, and it still wasn’t the same as having someone to cuddle, drink hot chocolate with, and go see movies with. Now that I was moving on into the world, I wondered if it was time for me to move on from friends with benefits to real relationships.
I didn’t quite have an answer to that before my ride was over, and I stepped off into a station only a block away from Nick’s work. I texted him that I was about ten minutes away and headed out, feeling hopeful for the first time in a couple weeks.
I arrived without any incident, and I checked my phone to see that he had messaged me directions on where to go to ask for an application. He was sending a manager my way. Taking my coat off and straightening my sweater, I headed in the direction he told me.
I found my way easily enough and saw a bored looking teenager trying to paste a sincere smile on her face as she stood behind the customer service counter.
“How can I help you today?” she asked, her voice clearly strained from over-niceness. If everything went according to plan, that would be me soon.
Joy.
“Hey,” I answered. “I would like to apply for your open Santa Claus position?”
“Oh, of course! Let me find that application. It’s different from our last one because it’s seasonal and involves both costumes and specific hours.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.”
She disappeared under the counter, and I could hear her opening various filing cabinet doors until she finally let out a noise of triumph.
“Ah! Here it is,” she said, slapping it onto the counter with a flourish. “Do you need a pen?”
“Brought my own, actually,” I answered with a bit of a smile.
“Ah, good. Well, I’ll leave you to it.” She took a couple of steps away, of course still having to remain behind the counter, but I appreciated her attempt at giving me privacy. Leaning over the counter, I started filling it out.
“Hello. I hear you’re interested in our Santa position?”
I had barely gotten a couple of lines filled when I heard someone speaking behind me. I turned and glanced at the man to see he was wearing a manager’s tag. “Oh, yes! Hi, I’m Drayer. Nick told me you had a position open, and I was definitely interested.”
“Have you ever had any Santa experience before?”
Dammit. Well, I was an honest person, so I might as well tell the truth instead of trying to get by on a lie.
“No, I haven’t, but I’m a quick learner, and I have been told I take direction well.”
“Honestly, that normally wouldn’t be enough, but we’re in a bit of a jam. We’re really about to get into the Christmas swing, and I need a Santa by tomorrow. I had to let our last one go on Friday, so it looks like I don’t have much of a choice. If you can start tomorrow, it’s yours.”
“Y-yes! I absolutely can!”
“Good. Looks like you’re hired. How about we go into the back and start filling out paperwork? You got two forms of ID?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Great, that will make all of this much easier.”
The man walked away briskly, and I followed him, still in a bit of shock. After all my searching and applying, slowly going further and further down the job ladder, I couldn’t believe I’d just walked into a seasonal job.
I guessed I owed Nick big time. He saved my holiday.