Photo by  Wassim Chouak on Unsplash

This was my first-ever job interview.

After filling out a generic three-question application,
I was escorted to an empty room and told to sit in a lone rocking chair until someone comes for me.
Then the lights went out!

At first, I sat silently but soon I began to rock nervously.

I started whispering to myself,
“I get it. This is a psychology laboratory, and this is some kind of an experiment. Okay guys, I’m game.”

Then, the creaking from the rocking began to wear on me causing me to wonder if my rocking was “good’ or “bad”. What could this mean?
So, I stopped and let the darkness and silence envelop me. The stillness was unsettling, though.

I don’t know how much time went by, but it wasn’t too long before I started hearing my own heartbeat and it kept growing louder and my heartrate was getting rapid!
How long had it been? Was I passing or failing this test? Should I rock or wait?
I was starting to lose my cool! Was this job worth this torture? Who do they think they are playing psych games on me?!

When I finally pressed the button on my watch, I found that I’d been in the room for two hours and forty-five minutes. What the hell?!

“HEY! Anybody want to tell me what’s going on?!”, I finally shouted.
Immediately a panel in the slanted ceiling slid open and a voice said, “You’re done.”. Then the lights came on, blinding me for a minute, the door opened, and I was shown to the main exit.


Two days later I got a postcard with a picture of the clinic building on one side and on the other side was this note:

Lacks Initiative. Thanks for your interest. The job has been filled.


299-words

https://flashfictionforthepracticalpractitioner.wordpress.com/2022/11/09/flash-fiction-for-the-purposeful-practitioner-2022-week-46/