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It was the strangest interview ever.
I was led to an office, a box with walls, dingy green. A crack in the plaster traced a ragged path as it retreated from the single fluorescent ceiling panel.
“Let’s look at your record,” began the dark-clad man sitting behind the desk. Short black hair and eyebrows framed a bare, acutely thin face, creased by time, in the center of which sat a knife-edged nose. He took up his clipboard and inspected it. “I see you often told others what you thought they wanted to hear in order to manipulate them into helping you.”
“Yeah, I guess so. Doesn’t everyone?”
“That doesn’t make it right,” he scolded.
“I didn’t want to hurt their feelings--”
“And if they found out how you really felt, you’d be vulnerable.” His voice was nonchalant, like that of a mob boss.
I felt my forehead wrinkle. “Is this really necessary?”
“We have strict standards here.” The man still stared at his clipboard.
Now he brought his gaze to mine. “You had a tendency to cut off other cars in traffic.”
“I was in a hurry-- Hold it. How do you know that?”
“It really upset the other drivers.”
“Huh? What does any of this prove?”
“Talk is cheap. If you want to know what a man really believes, look at what he does, not at what he says.”
He returned to the clipboard. “Then there was the restaurant incident. Don’t you believe in leaving a tip?”
I let a thick sigh escape my almost-clenched teeth. “I don’t get it. What’s with the trivia? If you want to examine my record, at least why don’t we look at what’s important?”
His neck snapped straight. “Important?” His pencil-point eyes bore through my skull. “What a person does every day without thinking, that’s what demonstrates what’s inside the heart.”
The statement sunk in for a moment.
“Anyhow, it still wouldn’t get you in past the pearly gates. If you couldn’t handle the so-called little things, what makes you think you could’ve done better with the big ones? The real problem isn’t what you did. It’s who you were.
“It’s a pity, really.” For the first time, his air turned melancholy. “We could’ve helped you with that, if you’d asked.”
© 2003 J. Timothy King
All fictional characters and organizations portrayed in this story are fictional, and any similarity to actual persons or organizations, past or present, is purely coincidental. The events portrayed are purely fictional; and though they may refer to real historical figures, since the events themselves are fictional, any statements or actions by those figures are also fictional. Events portrayed may also refer to actual locations, institutions, and businesses; this should not be construed as reflecting in any way upon past or present owners or management.
