****NAMES CHANGED TO PROTECT PORTLAND'S STREET KIDS****
In the morning I straighten my hair for the first time in God only knows how long. I look in the mirror and groan at myself. I look like shit but I'll fix myself up the rest of the way once I get to the day program. I'm going to go to the TJ Max interview and I'm going to rock it. I need to start finding a way to get some income. Thing is with this job I honestly don't care if I get it or not. I just want to start trying.
Once I get to #1 I change into a skirt and my brown boots. It's not what I would normally wear to an interview but it's all I've got. I spend fifteen minutes in the bathroom trying desperately to cover up blemishes and the bags under my eyes. I update my resume one last time and print out the application to attach to it. A lot of the kids are intending on going to this interview but for whatever reason I'm the one that catches the attention. They joke with me and allow me to stay late to get ready. I walk there by myself and see Moby walking out as I go in. He says it was quick and painless and they'll call people they intend to hire on the 21st. "It's all customer service questions," he tells me, "You'll be fine."
I'm taken back almost immediately for the interview. I haven't worn heels in so long that I feel like I'm the little mermaid in the original fairytale, where when she gets legs every step feels like walking on knives. I smile anyways. I tell him I was referred by the youth program as this is supposed to give us an upper hand. The interview takes about five minutes. When it's over I sit down and pry off my boots and walk back to the day program bare foot.
I ask the receptionist if I can be let upstairs to get my shoes from Bernard's office. She calls but he doesn't answer because he's in an interview. I tell her to call another case manager and this continues on until I throw a tizzy fit and a staff goes up to get the director of case managers to open my locker for me. Success. :)
I go to the library until 1pm. I go back to the day program to talk to Bernard about this whole school thing. I have to make him understand that the school is my home. I need to get back there. He is pretty much useless. I roll my eyes and decide to try and call the dean on campus. I'm surprised when I get through. It's a Friday after all. As soon as I state my name he warms up to me, he wants me back at school, particularly on the paper. He tells me to email the student accounts and CC him into it. I draft the email and have Bernard check it before I send it to make sure I didn't miss anything.
After I send it I'm not ready to sit still on this so I call student accounts and argue with her for twenty-five minutes. I get her to tell me who it is in charge of the committee that decides which students can be refunded. I'm in luck. I know the lady in charge. I forward my email to her and leave her a message. By the time I'm done with all this I'm drained and my head hurts. I walk out and see Houdini sitting on a bench outside of the day room.
"What are you upset about now?" He asks me.
"I just want to go back to school. I would do anything to just get back into school."
In between nodding off he tells me I should try the #2 education program or start selling dope, see which one can help me. Brilliant.
I decide I need out of downtown and I need groceries so I take the max to Gateway to get groceries at Winco. Once I'm done I take the max down to Whole Foods where I wait for shelter to open. In shelter I heat up a tamale for what may just well be my best dinner in 105 days. I sit with Yougio and another one of the guys. We go through the house agreements editing them to present our proposed changes for the next house meeting. I realize I forgot to get my sleeping meds refilled so I take three Clondine to try and help me sleep. This works and I'm out fairly quickly.
--mm
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