Misfit Angel
Normal is an illusion
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Artwork of Andrea provided by Hexikron
A young scientist is poised to turn her life around with a dream job interview, but she finds it hard to have faith in herself.
May 12th
Aughrim, Kingdom of Lanark
"You can do this..." a young woman told herself as she sat idly at the vanity in her bedroom. She pushed her long blonde hair out of her eyes, took a deep breath and tried to maintain eye contact with her reflection, but it was difficult. "You have to do this..."
It was an important day for her, a day she hoped would change her life for the better. Later that day, she'd be taking part in a job interview at the Reiland Institute, a widely respected scientific research center on the other side of the country. Though she'd known about the interview for some time, she still couldn't believe it was finally happening; ever since she was a little girl, from the moment she performed her first basic science experiment in her parents' tool shed, she'd dreamed of one day working as a scientist -- pushing the bounds of current knowledge and discovering new things. Her goals and motivations had changed since then, but the dream remained the same, and after fourteen long years of intense work and endless determination, that dream was finally within her grasp.
That didn't make it any easier to have faith in herself, however.
"It's only the most prestigious research center in the kingdom, and you're only a university dropout..." Light, tingly pain radiated outward from her hands as her black fingernails dug into the hard oak surface of the vanity. Her eyes drifted upward and met those of her reflection once again. "But you can do this. Otherwise it's back to square one, and you can't afford to start there again..."
As she stared at herself in the mirror, she debated how to present herself. Her options were limited by what she had, limitations created by her limited wealth. She looked down at the basket of clothes beside her, and most of it was black; a little red here, some lavender there, a splash of grey in between, but still mostly black. Buried at the bottom of the basket was the one piece that wasn't -- the spring green off-the-shoulder skater dress that she wore to her high school prom -- hardly appropriate for a job interview at a prestigious research center, and likely didn't fit her anymore.
"Guess I'll be wearing black today..." she commented as she lifted her mascara brush and began to work on her eyelashes. "Not that I'm complaining..."
As she finished up the last of her mascara, there was a knock at the door, and a voice came from the other side. "May I come in?"
She lowered her mascara brush and smiled. "Of course!" she called out.
The door swung open and a slightly overweight young man with shaggy, shoulder length brown hair stepped in. He averted his eyes as soon as he saw how little she was wearing. "Oh! Thought you'd be more dressed than that."
"I'm still trying to decide on what I want to wear..." she answered as she carefully drew a wing shape of smoky purple eyeshadow over her left eye. "But I'm pretty sure it's gonna be my Misfit Angel Enchantress dress."
The man's face contorted with skepticism. "Uhh, Andrea? You do... realize it's a job interview you're going to, right? Not a rave down at The Lair?"
"I do. But it's the best I have. More importantly, it's who I am," she returned, starting the winged eyeshadow over her right eye. That smile returned to her face. "And who do I have to thank for that lesson, eh, ol' buddy ol' pal? 'Be true to who you are'?"
He laughed. "Okay, you've got a point. Still, you've known about this interview for a couple weeks now, you didn't think to pick up anything more... 'professional' looking?"
"You know I could only barely afford my train ticket out to the loch. And the ticket back... which I've still yet to buy, stupidly."
"If you needed a couple silver roses for--"
"Webster, please. Let's drop this," she barked with a tinge of annoyance in her voice. "You know how much being jobless for the past five months has torn me apart, and you know how much I don't like being reminded of it."
"Right, sorry."
"Ehh, forgiven. It's impossible to be mad at you." She finalized her eyeshadow and turned to look at him. "So, how do they look? Even enough? A little too heavy on the right, maybe? I always make that mistake..."
"They look pretty even to me."
"I'm surprised." She dropped her eyeshadow brush and held her hand aloft in front of her. "My hands are shaking."
"Nervous, huh?"
"Nervous..." she said with a half-hearted laugh. "That's putting it mildly. The last four years of my life have led to this -- no, the last fourteen. Those years are going to be judged, and hard. Something from my past is going to slip through the cracks and sink my interview, I just know it. If it's not the obvious fact that I dropped out of my PhD program because I couldn't handle the pressure, it's going to be something else."
He approached the bed and sat down on it. "Andi, you've gotta remember... Nobody is perfect. Everyone has a skeleton in their closet that they'd rather not talk about, even this lady that you're looking to be hired by, as well-respected as she is. You've made some... poor choices in the past, but who hasn't? I have, your father has, Toby has... You're too hard on yourself."
She sighed. "Maybe. It's hard not to be, all things considered..."
"What's really important is that you've made remarkable progress in putting yourself back together over the past couple of months. You need to keep focusing on that, or all of that progress might be lost."
Her eyes drifted to the floor. "I know, I know..."
"Think of it this way. You told me that the Reiland Institute doesn't hire people very often, right?"
"As far as I'm aware."
"Dr. Reiland invited you to come visit her research center, that alone must say something -- to me, at least. Do you really think that she's the type of person to drag you across the country to tell you that you're not good enough?"
She shook her head at the thought. "No. I'd be furious if she did."
He smiled, reached out to grab her hand and clasped it tightly between his own. "I understand that you're nervous, but you can't let that define who you are today. You're an intelligent woman with incredible potential." As he spoke, he felt her trembling diminish.
"Save it, I've heard that a dozen times from you this year! But today, I'll believe it."
"Good, because it's true."
She nodded her head slightly and slid her hand out of his grip, then turned around and grabbed her black lipstick. "Words like that make me think: I don't know if I've ever properly thanked you for everything you've done for me since the year started."
"You have, you just don't realize it."
"Oh yeah?" she asked, pausing her lipstick application.
"The best way to thank someone for helping you isn't through words, or gifts, or anything like that. No, you're doing it right now -- you're pushing yourself through that door and trying to make something of yourself, instead of getting comfortable at rock bottom. It makes all of the effort I put in to help get you back on your feet feel like it's been worth it."
She smacked her lips together as she examined herself in the mirror. Satisfied with her makeup, she pushed herself out of her chair and over to the basket of clothes. "I hadn't thought about it that way. Still... I owe you a gift for all of that. If I land this -- once I land this job, you're going to get that gift."
He laughed. "Is it odd that I dread to think what you mean by that?"
"You're always suspicious of my good will, so no, it's not odd," she said, pulling out her Enchantress dress. As she looked it over, she noticed that it was wrinkled to near ruin. "Fuck sake, how'd this wrinkle so badly?"
"Probably because you don't fold your clothes, you just throw them in the basket."
She laughed and shook her head. "Got a master's degree in biology but I'm still brainless about everyday life."
"I know. They don't teach you the basics anymore, do they? You might want to learn quick, you could be out on your own shortly."
She grumbled, digging through the rest of her wardrobe. Her flirty and revealing two piece Seductress set, with its long and flowing satin layers, were wrinkle free but clearly out of the question when it came to attempting to present herself as a professional who was worthy of consideration. Likewise, her Blood Baroness dress was in good shape, but dressing like a vampire would be far too eccentric for a job interview. She'd begun to see her roommate's point about buying a new dress for the interview, but it was too late; even worse, she didn't have the money for it because she spent most of her earnings on those designer dresses that were the current bane of her aspirations.
"What do you think..." she asked, grabbing the last of her dresses, the Spider. "If I roll up the mesh sleeves and fishnet stockings... it... looks normal enough? Hopefully?" Her voice started to squeak as she thought about it more and more.
"Umm..." He reached his finger out and poked it through the tangled mess of spiderweb-like threads below the neckline. "Don't you think you'll be showing a little too much cleavage in this thing?"
"Ehhh..."
"That aside, out of everything you've got... I think that's your best bet," he shrugged. As she slipped the dress on and made the adjustments needed, he blurted, "So, umm... Before you head out there, do you want to get breakfast together, maybe?"
"Us? Together? Who are you, and what have you done with the real Webster?" she joked. "We haven't done anything together in over a month, why the change of heart?"
"I figure it's a special day, and I get the feeling that you're not happy always being alone down at the diner."
"That's true..." She grabbed her phone off of the vanity and turned it on to check the time. "I'd love to, but... I gotta get to Camden Station soon, or I'll miss my train."
He lowered his head and spoke softly. "Morning's passing by that quickly, is it..."
She could sense his unhappiness, something he rarely displayed, and wrapped her arm around his shoulders for a hug. "Hey! If all goes according to plan, I'll be back in time for dinner, okay? I wouldn't pass up a chance to go out together."
"I was gonna play some games with the lads tonight, but... I can take a break from those assholes. It might do my blood pressure some good."
"Ha, maybe," she laughed, letting him go.
"Anyways, I'll get outta your hair. We'll talk later, okay?"
"Okay."
"Good luck, and remember: You've got this."
"Thank you."
As he left the room, she made her final adjustments to her appearance, but something was still missing... her favorite necklace. She returned to her bed and grabbed the bright silver chain off of her nightstand; it was silly, but she felt her anxiety melt away as she clasped the chain around her neck and rested the dark red tear-shaped gemstone over her heart. "Luck... you've done the trick before, and luck is what I need today."
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