The Interview Part 1

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Claire turned sat in her car. She had been waiting for this moment. It was the first job interview she had got for a job that, she felt, would be a good career job. Good business, good prospects, interesting work. It was just what she was looking for. Claire checked her watch and it read 9:50am. ‘Good’, she thought, ‘I’m in plenty of time’. She looked out her window. It had been snowing fairly heavily that morning. However, she had expected as much from the local weather forecast the day before and had left in plenty of time. Her area hadn’t been too badly hit, but she wondered if people coming in from different areas would have had to cancel. She brushed herself down. She was wearing a pale grey skirt suit, over a white blouse. She checked that she looked OK, before getting out of her car and locking the door. She walked over to the company’s entrance, making sure she didn’t slip. She’d have felt better if she had worn heels, but she hadn’t because of the weather and right now, she felt very pleased about this. She opened the door and then walked into the reception area. ‘Hello, I’m here for an interview at 10 o’clock’ she said to the receptionist, who was sitting behind her desk on the right hand side. The receptionist said ‘Hello, just take a seat there’ she said, pointing to a couple of seats in the corner of the room, next to coffee table, ‘Do you want a cup of tea or coffee?’ ‘Can I have a cup of coffee, milk, one sugar please?’ Claire asked. ‘Yes of course, I’ll just get it for you’ the receptionist said, before opening a door to what Claire presumed was the kitchen area.

Claire picked up one of the magazines on the coffee table. She didn’t really take it in; she was busy thinking about her interview. Suddenly, a woman entered the reception area from the car park. She looked at Claire and said ‘Hi, I’m Becky. I had an interview here at 11:00am but there were delays because of the snow. Can you help my sister please? She was kind enough to drive me over here, but now she’s having trouble parking.’ Claire thought this was strange, as the care park hadn’t seemed that slippy to her, but nonetheless, she said ‘OK’ and followed Becky outside. Just as she closed the door, a cloth was forced over her mouth and her hands held tightly behind her back. Claire gasped for air, but a sweet aroma filled her mouth, lungs and nostrils. She felt began to feel sick and very dizzy. She now felt faint and Claire’s world became very blurred and began to spin at an increasing speed, before, finally, everything went dark.

Claire began to come to. Her head ached a lot and she felt ill. There was a dull ringing in her ears and she couldn’t focus on the room. She tried to look up, but it hurt. A voice nearby said ‘She’s coming to, Becky’. Claire looked up and saw a blurry figure walking towards her. She tried to move, but she couldn’t. She was sitting on a wooden chair. Her ankles were each tied to a chair leg and her hands were tied behind her back and behind the chair. ‘Hello Claire’, Becky said. ‘I’m sorry about this, but I was late for my interview and I really wanted the job.’ ‘What?’ spluttered Claire, struggling to take in what Becky was saying. ‘I thought that one less candidate would help my cause’ continued Becky ‘I think that it would be best if you forgot all about this, went home and told everyone that you changed your mind about the job’. ‘But why should I?’ responded Claire, feeling a little taken aback. ‘Because’ said Becky, sternly ‘I deserve this job more than you do’. Claire looked at Becky, who was smiling. ‘Why do you think that?’ responded Claire, feeling a little insulted. ‘That’s enough’ said Becky, moving her hand towards the other woman in the room ‘lets give her time to think about our kind offer’. ‘What?’ replied Claire, just as the woman stuffed a large cloth into her mouth. Claire ‘MMPPHHDD’ as another large white cloth was pulled between her lips and tied behind her head. The two women left the room and turned the light out.