After Hours

Colt glanced at the table sighing, his disheveled reflection sighed back at him. He had stayed awake for days to keep this rundown shack of a place, doing odd jobs here and there. Never enough to do anything but buy a meal or two. His bedroom is his living room and dining room all in one. The place barely stood on four walls, the roof itself threatened to crumble to dust at any moment. This is all he could afford since his previous job, some ticket-selling gig.

Colt lay back on his couch, flipping through mindless brain-numbing TV channels. The TV was the only semi-decent item he had here. His best friend, Mavis, wouldn't let him sell it for money. It had been weeks since his last job and he desperately needed a new one. He watched the screen endlessly. Silently hoping an advertisement would just pop in his face.

His eyes slowly drifted closed as the late night seemed to finally catch up to him. The soft murmur of the TV only seemed to pull him deeper into this trance. Suddenly the TV exploded into noise, in his drowsiness Colt didn't realize he pressed the volume button on the remote. Startling himself awake, throwing an empty takeout box into the air. He frantically went to turn the TV down, as an advertisement started to play.

“ARE YOU IN NEED OF A JOB? NEED EASY MONEY?- Come down to Clover’s Wings & Things now!” Colt blinked, just as he was wishing for an advertisement to appear, it had to be a coincidence Colt thought to himself. He sat up straight to pay attention to what the advertisement had to say. “-12 am to 6 am! 220$ a week! Just 5 days. If interested please call xxx-xxx-xxxx! And a reminder we are no-” Colt turned off the TV, interrupting the rest of the advertisement as it surely wouldn't be that important, and had already dialed in the numbers awaiting the phone to be picked up.

The phone only rang twice. “Hello?” A more feminine voice sounded from the phone. “Hello! Uh my name is Colt and you see- I saw an advertisement about your restaurant-” Colt would explain in a somewhat hurried way desperate to make a good first impression despite the time it was already.

There was a sigh and a moment of silence, followed by the sound of rustling paper and the click of a pen. “Okay. Slow down, I'll write down your information and call you tomorrow. It's almost midnight. How about we continue this when you come in to see the restaurant and a possible interview?

Now your name please?” Colt blinked realizing he was way too desperate right now, he took a deep breath in and out to calm himself. “My name is Colt,” he responded after calming down. The two talked for around half an hour. Colt had successfully gotten a potential job and was excited to get to work.

Colt looked at a nearby clock. With a sigh, he got up and started cleaning the room. No point in leaving such a mess! He needed to be in the best mood possible. The TV would play a random show as he cleaned, not fully paying attention to it. Once Colt finished cleaning he turned the TV off and headed to his couch pulling out a blanket and pillow for much-needed sleep.