chapter one
8:00 AM. It was fucking 8:00 AM and my phone was buzzing on my bedside table for some goddamned reason. I turned over from my comfortable position in my bed and begrudgingly picked up the phone. I didn't even look at who was calling - I didn't care, and I couldn't see with my eyes half-closed - but the voice at the other end was very loud compared to the serene sound of my fan and diffuser.
"Is this Molly Park?" said the anonymous man at the other end.
"Yes... yes, this is she. Why are you calling me?"
"Sorry if I woke you, Ms. Park. I'm calling to tell you you've been selected to work for Governor Liam Mae's presidential race. We need you to show up to the office at eleven o'clock."
My eyes opened and I sat up in bed. No fucking way. No fucking way. I was going to work under Liam Mae for his presidential race? He was still in the race? Yes!
"Hello?" said the man, snapping me out of my thoughts about finally getting my dream job.
"Yes, I'm here. Sorry. 11:00 AM today? Is that what you said?"
"Yes, sorry for the short notice. We didn't think his campaign would be as big as it is and we need more people to man the office while he's off campaigning. Are you able to do it? You had submitted your application when Governor Mae first announced he was running."
"Yes!" I said a little too excited. "Yes, I can go to the office. Thank you for the opportunity..." I stopped my sentence as I realized I never asked the man for his name.
"Seth. Seth Murphy. Ask for me when you get to the office and I'll show you around. I've already texted you the address. See you in a bit, Ms. Park."
"Bye-" I tried to say, but he hung up before I got the chance. Fuck, I'd just gotten a job with Governor Liam Mae. Well, not technically with him, but for him. That's big; like, really big. I mean I had no idea he still had a chance, but good for him. It's about time we had an actually good candidate in the race.
I called my mom and told her the good news. She was elated, of course; she's the reason I got into politics and one of my biggest supporters through my entire political journey. By the time I had showered and dressed prim and proper for my first day, it was 10:40. I hurried down to the subway where, luckily, I was able to get there as the doors were starting to close. Fourteen minutes later - thankfully there hadn't been any delays - I got to the small building that was adorned with every single variation of Governor Mae's campaign posters. I stood there for a minute, full of content. Never had I imagined my start in the political sphere would start so soon. I'd only graduated college last year and I was already working for one of my idols.
I quickly got out of my daze when the door opened and a man, whom I assumed to be Seth, opened the door. "Are you coming in or what, Molly? We don't have all day. Remember? Urgency?" Seth remarked with a sassy tone.
I met his eyes and quickly fast-walked towards the door he had been holding opened. "Sorry, it's just-"
"The excitement," he interrupted, "I get it. I'll show you to your cubicle where you'll be making some calls." As he continued telling me about what my job in the campaign entailed, we walked through the office. It was modern and sleek, not reflecting the New York-style, run-down look it had on the outside. Every other worker seemed to be merrily doing their job and wearing the respective "Mae for President" merchandise. I felt out of place with my pantsuit, but I was determined to impress each and every one of them. Even if it bordered annoying.
It was a short walk to my cubicle, and Seth left quickly to finish up with his work. I still had no idea what he did, but he seemed to be good at it if he was helping Governor Mae so much. That's definitely a question I would need to ask him whenever I saw him again.
"You're new," a voice chimed in from the other side of the cubicle. I stood up from the chair I had been sitting in for what felt like two seconds and looked for the voice.
"Hi, yes, I'm Molly. Molly Park, nice to meet you."
"You can call me Chay," they said. "I'm swamped trying to get a headcount on who's thinking of voting for Liam, but when I'm done with this sheet I can help you get started. It's intimidating at first, but then it gets really easy. Sometimes I wished I was paid to do this."
"Wait, you're not getting paid?" I asked. Did that mean I wasn't going to get paid for this, either? I had a lot of questions to ask about this whole situation now. Had I just jumped into an apprenticeship-type of situation? Fuck me!
"Most of aren't. Some are, but the pay is a little above minimum wage. I'm still in school, so basically, I'm just an intern at the moment."
"Oh, thank the Lord. You had me scared for a second there that I wasn't going to be getting paid. Can't pay my bills without a job, now can I?" I asked jokingly. They quickly smiled and turned back to their work. I sat back down, the chair squeaking as every crevice of my ass hits its surface, and began my work.
*
I felt lied to. It's easy my ass, Chay. Now, I don't like to judge people too often, but these people I had to phone were some of the dumbest people on the face of this Earth. How the hell do you not know that there's an election happening? You know, the one that happens every four years?! You didn't have to be a political science major to know that one.
"Molly, it's lunchtime, wanna go out get a bite?" Chay said as they peered over the divider wall.
"Sure that'd be great!" I replied, realizing that it had been four hours since my first day of work had started. I grabbed my phone and slung my purse around my shoulder.
"Let's go, then."
As we walked towards the front door, Seth's voice brought us to a halt. "Ms. Park, where are you going?" I turned around, trying to find him in the swarm of people walking around the office doing their job. I found him inside an office, sitting behind a big, wooden desk.
I walked over to him before replying, "I was going to lunch. But do you need something?"
"No, I just wanted to know how your first day was going. Have fun at lunch, then."
"Actually, I have a question. You never told me what you do here. I mean, I imagine you're higher up since you've got an office and everything, but like, what do you do?" Seth stared at me for a while, probably pondering as to why the fuck I cared what he did. It wasn't my place to know this information, and I just had to be glad the man had given me a job in the first place.
"Well, since you're so interested, I'm Governor Mae's campaign manager. I thought me offering you the job would have made that obvious to you, but I guess not," he said with a sarcastic - almost rude - tone. "Again, I hope you have fun in your lunch with Chay, but I really should get back to work. I'll talk to you later about some stuff."
