Page 6 of Anything But Convenient

ARCHIE

“What are you gonna do, Arch?”Josiah, my friend and roommate, asked from where he laid beside me on the living room floor.

He’d eased himself down the minute he arrived home to find me here. Josiah knew that floor time meant bad news. Sadly, today’s news was the worst.

“There isn’t much I can do. How was I supposed to know that damn recruiter was going to call my boss when I specifically told her not to?”

My friend winced. “Maybe she thought you were trying to hide something about your job history? You know you can never be too careful about this stuff these days.”

As an avid true crime junkie, Josiah could rattle off the statistics about nearly any illegal activity. He was also more paranoid than anyone else I’d ever met. When I first inquired about the room he had for rent, I was subjected to multiple ‘tests’ to ensure I wasn’t a latent psychopath who’d slit his throat over spilled milk.

His brain was a scary place.

In the three years since we started living together, I’d become used to his random notions. This time though, I felt fury over the suggestion.

“Even so, she couldn’t have given me a heads up or something. Anything to let me know I’d likely get canned because my boss didn’t like me looking for better pay and health insurance.”

Life with a work visa wasn’t sunshine and rainbows like my mother thought it would be. Growing up, she was convinced that I’d be fine as long as I made it to America. Whatever the means, I’d find happiness, success, and love in the land of the free.

The only free thing I’d found was the way people spread germs.

I’ve had to bust my ass day in and day out just to be half as good as the people who were born here. Never mind that I have more experience than them or can do my job fifty times more efficiently. None of that matters in the face of a boss who hates the idea of me even being in this country.

Ugh.

“Enough with the pity party,” I said before Josiah could formulate his next thought. “I need to eat, then make a plan. If not, I’m looking at deportation since my visa is set to renew soon.”

“How soon?”

“Six months. A year. Doesn’t matter if I don’t work.”

Josiah winced, then jumped up to run to his room. I watched him leave as I sat up much slower. No need to rush when I didn’t have anywhere I needed to be.

Guess the pity party wasn’t quite over.

“Let’s get looking,” my friend declared as he came back with his laptop in hand.

I shook my head. “I’ve been looking. I doubt there’s anything new out there. Places that need my skills usually keep people until retirement. Those jobs are too good to give up.”

“Yeah, man. I get that. But I refuse to let you leave. I would have to find another roommate and best friend. What if they’re not the same person next time? I’d have to socialize more.”

His entire body jolted, like the idea of being social made him want to retch. I laughed at the movement, then shifted closer as he put the laptop on the floor in front of us.

“I know you’ve been replying to postings, but have you put your resume in one of those generator things? Companies sometimes use those instead of taking in candidates who apply.”

Frowning, I shook my head. “I didn’t know that. I figured me reaching out directly was the best bet. Besides, it feels weird having all my information in some database.”

Especially when I was close to losing my rights to even be in the country. Would the immigration board have some type of tracker on that? Could I potentially get sent home now since I just got fired?

I needed to look up the rules and regulations immediately. There’s never been a time I was without work since the minute I flew over from my home country. My lack of work now could mean I’d be returning to my mother, two cousins, and stepfather quicker than planned.

The original goal was to get citizenship rights, then go home to visit. I wanted to be a full-fledged American to ensure I wouldn’t have issues going back and forth between the two countries.

I’d heard enough horror stories to know not to risk anything without full status. While I know Josiah would send my belongings and help me if it did come to that, I saw no point in risking my current lifestyle when video calls and texting were a thing.

Josiah bit his lip as he scrolled through the pages of options. “You’re right. There isn’t much here.”

“That’s an understatement,” I bit out.

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