Page 3 of For the First Time
I sat upright, debating whether or not I should actually get out of bed.
Well, it wasn’t like I was close to sleep.
Getting up, I went into the living room and reopened my laptop, flinching at the bright light of the screen.Even as I dimmed it to its lowest setting, it still felt like it was burning my eyes.
Ignoring the slight visual pain, I went to the OC’s website and then found the city’s specific webpage.I was going to leave a nice, polite, but critical complaint.I wondered why I hadn’t thought of it before?
Searching the website, I couldn’t find a way to complain.Anonymously or otherwise.
It wasn’t on the contact page or the outreach.Or the “more information” page.It wasn’t on the page to show off photos of the workers and the omegas there or the page about inquiring packs or families with children presenting as omegas.
I slowed down and started at the first tab, taking my time to read the information rather than skimming the page for buzzwords.Really, it should’ve been on the contact page except that page solely mentioned how they were open to communication and how anyone could drop by the facility for any questions.There were a few phone numbers for making a donation or alerting the OC about an omega in heat, coming into their designation, or suspected of being abused.But nothing for the compound itself.
No worries.I would just do it the old-fashioned way.I was sure I had paper around here somewhere.Although I knew I didn’t have any envelopes.
There was no way to leave an anonymous message to the compound?That couldn’t be right.
I went back to the OC’s main website and then clicked on a different city, searching that page.This one wasn’t as well organized, a sad fact to show the limited funding it must’ve received in order to put so little on its website.If being let go from the OC hadn’t been mandated with the contingency that said I wasn’t allowed employment with any of the other compounds, I probably would have moved away to one of these lesser funded locations to help.
Ignoring the ache in my heart, I tried a third website.Why wasn’t there a way to make suggestions?It felt like something all websites should have, even something as basic as one for a laundromat, and especially one for something as important as the OC.
Rather than starting a letter, I grabbed a notebook and pen, opened to a fresh page, and started jotting down my thoughts, using the light from the laptop to illuminate my words.What the OC needed, not only in terms of bettering their website, but in regard to helping omegas.Everything I thought of and then all the potential solutions.My hand started to ache, the ideas for how to make the OC better starting to feel limitless.
I was yawning, my vision blurry by the time I stopped.Sleep pulled at me desperately and I finally listened.The walk to my bedroom felt long and when I finally laid down, the moon was gone from my window, and I fell asleep, content that I wasn’t giving up on helping omegas.Even though I had to get a new job, I could still be an advocate in my free time.I wasn’t going to leave an entire designation behind.
Chapter Two
It took a week beforeI got a call.For the past several days I’d talked myself up, convinced myself I would answer this call with confidence and pretend like I wasn’t desperate for a job.I might even refuse or postpone the interview a day or two to make it seem like I was a person in demand.
Instead, my throat felt tight, my heart hurt with how hard it was pounding against my sternum, and I was wondering if it was possible to get a heart attack from a phone call.It shouldn’t have been scary.I used to make and take calls all the time when it came to work.Apparently, representing a company and representing yourself was different.
Swallowing, I choked on my spit for a moment before I managed a deep breath and answered.The words, “This is Eve,” and, “hello,” merged together to be, “This is hello.”
I didn’t know if I should correct myself or just pretend like I’d actually said it properly.
I didn’t get a chance to make a choice.The male on the other end rumbled out a laugh.“Hello, hello.”He chuckled at his own joke.“This is Everett Wilder over at Pink Lady Ranch.Is this Eve Tellus?”
