Never Thought of Before

Thursday, September 5

Ellie threw her bag on and headed for the library. Her transit pass was completely empty, leaving her with no choice but to wait for a ride. To add to the inconvenience, neither of her parents cannot arrive until an hour later to pick her up. As annoying as it would be to stay later, she figured she could use that time to study.

On the way, she recalled the work she did to her resume the night before. With the help of Kate, they proofread and added small details to fill it with enough content to shrink the large, blank space at the bottom of the page. Extra bullet points were added, and sentences were expanded, but despite the effort made, the main culprit of her barebones resume was the Work Experience section.

After their attempt, Ellie uploaded it to two job postings: one for an assistant at the local library, and another for a sales associate at a furniture shop in the mall. The moment she clicked the “Submit” button, she felt a slight satisfaction of a job well done. Sadly, that feeling did not last long, for it was held back by the need to do more.

The only thing she had listed as work experience was her volunteer job at the Christmas lunch in eighth grade, which she found was not enough. There were only so many ways her resume could be expanded, but unless she had more in that section, the space at the bottom would forever haunt her. Fortunately, she was headed for the right place to get what she was looking for.

The library was barren, save for a pair of kids studying at a far table by the windows, and another at the circular desk in the middle. Its silence was a stark contrast compared to the hallway, which muffled once Ellie shut the doors.

She walked up to the desk and looked for the librarian, Mr. Roling. But in his place was his assistant, Tanner, who glanced in Ellie’s direction.

“Have you seen Mr. Roling anywhere?” said Ellie.

“He left early for the day,” said Tanner. “Maybe I can help?”

“I wanted to ask if he’s looking for volunteers. Someone who can sort shelves, check-out books...”

“Can’t say for sure, but you can ask him tomorrow.” Tanner got up and held a few books under his arms. “To be frank, it doesn’t get too busy here, so I don’t know if another volunteer would be useful.”

Ellie followed him to a pair of shelves where he sorted the books. “You’re the only one helping him, right? How about we work together but on different days? Me from Monday to Tuesday, and you from Wednesday to Friday, or the other way around?”

Tanner laughed, “Again, not my call, but the extra company would be nice.” He moved to another shelf and organized some misplaced books. “If I were to guess, you’re trying to build a resume?”

Ellie pointed at him, “It’s like you read my mind.”

“I just had a feeling. Been there, done that. I’ve just never seen someone so persistent about it.”

Ellie followed Tanner back to the desk, “Yeah, well, long story short, I ran into some financial troubles, and now I’m scrambling to earn a living.”

“Funny you mention that. I heard someone got kicked out of the fundraiser line ‘cause they couldn’t afford it. Wouldn’t wanna be them, right?”

“And the gossip spreads...” Ellie huffed as she imagined the derogatory nicknames she would be called once everyone heard about her crisis.

“If you need a place to get away from it all, the doors are open ‘till five.”

“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind if I have a breakdown one day.”

Tanner began typing, then turned the monitor around to show the school’s website. “Speaking of volunteer work, the student council made a post about wanting help for something they’re running.”

Ellie read the post on the screen. It was for an event where all the clubs in the school will gather to attract new members. Anyone who is interested in volunteering can find a sign-up form in the student council office. “Looks easy enough. Guess I’ll give it a shot.”

“Someone should still be there, so you better hurry before they lock up.”

“Can do. Thanks for your help.” Just before Ellie turned to the exit, she stopped at Tanner calling her.

“Hey, while you’re there, mind putting my name down too?” he asked.

Ellie responded with a thumbs up and quickly made her way out.

***

The student council’s office was a small space with a pair of foldable tables in the center that formed a single, long table. With the whiteboard that stood at the far end, and cabinets on the side filled to the brim with binders and books, it made the space look like a makeshift boardroom.

The first thing Ellie noticed as she walked in was Nora, who sat at the far end. She stared at a laptop with eyes that were on the brink of falling asleep. Must’ve been a rough day

Despite her harmless appearance, Ellie felt an unwelcoming aura that emanated from her. She struggled to form words to describe it, but something made her want to turn around and try another day.

However, Ellie fought the feeling and cautiously stepped forward. “Excuse me,” she called.

“Need something?” said Nora, her eyes glued to the device.

Ellie cleared her throat. “I heard you need help with an event. Is this the right place to ask?”

Nora pointed at a desk beside the door. On it was a clipboard with a form titled “Club’s Day Event Volunteer Sign-up.” Beside it was a pile of sheets that were application forms for new clubs.

Ellie picked up the clipboard and found three names already written. Below them, she wrote hers down with Tanner’s following after.

She then took a set of the application form that had information about the event stapled behind it. It will happen on Friday, September 13, and volunteers will have an orientation meeting a day earlier to discuss their duties.

As Ellie read the form, she was reminded of her application to start a K-pop club back in eighth grade. The purpose of every meeting was for members to talk about the hottest groups and listen to their songs. If there was enough interest, they would also practice the dance choreography and perform for the school. Sadly, the application was rejected. Or so she thought if the lack of a response was anything to go by. Regardless, the harsh reality of the club never seeing the light of day still left a bitter taste in her mouth.

“Are you gonna be any longer?” asked Nora as she passed by Ellie. “I’m about to lock up.”

“Can I ask something?” She returned the clipboard and followed her outside.

“Make it quick.”

“I wanna start a club. When’s the-”

“Next monday,” Nora interrupted. “Everything you need to know is on the form.”

Their conversation was suddenly cut by a ringing from her phone. Ellie had a peek at the caller’s name and saw it was from Melanie, the student council president. However, rather than answering, a low groan escaped Nora, then she immediately hung up. “Have a nice day,” she said as she turned and paced to the exit.

Ellie watched her leave, then exhaled like she held her breath for hours. Although she was glad to be out of her sight, at the same time, she wondered if everything was okay.

***

The tennis courts were alive with the grunts and cheers from the team’s practice. After a half hour of intense rounds between the pairs of members, they suddenly stopped at the whistling from their captain.

“Break time, team,” Jessica called. “But before that, I have some words.”

On Jessica’s instruction, everyone gathered in a circle with her in the middle.

“First off, I’m glad the summer break hasn’t hampered your skills. Next year’s Provincial Tournament is gonna hit us hard, so let’s keep up the momentum. We may have come second place last year, but I remember seeing a lot of great plays from everyone. If we made it that far before, I know we can go further beyond.”

Claps and whistles resounded from a few members. When the noise died down, Jessica continued, “Second, we have Club’s Day just right around the corner. With all the freshmen around, I was thinking we hold demo matches between all of us to hopefully attract new members. How’s that sound?”

“So, you’re ready to get beat in front of freshmen?” Kate asked with a sly grin.

“That’s if you can beat me,” retorted Jessica. “Anywho, unless someone else has a joke they’d like to share, let’s take a ten minute break. You guys deserve it.”

Everyone spread out to different areas of the field. Meanwhile, Kate headed for to the school to refill her water bottle. On the path that connected the exit to the parking lot, she noticed Ellie leaving the doors and looking down at a piece of paper.

“You still here?” said Kate as they met on the path.

“Not for long, thankfully. My dad’s on his way. How’s practice?”

Kate shrugged, “Same old. Must be miserable having to stay after school, huh?”

“It’s not that bad, but it’s not like I can do much about it. Unless money magically appears in my hands, this is the way it’s gotta be for a while.” Ellie held out the Club’s Day sheets, “At least I got a chance to sign up for something while I was at it.”

“Glad to see you’re making it work out. Small steps forward is what you need, after all.”

“But they’d be larger steps if I get paid.” Ellie lowered her head.

Kate pushed Ellie’s forehead to tilt it up, “If you’re still desperate, why not find other ways to make money?”

“Like what?”

“Beats me. Lemonade stand, cleaning. Heck, you can start a club for it.” She snickered, “Forget it, like that’d ever work.”

“Hah, you’re right. Who’d wanna-'' Ellie paused as she came across a sudden thought, then pointed at Kate, “Wait wait wait, say that again.”

“Start a club for making money? I was kidding.”

“Shut up,” said Ellie and took a moment to think. She scanned the application form and read the requirements over and over again. After about four laps along the page from top to bottom, her eyes widened at the epiphany that she had been given.

“You good, dude?”

“You’re a genius!” Ellie cheered before she threw herself at Kate and gave her a tight embrace.

Kate’s cheeks reddened. She attempted to pry Ellie’s arms off, but they were locked tight. “Can’t you call me that without breaking my back, please?”

Ellie let go and paced side-to-side. “Why didn’t I think of it before? A club for making money! It’s the perfect idea. I don’t know how I’m gonna do it, but I can make it work.” She then looked up and saw her dad’s car pull over. She waved at Kate then ran off, “I gotta go. Let’s talk later.”

Kate waved back, then sighed. “I think I created a monster.”