The Interview For Residency

On a busy Saturday, in a bustling northern town called Boobingham, located in a fictional comically-perverted version of England, United Kingdom, called Secston, a stoic well-dressed young woman is heading for a potentially life-changing interview.

Past the city center, filled with citizens walking by busy streets, both on walkways and roads, a public city bus pulls into a moderately congested street stop, as a mixture of young, old and mature commuters disperse off the bus as the woman leaves last of the line.

Her name is Renalia Rhide, or Ren for short.

She carries her bag over her left shoulder, as she smooths out her outfit after being slightly creased-up by the packed-in bus. She is dressed in a formal suit of a blackish blue blazer, smartly resting over a white shirt and a maroon tie, with colour matching trousers and flat-heeled pumps.

The young lady pauses to breathe in deeply to gather her thoughts for the correct directions. ‘Right’, Ren thinks to herself, “Time to locate Titan Co. for that interview.’

She then flicks out her mobile phone, resting in her right hand, checking the time, which reads 09:45 AM.

‘Okay, I’ve got a bit of time to get there,’ she assures herself.

She unlocks her phone to put in directions to Titan Co., proceeding to tap open the map app, entering in the address, to watching the map marker locate out where the building is.

‘Ah, this way’ she comments.

Ren, after looking both ways for traffic to cross a main road, as the traffic varies from heavy to light, takes another deep breath and hopes that this interview goes well before walking across.

A little while later, walking past multiple shopping stores full of unique products with brands like ‘Brestine Furniture’ and ‘Fanny Antiques’, an expression of bewilderment and confusion distracts her for a moment before moving on.

Passing by centrally located roundabouts and skyscrapers, that funnel out to a beautifully patterned, patioed and greenery park, she pleases her ears with music, taking in the awe-inspiring sights as she continues to walk. After a while, she slows down as she thinks of the possible future ahead.

‘Living in a shared apartment sounds new and exciting, especially compared to life back at home,’ she thinks, imagining a whole new place to herself before the voice on phone app states; ‘You have arrived.’ She checks her device after hearing the alert, realising she has arrived at her final destination.

“Wow” Ren gasps as she takes in the sheer scale of Titan Co., ‘what a huge place!’

Before becoming completely taken in by the awesome nature of the building, she shakes her head thinking ‘I shouldn’t let this overwhelm me,’ and regains her focus.

‘Right! Focus.’

Ren snaps her consciousness back to her mission, looking around, wondering to herself, ‘Where do I go from here?’

After searching around a little for the way in, she enters the building, noticing the high-quality architecture branded a ‘high-class’ atmosphere that washed over her tiny presence, walking through the impressively conceived design of the main entrance.

The reception sits smartly in the center of the room, as office-related decorations occupy the desk and surrounding area, impressing Ren further, though she tries to hold some composure.

Then, she walks up to the reception desk and asks, “Erm, I’m here for the residence interview?”

Ren looks around at the unknown environment, wondering in the overwhelming atmosphere, ‘Where do I go from here?’

The staff member replies in a professional manner, “Yes, it’s on the top floor, turn right, then down the corridor and it’s the end room on the left.”

After thanking the receptionist for the directions, Ren takes the lift up, the interior design continuing to amaze her as the intricate details suggest an air of respectability, and as instructed, she walks down the homely corridors before coming to the last room on the floor.

Its name is displayed upon a stylish placard;

‘Manager’s Office’.

Just as she faces the door in front of her, she stops her movements completely to take one more deep breath.

‘Okay,’ Ren thinks as she closes her eyes and her fists clench, ‘Calm and collected. Gather your thoughts, and let’s do this.’ Eyes open, composing her posture, ‘Let’s get that apartment room.’

Ren, checking her phone once more, which signifies the time as being 10.00 AM, giving Ren the cue to knock on the door, leading to a respectfully–toned, echoed reply of ‘Come in.’

Ren, as she opens the door, is welcomed by the sight of a room she could never have imagined in her entire life.

In the room, a proud, large desk sits within a neatly patterned array of cupboards with glass doors and table-topped dressers that line the walls, with corporate housing memorabilia and decorative items including plant pots and models arranged on the shelves and dressers.

The off-centre area of the room is neatly placed, cushioned sofas atop an appropriately stylized rug with a centrally placed coffee table and sofa-side table. The rest of the space was occupied by a housing model, resting on a large display table, in the back right corner of the room promoting the company’s latest accomplishment and its features.

Walking over to the desk, Ren could tell it was professionally arranged with a high-tech monitor in the middle and mouse and keyboard facing it on a smooth mousepad, with an expensive table lamp sitting to the right of the monitor. To the left were folders casually placed as the desk occupant sat eagerly holding a corporate stylish pen and notepad.

An older woman dressed in a high-tailored suit and with a tense stare, focuses her vision on Ren as she enters, grasping her pen with patience as the notepad sits boldly in front of her.

“Please, take a seat.”

Ren complies as she sits down on the prepared chairs laid out for guests that faced the direction of the desk.

The woman had dark brunette hair, with shaded violet pupils and luxurious black-seamed glasses that balanced her expensive black and white suit. Her figure was voluptuous which accentuated her slim waist, as she quickly overlooked the papers with her company pen in hand. Besides the notepad next to her left arm, her ID badge read;

‘Miana Titina

Titan Corporate Exec. Manager’

Ren, realising who was in front of her, tried her hardest to ignore the significance of this detail and double-focused upon the reason she was here. This was not being helped by the intimidating atmosphere that challenged her usually stoic mentality.

Though, to her delight, the urban sounds in the background brought a degree of comfort within the growing uncomfortableness of the situation. Especially being out of her own comfort zone, which made her feel alien to the environment she was now within.

Then, as she tried to relax to maintain professional body language, the woman spoke, marking the beginning of the interview.

“So, young lady, how did you find this advertisement?”

Her eyes narrowed on Ren’s face, which appeared to have an imposing aura. Almost getting catching Ren off-guard, “Well, you see, I saw a public notice in an estate shop window whilst I was in town.”

Ren’s composed expression never budged as the woman listened intently, jotting down something on her notepad, then turning a few pages over, before asking another question.

“Okay… So, what made you interested in applying for this room?”

Her eyes locked again.

Ren, not affected, explains “Erm, I have been rather interested in being independent. Also, I read that this is a shared apartment so I applied in order to have a new challenging experience.”

Miana jots the answer down as a little smile forms, before releasing some tension by responding, “Hmm. I see, so what is your current living situation?” she asks as she tidies the papers at her desk. “Since this will be a new experience,” Miana continues. “I’m sure your old home is becoming rather tedious to say the least, which is why you applied, right?”

Ren, noticing the drop in tension, replies in a formal yet casual manner, “Currently, I am living on Oldston Heights Military Base, and my daily commute to work is rather unpleasant.”

Miana’s face softens, like a mother’s sympathy towards a child who has hurt themselves, as Ren continues.

“There is too much noise pollution, dangerous travel routes and just too little freedom and privacy, due to the frequent inspections getting annoying after a while.”

Commenting sympathetically, Miana says, “Ah, I understand.”

Ren then moderately sighs, as Miana jots the last notes down slowly.
Miana thinks empathetically, ‘This girl definitely needs a change of residence; a young respectful woman like this should not live in such an unbearable and even dangerous environment,’ but then her head aches of disappointment.

She thinks to herself, as Ren tries not to fiddle in her seat, ‘But, this girl is so well behaved, which is unlike my little clown of a daughter, who should have been sent to a formal place just like that to get her act together. It’s too bad that my jester of a daughter is too free-spirited to become respectful and mature, like this young lady.’

A lightbulb goes off as a sudden idea pops into her head which might solve the problem of this current client which she also might find amusing

‘Ah, there is a room for her,’ Miana smiles to herself, looking at the list of vacancies for residents on her notepad.

Seeing that there is a room available, she gives a generous smile, indicative of the final verdict. Miana begins, “One last question.”

Ren immediately composes herself, potentially expecting a possible rejection or maybe a future interview, until Miana asks,

“Are you able to move in immediately?”

Ren perks up, her eyes sparkle as if her ultimate dream had became a reality, as she eagerly replies “O-of course!”

Miana cheerfully smiles, then hands over a pair of keys labelled;

‘Ground Floor

Door 18’

Along with the keys, she also gives Ren a document to sign and take with her to show the reception desk of the Residential Flats that she is now an official occupant.

Ren stands up, as the city-life sounds break back through the thick, tense atmosphere of the interview, calming the room down with calmness and tranquillity.

Miana walks out from behind her desk, shaking her hand to say ’Thank you for this valuable experience’, after the interview concludes, and lets Ren walks out of the room with a huge, happy smile.

Ren, as the door shuts behind her, celebrates the successful outcome of the interview by clenching her fists and under her breath whispers passionately, “Yes!” as she leaves the building.

Cheerfully, she goes home by waving down a taxi, as it almost speeds past, to go and pack with a mix of impatience and excitement to then, finally, move in to her new home. A new chapter of experiences await.

As the door closes, Miana whispers to herself with her left hand on her cheek, “Well then, looks like you’ll be having a rather interesting roommate this Summer,” returning to her desk without sitting.

The city, through the office window, shines as the morning sun rises higher, clouds clearing, Miana slowly pacing to the window as she casually picks up her phone.

She opens it up in a cheeky mood, facing the city-line on the horizon, to start a call shortly after stopping to gaze over at the life below, smirking giddily.

Meanwhile at Door 18, a red haired woman is playing a video game in a purple-lit room.

Her voluptuous chest is outfitted with a black, gaming crop top, as cat-eared headphones cover her ears, sitting in black-see-through leggings with no socks.

Cross-legged, she sits in a stylish gaming chair, focusing on the game she’s intently playing on a high-end gaming setup with several monitors side-by-side, armed with a professional microphone stand and matching mouse and keyboard.

“Come on, come on! YES! Haha, finally!” She cheers expressively, clenching her fists and punching the air before calming down.

‘Well,’ she thinks to herself, ‘looks like this week is going to be really fun.’

She wonders, laying back in her gaming chair, ‘I wonder, what will tomorrow have in store for me?’

End Of Prologue