Read Online It's a Green Thing by Melody Carlson - Free Book Online Page B

it's like another universe compared to Beverly Hills.” I smiled. “A very cool universe, I might add.”
    “But we do have a few sort of fashionable shops here. Have you applied to them?”
    “Well, no…”
    “Why not?”
    I considered this. “Probably a couple of reasons.”
    “You don't really want a job?”
    “No, that's not it.” Okay, I didn't admit that the fashion industry isn't my first choice. Although I really wanted to work in a resale clothing store called Second Chances, not that they were hiring or even interested in me. “But if I can't get hired to sell cheap earrings, how would I ever have a chance at some fancy chichi boutique?”
    Kim firmly shook her head. “Maya, you are so wrong. If you went in and told them about your modeling and about workingat Ralph Lauren in Beverly Hills…and if you dressed up a little,”—she frowned at my overalls—“I'm sure you'd have a job in no time.”
    “You really think so?” I glanced at the calendar on the fridge and felt nervous. Summer feels like it's going by quickly. By the time I land a job, if I even can, I might have only a couple of months to make enough money to buy a car.
    “I'm willing to bet you'll be hired by this time next week.” She pointed to June 24.
    “I'm not so sure. But how about if we make the bet worthwhile? I'll bet I don't have a job by then, and my wager will be fixing dinners and doing cleanup for a week. At least that will give you a break, and I won't have much to do since I'll probably still be unemployed.”
    “You're on.” Kim grinned. “But not vegan, right?”
    “Like I told you, I'm changing my ways. And I'd be willing to cook chicken or fish too. But I might not want to eat it.”
    “You're on.”
    “I'll have to start studying some of your cookbooks.”
    “But here's the deal,” Kim said quickly. “You have to go to the list of stores that you and I will put together tonight. And don't ask them if they're taking applications. You have to go in looking totally cool. You act friendly and confident, and then you hand them your résumé complete with Ralph Lauren and the modeling agency as references, including the appropriate names and phone numbers.”
    “Really?”
    “Absolutely.”
    “Is that how you got your job?” Kim landed a very cool and well-paying job at the Allegro School of Music. She's giving private violin lessons to elementary-school kids all summer.
    “No. That was a case of who you know.”
    “Well, I don't know anyone.”
    “Not necessarily.” Kim smiled like she had a secret.
    So after dinner, Kim and I sat down at her computer. She helped me create a résumé, and then she pulled up a list of store names. “The owners of some of these shops were some of my mom's clients. She was their accountant, and they liked her. Anyway, I'm sure when they learn that you're Patricia Peterson's niece, which you will tell them, they will be willing to—at least—give you the time of day.”
    “I don't want to use your mother's—”
    “Do you know how happy my mom would be to know that she helped you—even in a very small way?”
    I sighed.
    “Seriously, Maya. Can't you just give it a try?”
    Okay, although I'm desperate to land a job, the idea of working in the fashion industry again, well, it's a little dismaying…and unsettling. Still, it beats flipping burgers. It might even be better than pumping yogurt, which could've been my best chance at employment. I mean, it's one thing to go back to eating dairy; it's another thing to come home from work smelling like one! So Iguess I'll give Kim's plan a try. How can I not? I'm sure it would hurt her feelings if I didn't.
    Okay, I have another incentive. And it's not an honorable one. But I can admit this to my diary. After putting together Kim's get-Maya-a-job plan, we were out on the porch enjoying the sunset and some iced tea when Natalie came over. Naturally, Kim told her about my job hunt and her plan to get me hired.
    Nat frowned at