I have been looking through more advertisements, hoping that one of the applications I have sent will finally be accepted. What surprises me is that it is not easy for me to find a job after graduation. For many years I have been told that if you study hard, the whole world is open to you. What about me? Dozens of applications and still no response. I'm afraid I'll be forced to take a desperate step and work very hard every day for many hours in some shop. But why would I need a university diploma then?
Just as I was about to finish looking through the latest ads, my phone rang. I saw it was a private number. I thought, is it a telemarketer or something? But I answered and heard a male voice on the line. It was a call from a representative of the Century Hotel. This was the hotel where I had applied for a maid's job with a decent salary.
The caller introduced himself and asked me if I was still interested in the job advertised. I answered without hesitation that I was, and was invited by Mr Stephan to an interview the next day at noon. That was the end of my conversation, as I would find out everything at the interview.
As the conversation ended, I felt a growing sense of nervousness. My hands started to shake. It's normal for me that even talking on the phone can stress me out. The nervousness was not just because of the conversation I had just had. I was aware that tomorrow I would have to go to a new place and meet new people. I was scared just thinking about it, but I knew I had to get through it because otherwise I wouldn't have enough money to survive.
I lived with my mum, who always supported me, but it was clear that I had to contribute to the fees so that we could afford it. She was the most important person to me and I could always count on her support. Even in the most difficult moments, she was able to find solutions to my problems. Unfortunately, I often didn't want to tell her what was bothering me and what made me feel bad. My father died over five years ago. He died in a car accident. It was not easy at first, but after some time I understood and went on with my life.
I spent the whole evening in my room thinking about the next day. I replayed the conversation with Mr. Stephan over and over in my mind. I imagined how I would perform in the meeting the next day. I always ran through all the possible scenarios in my head before an important event. But it did not give me peace of mind. Instead, it increased my doubt and fear of what was about to happen. From time to time the thought of letting go and not going to the meeting came to my mind. After a long time I managed to find a moment of calm in which I was able to fall asleep and sleep without interruption until 10 a.m. I got out of bed and was aware that there was no time to slack off. If I wanted to be on time for the interview, I had to make a decent impression. You only get one first impression. Washing, breakfast and dressing allowed me to complete the preparation process. I put on my favourite jeans and a white polo shirt. I wanted to look elegant, similar to my recent college finals. I was dressed identically there. On my way out after 11am, Mum was already gone, so I closed the door behind me and went to the hotel for the interview.
As I got off the bus, I saw a prominent sign saying "Century Hotel". The building had two floors and could certainly accommodate many guests. My moment of hesitation didn't last long and I headed for the entrance. Passing through the revolving door, I approached the reception desk and introduced myself. The receptionist knew to expect me and directed me to a room at the end of the corridor to the left of the entrance. On the way I counted how many guest rooms there were. I figured there were 15, and there's a corridor in the other direction from the reception area. Including that corridor and the floor above, there should be about 60 rooms. I thought that was quite a lot and there must be a lot of work involved.
I knocked on the door to which I was directed. After being allowed to enter, I was greeted by Mr Stephan, who shook my hand warmly and pointed to the chair I was to sit on.
''I am very pleased that you have agreed to an interview, Paula,'' Mr Stephan began in a cultured manner.
''So am I,'' I replied briefly, hoping that our interview would be controlled by my co-interviewer.
''As you have seen, we are looking for a person for the position of maid. You will be responsible for keeping our hotel rooms tidy and serving our visitors. Each of our maids has determined which rooms and corridors she is responsible for. As far as I can tell, you've never worked in this or a similar job before. One of our girls will introduce you to the job so you don't have to worry,'' Mr Stephan explained to me about the job I might be taking on.
''It's my first job, so I'll have to learn to make it a little easier,'' I replied to Mr Stephan.
''Everything will be fine. It's not a difficult job. The most important thing is to be nice and open to our guests. Then you will get along very well,'' Mr Stephan finished his sentence, after which he took out a contract and placed it in front of me, and then began to speak again, ''To begin with, we will hire you on a trial contract for one month. If you prove yourself, you will be given a long-term contract at the salary stated in the advertisement. On the trial contract, you will receive 70% of this amount, excluding tips, which are all yours. Does this offer sound good to you?" he finished with a question and held out a pen to me.
I gave myself a moment to think and looked again at the document that had been handed to me. There was nothing suspicious about it, and despite my usual hesitation, I signed the contract after a while.
''Great. I invite you to come tomorrow at 8 o'clock, then we'll start smoothly and you'll get an training. Does that work for you?'' - Mr Stephan asked me.
''Yes,'' I answered briefly, and he just smiled.
''I won't keep you any longer. I'll see you tomorrow, Paula,'' Mr Stephan ended our conversation.
I got up from my chair and left the room and the hotel without delay.
When I got home, I texted my mother with the good news that I had been accepted for a trial period. I was very pleased and happy, I didn't go for nothing. In the hours that followed, the uncertainty and nervousness grew again because I didn't know if I would be able to perform well tomorrow. In the evening I even thought for a moment about cancelling my trip, but I realised that would be the worst possible decision. Eventually I calmed down and managed to fall asleep.
The next day, my alarm clock woke me up. I got up as late as I could, still sure I would be on time. I didn't have time to think about what my first day at work would be like.
When I arrived at the hotel, I was greeted by Mr Stephan, who was standing in the lobby with one of the maids.
''This is Brooke. She has been working with us for a long time and will introduce you to your duties,'' Stephan said, pointing to the girl standing next to him.
Brooke was a tall blonde with a flat stomach and rather wide thighs. She looked a little older than me. She was wearing a uniform. My attention was drawn to a rather short dress. I had never walked in anything like it. I decided that there was no need to worry about it now, and instead of standing there in silence, I greeted her. Then Mr Stephan went off to his office and Brooke and I went into the staff room. It was connected to the changing room where I was given an outfit to change into.
After putting on the maid's outfit, I felt quite uncomfortable. Accustomed to walking in long trousers, I felt uneasy in a dress that only reached to my knees. The outfit was very comfortable and lightweight at the same time, so I didn't feel like anything was pinching me. I returned to Brooke and then we walked into the main hall.
I felt that the information she was giving me was starting to become overwhelming. Brooke was talking about service standards and all the things to look out for. What went in one ear seemed to go out the other, even though I tried to concentrate. It was only after this that Brooke showed me all the important places in the hotel. After showing me everything I needed to know about the ground floor, we went up to the first floor.
It looked similar at first glance. The layout of the rooms seemed almost identical. However, there was one significant difference. At the end of the hallway on the right were four rooms marked with a V from one to four. Brooke explained that these were suites for special visitors. She added that at first I would only be looking after guests on the first floor, so it was enough for me to know that these suites were here.
I spent half of my first day working with Brooke, who kept an eye on me the whole time. It made me feel a bit calmer knowing that I had support if I wasn't sure about something. The second half of the day I spent on my own, tidying up the hotel rooms that had been left empty by guests who had been pointed out to me at reception. Meanwhile, Brooke took care of the rooms upstairs.
At the end of my first shift, I changed in the changing room next to the lounge. Then I spoke to Mr Stephan and told him how my day had gone and that I felt positive about my time here. I took the opportunity to tell him that I would like to stay longer, which pleased him.
After leaving Mr Stephan's room, I heard Brooke talking to Rose, our receptionist. The room I was leaving was not far from reception. However, the girls did not hear me leave. They didn't notice me because my presence was hidden by one of the pillars next to the reception desk. I stood and listened to their conversation.
''They will be back on Saturday. We will have to prepare the apartments,'' Rose said.
''I think it's too much. I've had enough after the last one,'' replied her workmate Brooke.
''Why, are you scared?'' Rose asked.
''The fun is great. But... last night I had a lot of luck at the end of the day, if you know what I mean, and I'm afraid I'm running out of luck,'' Brooke replied.
I wondered what they were talking about. What fun was she and Rose talking about? What kind of ''luck'' did Brooke have in mind? More and more questions were forming in my head, and the conversation between the girls continued to draw me in. I positioned myself so they could not see me and continued to listen.
