I began fidgeting with my tie. I didn't really realise how much until someone tapped me on the shoulder which startled me.
"Are you nervous boy? What have you got to be nervous about?" A middle aged man asked.
"Oh! Erm… I'm just here for an interview … and it's with the boss of Obsidian Jewellery. I heard many things about him. So now I am feeling rather apprehensive and totally wrong for the job," FuXi responded.
"Ah I see, I'm sure you'll be fine. The boss is like a statue, but he is harmless most of the time. Is this your Portfolio?" He asked, I nodded.
He flicked through a few of my designs in admiration, nodding his head as if approving of my work, which had given me a boost in confidence.
"Very nice work, detailed and concise, I can see you will have no trouble getting this job. I must dash now. See you around kiddo," he headed towards the lift and disappeared.
Not long after he left, the receptionist gave me the okay to proceed up.
"You may go up to the top floor, he is ready for you," she told me, smiling.
o0o
I smiled back at her and tried my best to calm down. However, with thoughts whirling around my head that I was actually going for an interview at the famous Obsidian Jewels company, which was the best jewellery design company in the country, if not the world, it was hard. I had been dreaming of this, to work for this company when I had started applying for jobs after graduation. I graduated with honours from college with a bachelor's degree in design. 'You've got this,' I told myself. I had spent years specialising in metalwork and even managed to make a small name for myself when I won several competitions with my designs. However, even with that under my belt, I had never in a million years dreamt that I would get chosen above everyone else. No doubt they were all far more experienced than I was.
When the elevator dinged, it shook me out of my zone and I exited. There I stood looking at a couple of well detailed double-doors. I pushed it open to find it surprisingly light.
I walked into a large elegantly dressed office. A very handsome man approached me and held out his hand.
"You must be FuSi?" the tall young handsome man spoke.
"Yes, but it's pronounced FuXi with an X not an S," I corrected him.
"Sorry, I am Mica with a C not a K. You are already quite renowned in your work. What makes you want to work with us then FuXi?" Mica asked. I looked at him, raising my eyebrows.
"Pleased to meet you Mica, I felt that I could learn a lot more working for Obsidian Jewellery Designs because it is so much more known than I am,?" I answered as modestly as possible, "Also when you said my work is quite renowned, who else knows of my works," I asked.
"Well everyone in this building knows you for starters. Fortunately we are the only jewellery company in this building, because if we weren't I would have had to kill a few people just to get an interview with you," He laughed, but I stepped back without realising but managed to keep a smile on my face.
"It's ok FuXi I don't bite… hard! The job is yours and I will send you the contract as soon as it's ready," Mica finished off. I nodded.
"OMG! Are you serious right now? You just made my dream come true. Thank you," I probably sounded exasperated to him, as I walked out the door. I breathed a sigh as if I were holding my breath the whole time. There was something about him.
o0o
One week after the interview, although he had already told me I got the job, I had received the email from him with the contract attached. I guess I shouldn't be so surprised, going paperless to save the environment is the way forward now. I read through the main sections and sent it back signed. I was excited, but also nervous as it's been my dream ever since I was a child. I have been obsessed with designing jewellery and gemstones. As an orphan, I didn't have much that was mine except for a pendant. The nuns at the orphanage had told me it had been with me when they found me on their doorstep. They held onto it until I was old enough to look after it myself. It was on a small silver chain with an obsidian stone. I had imagined it was some mystical object that could help me find my family. Though as I got older that fantasy began to fade, until one day I was playing out in the yard and noticed two guys holding hands. It wasn't long before they spotted me and they walked towards the barriers. One of the nuns came and spoke with them.
"Hi, I'm sister Agnes, how can I help you?" She asked.
"Hi, I'm Louis and this is my partner Max, we were just strolling in the neighbourhood. How long has that boy been in here?" Louis asked, seemingly drawn to me. Our eyes were locked.
"Poor boy, he's been here since he was baby, he's the oldest one here now and no one has ever taken him in," Sister Agnes told them.
"We will take him in. We both have stable jobs and a house. I work from home anyway, Max is the one that travels a lot," Louis explained.
"That would make him happy, I will tell him," She turned around and called to me, "FuXi dear, I would like you to come here for a moment. These gentlemen would like to meet you, they want to adopt you," Sister Agnes told me.
A tear fell down my face, all I ever wanted is to be taken in and loved by a couple. I thought to myself.
"Hello, I'm FuXi," I started and shied-away.
"Hello FuXi, nice to meet you. My name is Louis and this is my partner Max. Would you like to come live with us?" Louis asked, in his calm sweet voice that was soothing to my ears.
I stared back and forth between Louis and Max before walking up close to them and I nodded.
"Follow me then and we can sign some documents," Sister Agnes told us as she led the way into the reception/office.
Afterwards, I stuffed what clothes I had in a bag that sister Agnes gave me. She told me it had been in the lost and found for a couple years. I finally walked out of the orphanage with the biggest smile I've ever had, but when I turned to look back I felt a pang of sadness inside of me. The other nuns were with sister Agnes and waved me off and I waved back.
I looked up at Louis and Max smiling as they took me home. It gave me a warming sensation saying that word 'home'.
o0o
A month after I was adopted by Louis and Max, who I call my dads. It had taken me a while to get used to having my own clean room that was light and airy. My dads helped me settle in, but they decided not to transfer me to another school as I hadn't had long left.
One evening I was in my room playing with my pendant and the chain broke. I had to figure out how to fix it without any money. It also didn't feel right to ask my dads either. That is when I began looking into jewellery designing. I loved how you could take something so small and make it beautiful and unique with intricate details. Ever since then I made it my dream to become the top designer. So I wasted no time and had gotten a job whilst studying and now my life was really about to start.
After I had finished my year in school. I got to go on holiday for the first time. They said they would make sure I got to go on holiday at least once or twice a year if not more. This was also around the time I had told my dads of my lifelong ambition and they couldn't be more thrilled they took me to shows and competitions to help me along the way. They helped me so much in finding jewellery competitions around the world and for every trophy I won whether it was third, second or first it was proudly displayed in the trophy cabinet they made for me.
o0o
When I heard that I, FuXi, had the job of my dreams, I screamed so loud as soon as I got back to the house not realising my dads were in and they came running.
"Where's the fire!?" Dad called out.
"Oh! Sorry dads. I just couldn't contain myself. I have got my dream job. You are looking at the new designer at Obsidian Jewellery Designs," I told them in a theatrical way.
They pulled me in for a group hug.
"Well done son, you have made us so proud," Dad beamed, there was a glint in his eyes he tried to hide.
"So when do you start?" Pa asked, excitingly.
"I start Monday," I told them, still high on my endorphins.
"Well we were going to order in but I think we should go out and celebrate this joyous occasion," Dad suggested, not taking no for an answer.
They took me to this really posh restaurant and ordered a bottle of prosecco and a lobster, and oysters to share. I picked crayfish linguine for my main meal, whereas they chose seafood paella and they shared that. This was one of the happiest moments of my life.
Monday morning came around so quickly, I couldn't believe it was my first day, I had woken up at the crack of dawn feeling refreshed, I was excited to say the least. I had spent an hour trying to tame and style my wavy hair. I had saved myself time the night before as I had picked out my outfit , it took me a while to find the right one. I mean the company was high profile, so as tempting as it was, I didn't think jeans and an oversized Linkin Park hoodie would make a good first impression. I found my only white shirt, gold tie and green tartan trousers. There was a knock on my bedroom door. When I opened the door Louis my Pa was holding a new white shirt, but it had detailed sequence that matched my tartan trousers.
"Morning FuXi, we bought you a little surprise for your first day," Pa announced.
"Morning Pa, morning Dad, thank you, but you didn't have to do this. You've given me so much already,"
"We are doing this because we love you and we want you to look your best," Dad explained.
"And we thought to celebrate your new job, we both decided to get you a new outfit," Pa finished.
"You know. It's kinda cute you finish each other's sentences," I told them.
"We'll leave you to change," Dad said, closing the door.
I quickly changed into my new outfit then looked at my reflection in my full length mirror before leaving my bedroom. My brown eyes looked brighter than they had ever been and my pale-ish skin looked a little glowy. I grabbed my bag of art supplies and tool kit, it wasn't much but it had served me well to get me this far. My dads waited for me downstairs and they were in tears of happiness as they hugged me before I left the front door.
Half an hour later, here I was standing in front of the building I had always admired from afar. Finally, taking a deep breath, I took my first steps into what I hoped would be the start of a new chapter in my story.
The lobby lined with white marble floors and tables looked grand, like something from a movie set. Black chairs and sofas that had gold trims along the edges and were all on one side near the floor to ceiling windows, whilst a huge reception desk ran along the other side. I knew Obsidian Jewels wasn't the only business in this building but I still felt out of place. As I approached the reception desk, the young and friendly looking receptionist smiled at me.
"Hello, It's good to see you again. How can I help you this time?" she asked, obviously recognising me from when I had the interview, but it still sounded too rehearsed.
A feeling swept through me. That is one thing I discovered about myself when I was younger. It was the ability to sense things about people near me. At first it had been cool, no one could lie to me and I used it to win at games. After a while, the other kids started to think I was weird. I knew when one of the nuns was upset, even when she didn't look like she was, I also knew when someone was hiding something. They started to think I was strange and stopped playing with me. The nuns were kind to me but I knew they were weary of me too, one even thought I was dangerous. It had confused me so I had stopped showing it. I avoided being near people and I tried to ignore it. Thinking back now I think they were glad to see the back of me.
Over the years, I had learned how to not react to people based on what I felt, I haven't even thought about telling my dads that I'm a witch, that's what I'm calling myself due to my gifts after some research in the local library. The feeling was telling me the receptionist was fake and didn't really want to help anyone unless you were important or rich or both. Ignoring that, I plastered on a fake smile just like hers.
"Hello, today is my first day at Obsidian Jewels," I said, proud the nerves hadn't shown in my voice.
Her interest in me instantly changed, she went from not caring about me to intrigued. She smiled flirtatiously at me as she clicked a button on her headset and spoke into the mic. Whilst I waited I studied her a little. Her bleach blonde hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail and she wore a thick mask of make up probably to hide her fugly side. I guess she was pretty by some standards but to me she was too fake. Eventually, she clicked the headset again and smiled at me.
"If you would like to take a seat someone is on their way to get you," she said pointing to the waiting area. "If you need anything, and I mean anything, don't hesitate to let me know," she flirted and I rolled my eyes.
I smiled and nodded before walking away, breathing a sigh of relief. Her fakeness was choking me. No way in hell would I be asking her for anything. Taking a seat on one of the sofas, I waited for whoever was coming and thankfully I didn't have to wait long. Who knows what she would have offered me if I was waiting any longer.
"FuXi?"
I jumped as a deep male voice said my name from behind me. The man chuckled as I stood and turned to face him. A man, who was easily over six foot, towered over me. His dark brown hair was spiked and his blue eyes shone with amusement. He wore jeans and a t-shirt that said 'don't speak to me until I have had coffee!'
'I guess I could have worn my hoodie and jeans after all,' I thought to myself.
He looked entirely relaxed and I found myself matching him. My body relaxed and I felt comfortable around him.
"It's good to meet you FuXi" he greeted with a smile.
I wanted to facepalm myself. I had been so lost in his sense of relaxation that I had forgotten I hadn't introduced myself.
"Erm, yes. It's good to meet you, thank you for giving me the opportunity to work with your team," I mumbled quickly.
He smiled and offered his hand to me which made me feel faint.
"Erm, I'm sorry but I don't …. I mean I…." I looked at his hand, I had no idea what to say.
How could I explain to this nice man that I was a freak that hated touching people because the weird ability I have intensifies when I do. The man smiled at me and pulled his hand back. I could sense that he wasn't offended.
"No contact no problem, I understand. Come on, my name is Tang Cai, but you can call me Cai, and I am the creative director. There are three of us in total in the design department, well four now, including you," he said lightly as he guided me to the elevators. "Elle, Nick and Suki are the other designers and they are very eager to meet you."
"Me? Why?" I asked, no one had ever been excited to see me, to see me leave sure, but never to arrive. Until my dads took me in, no one ever wanted to see me.
"Yeah, ever since they saw your designs they've been itching to meet you. You're very talented," he said as we stepped into the elevator and he hit the number eleven for our floor.
Tang Cai rambled on about something about the twelfth floor but I could honestly say I had no idea what he said. My nerves kicked up notch by notch, the higher we went. I began to become more hopeful like when my dads adopted me, but landing this job just made it even better.
Just then the elevator pinged and the doors slid open. I looked at the buttons, we were only on the tenth floor. From the small reception area I couldn't tell what company it was before the doors shut again. Just as they slowly closed, I sensed a strange presence. Which is strange as this isn't the first time I've been here, why didn't I feel this before.