Kzine Issue 13 by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kimota Publishing
Published: 2015-09-11T23:00:00+00:00

THE VACANCY

by Steven Mace

On the day of the interview, I woke up early in the morning and went straight into the bathroom, where I stared at my reflection in the mirror. My mousy-brown hair was lank and greasy. My complexion was pale and marred by the occasional outbreaks of acne I’d suffered from since adolescence. There were dark bags underneath my hollow-looking hazel eyes. The bathroom mirror was cracked, also distorting my reflection. My ectomorphic frame appeared painfully thin underneath the creased, stained vest I always wore in bed. I tended to eat very little, carefully preserving my meagre budget during each month.

I filled the sink basin with water and proceeded to have a wet shave, dragging my half-blunt razor across the sandy, ragged stubble sprouting from my narrow chin. I cut myself twice, and so blotted the flow of blood with small pieces of tissue, hoping to stem it.

I lived in a modest, one-bedroom flat in a crumbling, run-down block of flats. The block was situated in an area of the city known for its social decay and poverty. The district was dangerous late at night, a place where respectable people would not dare to walk. The flat was at the very top of the building, and it had been a converted attic. The landing just outside my door was always in darkness. The day I moved in, I had removed the light bulb. My eyes are very sensitive, and I cannot bear bright light.

During this time I spent the days looking after the insects that I collected, and going through the classifieds and applying for jobs from any suitable vacancies I found. The jobs that I was eligible for were sparse and low paid. When I wasn’t filling in application forms, I read the few newspapers, books and magazines that I kept. Occasionally I watched the television. Not too often - sometimes it depressed me, and sometimes I couldn’t receive a decent signal. There was a great deal of interference from somewhere, creating static and crackling which interrupted the sound, and distorted the image on the screen.

Today was the day I was supposed to visit the Job Centre. I had to sign on and prove that I was actively looking for work. I got dressed in jeans, T-shirt and jacket and left my flat. The lift wasn’t working, so I took the stairs to the ground floor. In the hallway of the block, I met my landlord. He was in his fifties, a short and balding man. When he saw me his eyes narrowed and his thick grey eyebrows came together like the clouds of a thunderstorm. He peered at me over the tops of his small spectacles, which he kept on a chain.

He demanded the month’s rent. I told him that I had not received my benefit payment yet and when I did, I assured him that I would pay up. He told me that I was still in arrears from the previous month. “Should’ve got a different tenant”, he grumbled.

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