Page 36 of Electric Blue Love
She broke character for a moment, her face lighting up. “Yeah, call me crazy but I love New York in the summer. Everyone else is hurrying off to their beach homes and the streets are quieter.”
“Quieter because everyone is trying to escape the heat,” I said thinking about the sticky hotness that soaked into the concrete and set the city ablaze during the month of July.
“I don’t mind it,” she said, shaking her head and a wistful look overtaking her face. “My parents have an outdoor patio where we plant a little garden every year and there’s a mister out there with these big, ugly lounge chairs with mismatched cushions where my mom and I sit with a book or an iced tea. It’s my favorite place in the whole world.”
“You miss New York?” I asked, but I already knew the answer. I could tell she did by the way she talked about it and the look that crossed her face every damn time.
She nodded, her smile falling. “I miss my family.”
“Siblings?”
“Two brothers. Leo and Donnie. They’re seventeen.”
“Twins?”
“Yep, never a dull moment with those two around.”
The way she said it made me picture her sitting quietly in a noisy house just taking it all in. I had never been able to do that – stand on the sidelines when things around me escalated into anarchy. When things got out of hand, I either became louder and more obnoxious to drown out the noise or I’d run.
That’s who Bianca was, she was the silence – still and unmoving, barely noticeable at all until it was gone. But I’d lived my life in the chaos and noise and had strived for nothing but peace and quiet since I’d been on my own. I had learned to appreciate the silence. I needed it. I craved it.
“What does your family think of you staying for grad school?”
The way she instantly worried at her lip gave her away. “You haven’t told them.”
“I will if and when I decide to stay, but the twins will be graduating high school soon and preparing to do their own thing anyway and mom and dad are probably counting down the days until they have an empty house.”
“You don’t really believe that, or you’d have already told them.”
She laughed softly and repeated, “I will tell them if and when I decide to stay.”
Her posture stiffened, and her face became stoic – a sign she was ready to get back to the interview.
“Where do you see yourself in five years?”
I never planned to ask this question in real interviews. I thought it was a bullshit question. Nobody knew where they’d be in five years’ time – not even in a year’s time. We rolled with life’s punches and adjusted. You could have a hope and a plan, but how often did those work out the way we dreamed it up in our heads? But I was curious about little 8B and what she wanted for herself.
“I’d like to be working for a company that creates products that are cutting edge, but whose core values are still dependable and loyal to its employees and clients.”
I appreciated her insight, and I could tell she meant it – every word, but I also knew there was a good chance another interviewer was going to see her answer as a copout.
“What about you specifically, how do you see yourself fitting into a company like that?”
She looked like she was pondering that for a moment. I bet she already knew. Had already considered this question as she’d considered everything.
“I’d like to lead teams or projects. I think I’d be good at managing moving pieces and driving toward a common goal. While I’ll be grateful to work my way up and be a member of a team until I’m ready to lead my own, I see myself as a leader.”
When she’d stopped speaking the room grew quiet as I let her response hang there. I let it soak in. It was the perfect response, but even better – it was true.”
She fidgeted in her chair, obviously waiting for my response. My approval.
“That was beautiful, 8B.”
A small, forced laugh left her mouth. “Beautiful?”
I nodded. “It’s the best answer to that question I’ve ever heard.”
“Isn’t this your first day of doing interviews?”
