Page 54 of The Reboot
‘You know, that one with the funny name?’
‘Insider Out?’
‘Yes, that’s the one! They’re looking for a waiter. You should apply.’
That got his attention. He looked up at her, eyebrows raised. Then he smirked. ‘Yeah, right,’ he said with a little laugh and returned to assembling his fajita. He thought she was joking.
‘I’m serious.’
He raised his eyes to her again. ‘Me? Work in the local greasy spoon?’
‘Yes, you. Why not?’
‘I can’t be some … waiter.’
‘Of course you can. It’s not that difficult. I used to work in a cafe when I was in college.’
He looked irritated now. ‘You know what I mean. I can’t get a normal job, like a…’
‘Normal person? What, you think you’re too special?’
‘No, but … well, yeah, in a way. I mean, it’s humiliating. And there’s the whole fame thing.’
‘You’re worried you’ll be swamped by hordes of ravening fans?’
‘I could be. And what if the press got wind of it?’
She shrugged. ‘So what if they do? There’s no shame in doing an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay.’ She wiped her hands on her napkin.
‘But it wouldn’t leave me much time for writing, and it’s going really well at the moment.’
‘You really should make some effort to find a job while you’re getting Jobseeker’s.’
‘It doesn’t seem to be an issue.’
‘Maybe not yet, but eventually they’ll want to see that you’re genuinely making an effort to find work.’
‘I’m working on my music. Doesn’t that count?’
‘Not really, when you’re not making money from it.’
‘Well, hopefully I will be before too long. Anyway, you’re the one who kept telling me I should sign on for benefits, and now you’re saying I should get a job? I thought the whole point was that I wouldn’t have to worry about money and it’d free me up to focus on song-writing.’
She could have pointed out that he’d had years of not worrying about money when he’d spent his time playing video games and watching TV, but he’d been in a slump and she knew what that was like. ‘Yeah, you’re right.’ She didn’t want to be a nag, and hewasworking really hard on his writing. ‘It’s only your first month on Jobseeker’s. I’m sure it’ll be a while before they start hassling you about finding work.’
‘And hopefully I’ll be back with Oh Boy! before they do.’
‘Are you doing anything on Friday?’ Roly asked her later as they cleared up after dinner.
‘No, I’ve nothing planned.’
‘I have some tickets for a gig at the Olympia, if you’d like to come? It’s a band my agent manages: Rainmaker. They’re good.’
‘I’ve never heard of them, but yes please!’ Ella loved live music, and it was ages since she’d been to a gig.
‘Great! You could bring Andrew.’
‘Oh. So … you have three tickets?’
