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"And this is my office." He opens the door and waves me inside. "Have a seat."
I sit, and he walks around to the other side of the desk. The top of it is covered with different, colorful things.
He chuckles. "I know it looks like I'm a hoarder or something, but I find if the kids have something to concentrate on, something they can keep their eyes on instead of meeting mine, then they tend to talk more. So I give them lots of options."
"That's actually pretty cool," I acknowledge.
"So, tell me Elijah, why do you want to work here?"
I had an answer prepared, about how I want to help people, how I want to help shape a better future for the people who walk through those doors, but that's not what I find myself saying.
"I had a best friend. He killed himself."
His eyes sadden. "I see."
"I keep thinking that if he had a place like this, somewhere to turn, someone to help him in the way he needed, maybe it would have changed the outcome."
"Well people have to want the help for it to work."
I nod. "I know, but I was the help he had. And I wished I had known somewhere that could have helped me help him, if that makes sense."
"It does. A lot of the kids, teens, who come here, they don't want to. They're defiant at first, that's something you would need to be prepared for by the way. They don't think they need the help, don't think the help will actually, well help. Or some think they're beyond help. It's your job to first and foremost, break through. To connect with them, on some level, any level, that lets them know they're safe here. Do you think you're up to that task?"
"I do."
"And then after that, it's your job to just listen. I can't tell you how many people just want someone to listen. They don't want someone to offer to fix their every problem, or change their perspective on things. Just to listen. And then when they eventually ask, you give them the advice they’re seeking. Then it’s your job to get them the resources they need, help them in the most beneficial way you can."
"I can do that too."
"And the most important part of what we do here." He leans forward. "Just be a friend to them. Just be there whether they want to stand beside you in silence in the gym, whip your butt in basketball like they do mine, or want you to come into the art room and just throw paint at a canvas. Just be there for them."
"I can definitely do that."
He extends his hand across the desk. "Then you've got yourself a job."
I shake it, bewildered. "Don't you want to know about my college courses and how far I am, or... my work experience?"
He waves me off, sitting back. "All that stuff I looked at online. What I look for in the interview is people's faces as I give them the tour. The reason that brought them here. And you Elijah, you know what pain looks like, you've seen it, experienced it. And that tells me that you'll be able to notice it in the people that come here. That you will try to understand it, all the while knowing you never could. That's what matters. Well of course, that and a background check."
I laugh and stand from the desk when he does.
"I'll see you on Monday,” he says. “We'll get all the tax paperwork filled out and then get you into your new office. My advice, bring plenty of stuff for your desk."
"I will, I will. Thank you for this opportunity."
"You just make sure you make a difference. That's all I ask. See you Monday."
Smile on my face, I practically skip back to the car.
"Oh," Edward shouts, making me turn around. "And you can just dress casual when you come. These kids would make fun of your tie all day if you wore that."
I chuckle. "Thanks for the heads up."
I get into the car and text my grandma that I got the job. She says we'll celebrate with pizza and cake tonight. I go back to Jolie’s, and soon to be my, campus and wait outside the car in the lot for her to come out to meet me. She walks over, smiling as she gets closer.
"You look like you have good news," she says.
"You are looking at an official counselor." I spread my arms wide.
