Somebody Up There Likes Me (standard:drama, 986 words)
Author: makepeaceken	Added: Dec 27 2021	Views/Reads: 1224/784	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Justine is cold and hungy. She needs a job, and finds one, but things don't exactly run to plan.

Justine was cold. She couldn't get warm however much she tried. Her
apartment had hardly any heating because she couldn't afford to have it 
on. What she needed was a job, but they weren't exactly easy to come 
by. So she started looking around, hoping to find something. 

‘She went searching from shop to shop, but with Christmas just weeks
away, it wasn't easy. Then just as she was thinking about giving up, 
she saw a sign on a shop window, saying that there was a vacancy for an 
assistant. Justine had to read it twice to actually believe it was 
real. 

‘I've come about the vacancy,' she said to the lady behind the counter
once she had made her way through the shop door. 

‘Follow me to the boss's office, dear,' she replied. ‘ He is the one you
need to see.' 

Justine followed the lady towards the office, and once inside she was
introduced to this elderly man. He asked her to take a seat, which she 
did. 

‘Have you had any experience of shop work before?' he asked her in a
calm voice. 

‘No. I'm sorry, I haven't.' 

‘What was your previous job?' 

‘I worked in a factory, but I was laid off,' 

The man seemed impressed with Justine and the way she had answered his
questions. He was so impressed that he gave her the job, but he said he 
would have to talk it over with his business partner, but he doubted 
there wouldn't be any problems. 

Justine left the shop smiling. She had got a job. He even believed what
she had said about being made redundant - what a lie - she was sacked 
for bad conduct. She was never on time, and she was always cheeky 
towards her boss. He ended up telling her to leave the factory, giving 
her no notice at all, just a couple of weeks pay to tide her over. She 
even took him to a tribunal, but she hadn't been there long enough to 
make a claim for unfair dismissal. She was hoping she'd never have to 
run into him again. 

When Justine got home, she turned up the heating, phoned some of her
friends, inviting them over for a party. This girl was going to 
celebrate - big style. 

When the time came to start her new job, she made her way to the shop.
Her wild days were over. She needed this job, so she was just going to 
keep her head down and get on with her work. It had just been too cold 
of late to go without food and warmth. 

‘Good morning,' her new boss said to her as soon as she got through the
shop door. ‘I hope you will enjoy working here?' 

‘I think I will,' she replied, feeling a lot happier than she had been
of late. 

‘There is just one small issue. My business partner has been called
away. He won't be back for a few weeks. I have spoken to him on the 
phone and he seems happy for you to start working here.' 

Justine was really pleased with what the man had just said, and she had
an idea that his business partner would be as nice as he was. 

Justine loved her job. The staff were wonderful. She kept her own
promise about keeping her head down and getting on with her work. She 
also became very friendly with the lady who worked on the counter. The 
lady even invited Justine round to her house for tea one night. And the 
elderly man gave her a lift home most nights, which was saving her 
money on bus fares. All this was like a fairie tale compared to how she 
was living just a week or two back. 

Then came the day the elderly man's business partner was back working in


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