Before the Interview

I took my laptop, my Kinbor weekly planner, a Hobonichi dupe with paper that isn’t too smooth, which I like.
A 500 ml coffee tumbler that feels like 380.

The coffee finished faster than breath.

The plan was one tumbler for the morning session, another after lunch.

A pen that bleeds onto the next page. I love it anyway. The ink shows up again later, faint but certain, under a list I wasn’t done with.

I left my mouse behind.
My hand kept reaching for where it should have been.

The meeting room was darkened for the interview. I was the co-interviewer.
The questions were printed. I stayed close to them. When one answer ran long, I waited for the end.

Roz sat behind me, asking better questions.
Her voice carried easily, as if the room had been arranged for it.

I noticed my legs swinging once, then again.
I pressed my heels to the floor.
They lifted anyway.

My social battery drains faster in this mode of work.
It fills again later.

Let me work with my laptop.
Microsoft Word.
PowerPoint.
Emails.

Yes, let me email.

The coffee cup was lighter when I picked it up. I set it down without looking.

The interview ended the way these things end.
Chairs shifted.
Papers gathered themselves.
The lights stayed low.

There are more interviews next week.
I’ll bring the mouse.