Timberwood: Short Stories Edition - Vol. 31
This is a short story version of Timberwood, with the possible "what-if" scenario of Timberwood being a legit, REAL job opportunity & not a fake cult. 😁
I, Nola Bordelon, just moved to a new city. Still homeless on the streets & struggling. A new (NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY) Office Assistant opportunity FINALLY came along. I found the job on Indeed.com & not Craigslist. The job offers the opportunity for $17.75/hour with no experience. They also offer a $3,000 sign-on bonus, in which the employee would be paid 1,000 every 4 months, + $250 for every new person you refer. The job offers 401(k), free transportation to & from work, medical, vision & dental insurance, overtime available, & 2 weeks paid vacation. You get paid every Wednesday. That sounds kind of too good to be true, because I've never had such an opportunity before.
I applied for the position, & someone responded almost IMMEDIATELY! Her name was Tracie Jordan. Tracie told me to go through the front desk security & then meet her in room 512 upstairs. We did an initial meet & greet, & I was interviewed by Lymethia Hunter. Lymethia told me that I have to wait at least 48 hours for a thorough background check. I felt discouraged & thought that I was stood up & given false hopes. Nearly a week later, Lymethia called me & told me to come in for the onboarding & filling out paperwork. Did God answer my prayers?
Trenise (Tracie's sister) & her friend Debbie were both assigned to train me for the position. They showed me how to answer the phones, make copies, fax, do inventory, file papers & also do some online work. I didn't want to get back on Facebook anymore, but I had to, for job purposes. I also had to be retrained all over again with self-guided Microsoft Office Suite courses to do on my off time. I had to meet a certain deadline with the courses. I learned QuickBooks for the 1st time, & I had to do weekly Zoom meetings for the 1st 8 weeks of training.
I kept getting scared about being wrongfully fired or workplace mobbed. I felt relieved to successfully complete my 1st day of work. Not bad. There was a man, named Luis, who kept trying to hit on me. Trying to distract me from my necessary tasks. He always waited until both Trenise & Debbie were gone, to try to flirt.
After work, a few coworkers saw me with my backpack. They caught on to the fact that I was homeless. I was hoping that that didn't jeopardize my job. I was eventually saved from having to be out on the streets in the cold at the park with no sleeping bag.
Danielle Sanders offered me to come & stay by her & her new boyfriend, Cory. I felt reluctant because I don't trust living with other people. Danielle cried because I kept refusing. Eventually, I accepted her offer. I felt like I took a risk. I didn't know what to expect. I'm surprised that they trusted me, a total homeless stranger, to come & stay by them. They lived in an apartment complex, called "Leaf Lane Apartments". Danielle loved me enough that she co-signed for me to get my own apartment right after my 1st paycheck. She even paid 1st & last months rent for me. Danielle & Cory were my next door neighbors. Was that a coincidence?
I was able to have a move-in date on the same day as my work off day. A few guys (Treyshawn, Kendell, Kendall, Cornelius, Matthew, Ronald, Carlos & Chris) helped me out. They didn't charge me to move in & get my furniture. Kristina & her sister Taschika got me some furniture. They REALLY looked out for me & got me decent quality used furniture that Timberwood no longer needed. They even got me a washer & dryer because the apartment had washer/dryer hookups. It was Tharen's idea to get me some food, pots, pans & dishes from Timberwood's cafeteria. I was stocked for MONTHS! I was amazed that I was able to get a gated community apartment that had a balcony & patio. They even had a dishwasher. The complex had 4 swimming pools, a walking trail, a community center & a lake.
Those kids just wanted another excuse for a party, so Nyoka, Sherry & ShyAnn were jumping up & down, talking about, "Let's throw Nola a housewarming party!"
One day, Taschika, Teresa, Vanessa, Jackie, Tracie, Jessica, Sarah, Antonia, & a few others, came over to my house. The kids started decorating my new apartment. Both inside & out. Even the little ones joined in. They were so enthusiastic! I've NEVER in my life been showered with so much TRUE love & total strangers to care about me! At 1st, I thought they were trying to love bomb me, but it's the real deal.
I quickly worked up enough to get my own down payment on a brand new pearly off-white 2023 Nissan Murano. Something I always wanted. At last, I FINALLY was able to get back on my feet & work longer than 6 months. It seemed so good that I felt like I wasn't worthy to deserve it. The gang stalkers kept trying to get me taken down, but they weren't successful this time.
It was so nice that Timberwood didn't discriminate, & they had a motto that said, "We always have something for everybody." They even gave elderly, disabled, (so-called "mentally ill") & homeless people, drug addicts, alcoholics, felons, etc. a chance at employment. But they made you promise to do your part in bettering yourself. They even had a "Get out of Prison" forgiveness program to help prisoners (even ones who committed the most disturbing & heinous crimes) transition back into normal life & work, with the promise to never commit crimes again.
THE END