Chapter Text
“What do you aspire to be when you grow up?” I didn’t know the answer to this question. It was a question I was asked frequently by my teachers, friends, and even family. When I was younger, I would’ve said a pianist. These days, however, playing the piano has become more of a side hobby rather than practicing hours for big recitals.
I looked up from the form towards the clock. 10 minutes had already passed. So far, I only filled out 4 of the 15 questions on the form. This next one was a simple question for most people my age. Why didn’t I have an answer? I began to get frustrated. I tapped my pen on the table in a rhythm.
Think, Mari. Think.
“Hey, Mari. Are you good?” Sunny took a seat across from me. He put down his sketchbook and assortment of colored pencils.
“Yeah… It’s just that this one question on this form has me stumped. It’s something I have to fill out for school.” I took a deep breath.
“What’s the question?” Sunny glanced over the table at the form
“It says ‘What do you aspire to be when you grow up?’” I needed to take a break to collect my thoughts. I got up from the table to get a glass of water from the kitchen.
“Weren’t you planning to apply for an internship at the hospital?” Sunny had followed me into the kitchen. I could tell he was concerned.
“Yeah, I just never got around to telling Mom. Plus, this internship is just to get experience, not decide my career.”
“I see.” Sunny grabbed a snack from the cabinet. “What if you wrote about the internship instead?” I thought about his suggestion for a bit.
“You know, that’s a good idea. I could mention that I am applying to explore future careers. Thanks, Sunny.” Sunny simply nodded and walked back to his sketchbook.
I took a peek back into the dining room to see his drawing progress. On the page, I saw drawings of Sunny, me, our friends, several cats, and random objects, all colored with different pens and pencils. Sunny always had an active imagination. With his sketchbook, he has an outlet to share his thoughts with everybody else.
“Nice job, Sunny.” I sat back down with a refreshed mind and began to fill out the rest of the form.
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“We’re here, Mari.” I opened my eyes and looked out the car window. Outside, a large building stood. Near the front entrance of the building were the words Faraway Hospital and Clinic. I looked over to Sunny, who was admiring the sheer size of the hospital. This hospital was the same one where Sunny and I were born.
After Mom parked the car, we entered the hospital. Inside, there was a waiting area and the front desk. At the front desk was a man who was looking at a computer. The man looked up from the computer when he noticed us.
“Hi. Do you have an appointment? Or is something the matter?” The man put on a friendly smile.
“No, no. My daughter is here wondering if she could apply for an internship here. We already told a supervisor that we were coming in.” Mom had asked Polly, Basil and Basil’s grandmother’s caretaker who works for the hospital, to notify a supervisor that I wanted to apply.
“Really? That’s splendid.” The man pulled out a clipboard. “In that case, we need you to fill out some papers before we can interview your daughter. Just some basic information.” The man handed the clipboard with a paper and a pen to Mom, and we took a seat in the waiting area.
As Mom filled out the paper on the clipboard, I went over how I would respond to the questions asked during the interview in my head. I would tell them about my life at home, my performance in school, how I used to play piano, and my friends.
After some time, Mom got up from her seat and walked back to the front desk. She handed the clipboard and pen back to the man.
“Thank you. It will take a bit to put this information into our system. You can take a seat for now.” The man started to type something on the computer. Mom sat back down next to Sunny and me.
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“Mari Suzuki, We’re ready to see you.” A woman had entered the waiting area. I got up and walked toward the woman. “Hello there. You must be Mari. I will tell you a few things. Do you have any questions?”
“Nope. I’m ready to go.” I tried to sound determined even though I was nervous.
“Alright, then. You can follow me.” The woman and I began to walk down the hallway.
“Good luck, sweetie. I believe in you.” I turned around and saw mom was waving at me. Next to her, Sunny gave me a thumbs up. I waved back at them.
The woman led me through the hospital, talking about the various wings of the building and their purposes. After walking for what felt like forever, the woman stopped in front of a door.
“And this is where we will hold your interview today.” The woman pulled out a set of keys and unlocked the door. Inside the room, there was a desk with a computer and papers. Across from the desk, there was a recliner chair. “You can take a seat in the chair. The interview will begin shortly.” The woman walked out of the room, leaving me by myself.
I was once again left alone with my thoughts. My mind started to wander. What if I say this? What if I say that? What if this happens? What if that happens?
What if I say something wrong?
This chain of thought plagued my mind. What will happen if I say something wrong? Will they let it slide? Will they deny me the position? Will I find another position somewhere else? What if I don’t?
My confidence was plummeting. I needed to stay level-headed. I needed to.
It was then that I remembered something.
Calm down.
Focus.
Persist.
It was advice. My advice. The advice I used to give to Sunny when he was struggling with the violin.
I took in a deep breath, counted down, and let it out. I repeated this action. My nerves were fading away as my mind slowed down. I reminded myself of what I went over with Mom the other day; what type of questions they might ask and how I would respond. I slowly but surely regained my confidence. I was ready.
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The door to the room opened and inside came a man wearing a tie. The man closed the door behind him and sat down at the opposite side of the desk.
“Hello. Let me just pull something up and then we can start.” The man turned on the computer and typed something down. “Okay, let’s begin. So, tell me about yourself.” The man turned his attention toward me.
Here we go. I cleared my throat.
“My name is Mari Suzuki. I am 16 years old and a sophomore at Faraway High School. I live with my mother and my younger brother.” I remembered what I rehearsed with Mom.
“Alright, Mari. Tell me, how did you hear about this opening?” This question would be harder to answer.
“There was a flyer in my school that promoted this position and several other internships. This opening appealed to me the most.”
“This leads me to my next question; do you have any experience that prepared you for this role?”
“Well, I have some experience dealing with children. My younger brother, Sunny, looks up to me. I try my best to set a good role model for him. My younger friends also follow my example.”
“Next question. Do you have any hobbies?”
“While I’m not focusing on anything right now, I used to play softball when I was younger. However, I had to stop when I injured my knee.” I hesitated a little when I remembered the next activity. “I also play piano, but not much anymore.”
“Why did you stop?” The man looked curious. He must have picked up on my hesitation.
“It’s a bit personal. I don’t feel comfortable discussing it here.”
“If you insist, I won't push this topic any further. Anyways, one last question. What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?” I had to think about this question for a bit.
“Well, my friends and family tell me that I am very compassionate and understanding. My friends usually come to me when they have an issue. As for a weakness, I guess I’m sort of a perfectionist. I’m trying to work on this so I can improve myself.” I wanted to add more. However, that would involve the incident on the day of the recital. I wanted to put that behind me.
“Okay, we are done. I will go over what we have discussed and see if you qualify for the position.” The man reached his hand out towards me. I grabbed his hand and gave him a handshake.
“Thank you, sir.”
“You can head back to your family. We will inform you in a few days whether you got the position or not.” I exited the room and walked back to the waiting area where Mom and Sunny were.
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Sunny was the first to notice me enter the waiting area. He got up from his seat and approached me. Mom followed after him.
“So, how did the interview go?” Mom looked pretty excited.
“It went pretty smoothly. I tried my best.” At least, I thought this to be true.
“When will you find out if you got the position?”
“They said I would get the news at a later date. We are good to go.”
“I’m proud of you, sweetie. Let’s go home.”
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“Hello, Suzuki residence.” Mom was talking to someone on the phone. “Yes… Yes… Uhuh… Okay… Thank you… Bye.” Mom put down the phone at looked at me with glee.
“Who was that?” I didn’t recognize the voice on the other end.
“It was the hospital. You got the internship.” I couldn’t believe it. It had been around a week since the interview. We finally got the news now.
“When do I start?” I was in amazement. I was so happy.
“They said that you are starting this Sunday. I don’t have any plans that day so I can drive you.”
“Thank you, Mom. Thank you for everything.” I gave her the biggest hug imaginable. It was because of her support I got the internship.
“You’re welcome, honey. Now, how about we gather your friends so we can go celebrate.”