The Online Job - Chapter 1

ALL STORY LIST | CHAPTER - CH 2 | CH 3 | CH 4 | CH 5 | CH 6 | CH 7 | CH 8 | CH 9 | CH 10 | CH 11 | CH 12 | CH 13 | CH 14 | CH 15 | CH 16 | CH 17 | CH 18 | CH 19 | CH 20 | CH 21 | CH 22 

Author - Leloine

Note - It's a pleasure to have here, Leloine one of our Patreon members, to share with us this wonderful story, so please give us your kind opinion on what you think of this story and I'm sure you will enjoy it.

The gameplay flashed across the computer screen as Nathan Ainsworth followed the polygon with sparkling crystal blue eyes. Black brows hovered above them crinkling every so often as his face reacted to the games flow. The stark contrast between his very white skin and obsidian black hair was sometimes a shock when he would look at himself in the mirror when he wasn’t fully awake. It is said that we pose when we look at our reflection in the mirror and that over time we become unaware of this posing.

He was startled when his phone rang and he picked it up and noticed it was, “The Office Hub”, a store called. He had submitted an online job application there for an after-school and weekend part-time job. He had submitted a few applications but this was the first that had called. He swiped upward on the green icon on the phone’s screen and answered with the most adult tone that his 14 years could muster. “Hello”, and waited for the voice on the other end of the connection to continue.

“This is Lewis Collins the manager of The Office Hub, is this Nathan Ainsworth?”

Nathan answered that he was Nathan. Mr. Collins continued, “I was calling about your application, and I noticed that you are only 14, is that correct?” Nathan replied that was correct but he was going to turn 15 on June 18th which was only a little over a month away he hopefully added. Mr. Collins continued asking if he knew that according to the state's child labor laws he couldn’t hire anyone younger than 16? Nathan’s quick mind realized that he was getting his first rejection from all the applications that he had submitted online.

“No sir, I wasn’t aware of the law.” Then he added, “I have submitted other applications to other stores for an afternoon and summer job.” Mr. Collins's voice sounded reassuring as he continued saying, “Well I am pleased when I see an industrious young man taking charge of his life, but I am constrained by the laws, and there are quite a few that I have to follow. I can’t offer you an interview at your present age. I’ll keep your application on file and when you do reach 16 I’ll be sure to call you back for an interview. You say that you applied to other stores, let me ask if any has contacted you.

Nathan replied that he was the first that had called. The manager replied that most wouldn’t take the time to call seeing that they were also constrained by the same regulations that he had to follow. Then the manager said that he was sure to call him back after he had reached 16 as he liked to help young people start out on the right path. Do you mind if I ask you why you want the position?

Nathan answered, “Sir, I use a lot of office equipment in school, I understand how computers and printers work and I think I would be an asset to your store. Then added that he shopped at The Office Hub for supplies that he used in school. As to why, well my mom doesn’t want to spend any more money on video games, and I really enjoy playing the games, so I thought I would make my own money and not try to be a burden on her for that.

“Well Nathan that is commendable and it was nice speaking to you and I’ll be sure to call you when you reach 16. Goodbye and good luck to you in your endeavor.”

Nathan said goodbye and looked at the phone as he sat there. He turned back to the computer screen and clicked on another video for more gameplay. At the beginning of each video, there was an ad for something or other and he always hovered above the skip ad box but this was something different.

Make money at home just for reading a story and then reviewing and answering a few survey questions. He moved over to the learn more icon and clicked on it. It was a website that explained that all you had to do was to sign up and you could get from $20 to $60 depending on the story that you were reviewing. Hey, that is serious money, so what could it hurt. He looked at the questions on the sign-up screen and he had to provide his name, age, gender, email, and cell phone number and that was that. After completing all the questions the “start now” box became active and he clicked on it.

The first story title sounded kind of strange, “Feminized by my new girlfriend”, but this was business, and the payout for this story was $20. He found he didn’t even have to read the story. All he had to do was to listen as an electronic voice read him the story. He listened and 30 min later was the questions. There were 40 survey questions and he answered each one, then the next screen had a box that said, “get paid.” He clicked on it and then his phone alerted him that he had just received an email.

Opening up his email he saw he had a new one from an Urban Inc. Nathan opened the email and there was a bar code that was scan-able. Below the bar code, there was a line that read, “Your balance is $20.” He had seen this before from gift cards but he never had one for himself and decided he would find out if this was real or just a scam. He turned off his monitor and grabbed his jacket and headed down to the strip mall 4 blocks away just to test this out. He walked into the mall and headed for a drug store there to pick up a soft drink. He knew that a soft drink wouldn’t cost $20, but this was just a test anyway.

Nathan pulled up the email and approached the cashier and when asked for payment he held up his phone with the bar code visible. The clerk just looked at it and she picked up her scanning wand and scanned the code. There was a beep and the clerk handed him his receipt and welcomed the next customer. Nathan looked down at his phone as he moved away and now under the bar code it read, “Your balance is $17.83.”

This was too cool I mean all he had to do was to listen to stories and answer questions and get paid. He thought he would have money for a new game real soon. He knew exactly which one he would get first. The new Galactic Wars: First Encounter installment had just come out, and with the $80 price tag he would only have to listen to 4 more stories since he had just wasted $2.17 on the soft drink.

As he was walking out he saw the magazine rack and decided he would check out an “Electronic Entertainment”, magazine and see what their review of the new First Encounter game was. He reached the rack and saw the video game magazine section and was going to grab the magazine when he saw another magazine that caught his attention. He picked up the magazine, “Adorable Teen Girl.” The cover story was about choosing the right color of eye make-up for your skin tone. Flipping to that story he began to read about the different skin tones and the three-color shades to highlight your eyes. There was instructions for applying a darker tone to the back of the eyelid and on the sides, Also how to blend it with a lighter shade for the front of the eyelid.

He was reading intently on why it was important to clean up the brow first with some thread, and then use concealer and powder after that. He was reading about the different types of blending brushes to use and how to use them when a voice behind him asked if he was going to buy that or just read it there. He took the magazine to the counter and paid the $7.95 while the mean-faced clerk told him that they sell the magazines and if he wanted to read them without paying for them he should go to the library.

Nathan went home and headed straight to his room and read the article 3 times. There was also a link to a site where he could watch the process. He had never thought about how eye shadow was applied and he was so interested in the process. The thought crossed his mind about how his eyes would look and if he could get them to look like that.

The article also discussed which colors would be best for his skin tone. He looked in the mirror in the bathroom trying to decide which color set would be best for him when his mother walked into the room announcing dinner was ready. He walked out of his bathroom and followed her to the dining room. As they ate his mother asked what he had planned for the weekend?

Nathan didn’t really think too much about making plans. His plans were already set unless there was something really special happening. Saturday was his day to pretty much do nothing at all, except play video games. While they were eating his mother stated, “I was planning on going into Cape Coral to do some antique hunting.” She did this once or twice a month when her stock for the two antique stores that she owned dwindled or became short of a certain item. She bought the first one after his dad divorced her when he was just 6 and it had done so well that she opened another one.

“Do you think you will be okay all day by yourself”, his mother asked? Nathan looked at her and told her that he didn’t have anything planned but he would probably just study for the finals that were coming up. His mother smiled at him and coyly inquired, “Is that the final on your video game class”, she teased him. No mom, I just like to play them, but there is a lot of money writing the code for them. I’m thinking very much about that as a career choice.

Alicia Ainsworth changed her name back to her maiden name Silvers after the divorce, but Nathan kept him as it was what he was born with. She was very proud of him. He always did very well in school and never got into any trouble. His last report was straight A’s except for that B in Phys. Education. Well at 5’5” a sports scholarship probably wasn’t in his future, but he was writing computer code at age 8. She raised her head and was looking at him when he suddenly looked up and asked.

“Mom, how come you never use three colors of eye shadow?” His mother was surprised to hear this from him. She never guessed that he even knew or cared about her make-up or that he would ever ask a question like that. He continued, “I think you should start out with some concealer as well. It is obvious that I got your skin color since both of our skin is very fair, and the concealer would make the colors much more even.” She was kind of taken a back at the question with the added makeup tip. But since the conversation had turned to makeup she said that usually, only one or maybe two colors was enough for her. She then added that three colors were kind of flamboyant and that just wasn’t her, just not her nature or who she was. If his last comment had surprised her his next surprised her even more.

“Mom do you need help loading the dishwasher?” She didn’t know how to respond. She looked at him trying to decide if he was just playing with her or what. He always had a sort of dry sense of humor, but the look on his face was sincere. She replied, “No honey I’m fine, but thinks for asking.”

He finished and then picked up his plate, silverware, and glass and set them on the counter before announcing that he would be heading back to his room. She watched him walk out of the dining room and disappear down the hallway. She thought to herself that if she had a weak heart she would probably be on the floor clenching her chest with a full-fledged cardiac arrest.

Nathan went and turned his monitor back on and the web page was still there, and he moved the cursor over the box labeled “Read Another”, and clicked. On the next page, there was another story but this one had 3 chapters, and you received $10 for each, but you had to read or listen to all 3 chapters before you were paid. Nathan thought this was wonderful, and with some quick mental addition, it meant that he would get Galactic Wars: First Encounter by this weekend. He started listening and this was a story about a 17-year-old boy dressing in private without his parent's permission. It was titled The Secret of My Room. In this story, his older sister found out and helped him. She supported him and by the time he graduated high school the next year he started college as a transgendered freshman.

He answered the questions and was paid and this time the box at the bottom said that is enough for today. Please return tomorrow. Nathan looked at his phone and saw that the balance was now $39.88. He once again turned off his monitor and got ready for bed. Undressing he draped his pants and shirt over the back of his desk chair where tomorrow when he came home from school they would have magically found their way into the dirty clothes hamper in the bathroom.

He brushed his teeth and began to brush his hair. He brushed his hair longer than usual but didn’t even think about why he was brushing his hair. Brushing it forward on his head and then back and down the sides. As he brushed he quietly became aware of the contrast of his dark black hair against the snow-white of his skin. During the summer if he tried to get some tan or color on his skin, he would just burn and the color would be red. Even on cloudy days, he would burn, so he was always wearing a shirt. Looking at his arms he couldn’t see the lighter shade of skin as he noticed other boys had where the short sleeves stopped. Most boys wore short sleeves in southern Florida and you could always see darker skin from where the shirt stopped.

Finally finishing his brushing he felt his hair as it seemed fuller and softer. Turning his head this way he was pleased with the results. Thinking that it felt much better this way he made a mental note to brush his hair more now from this time forward. Getting into bed and laying his head on the pillow he felt his almost shoulder-length hair framing his face and fell asleep enjoying the way the locks lay across his cheek.