Bob
jumped when the door slammed behind him. “Who’s there?”
He
turned to see his brother standing in the doorway of his living room.
“Oh. It’s you.”
“Who
were you expecting? An angel perhaps?” His brother, Jack, laughed
as he sat on the brown couch.
Bob
returned to washing the dishes. “I thought you would be at work by
now.”
“I
would be, if it were not—”
“You
didn’t get fired again, did you?”
“I
wouldn’t call it ‘fired’ exactly.”
“What
would you call it, then?”
“More
like, violently thrown out.”
Bob
shook his head. “So you were fired.”
“That’s
one way to look at it.”
Bob
wiped his hands on a towel before turning to face his brother. “So,
what happened this time?”
Jack
smiled. “They wanted me to clean the toilets! Can you imagine that?
I was hired to cook, not clean dirty toilets!” He held up this
hands. “I can’t soil my gifted cooking hands with such dirty
tasks.”
“Jack,
that’s part of the job. You were suppose to work you way up to
being a cook.”
A
knock sounded from their front door. Bob sighed, then went to open
the door. Before him stood a man with a goofy looking grin on his
face and a younger girl. “I don’t want any. Thanks.” He began
to shut the door.
The
older man said, “What? You don’t want help with job-placement
assistance?”
Bob
froze. “Did you say, ‘job-placement assistance’?”
“Yes,
I most certainly did.” The man held out a hand. “My name’s
Joel, and this here is Holly.”
Bob
shook each of their hands and welcomed him in. “If you don’t mind
me saying, strange but cute costumes. Going to a Renaissance festival
after this?”
Joel
laughed. “No, more like we just came from one and forgot to
change.”
Holly
started to say something but Joel waved her off. It struck Bob how an
unlikely that a pair like them would be from a job placement agency.
But, whatever. “They sure are working people young these days.”
“Oh,
she’s just my, ah, daughter is all. Sort of, anyway.” Joel looked
up to the ceiling before facing Bob again. “Well, it’s
complicated.”
Bob
nodded. “It will all be good if you can get my brother, Jack, a
job . . . that he will keep!”
Jack
waved at them in as they entered the room. A grin creased his face.
“I don’t suppose you’re gonna place me as a squire or
something?”
Josh
and Holly both smiled. Joel said, “Only if you want to go back to a
time when those jobs were plentiful.”
Jack
laughed, but it quickly died off when Joel didn’t join him in his
merriment. “Are you serious?”
Joel
pointed a finger at Jack. “The question isn’t whether I’m
serious or not, but whether you are serious?” Joel turned to Holly.
“Is he serious?”
Jack’s
eyes lit up. “How would she know?”
Holly
gazed into Jack’s eyes. “Yep, he’s serious. Serious about not
doing anything with his life.”
Jack
rose from the couch. “Hey, I resent that remark.”
Holly
continued to stare into his eyes. “Because it’s true.”
Jack
turned to Bob, who had remained silent. “Aren’t you going to
defend me?” He turned back to see Holly still staring at him. He
stuttered a bit, “I . . . you.” He pointed at
Joel while looking at Bob.
Bob
asked, “Jack, is it true that you have purposefully sabotaged every
job you’ve received?”
“No,
no. Don’t be fooled by these charlatans. Anyone can see they aren’t
from a job placement agency.” Jack faced Joel and Holly. “I bet
they don’t have any credentials either.”
Holly
smiled. “You want credentials? Boy, do we have credentials. Show
them, Joel.”
Joel
wrinkled his forehead. “Credentials?”
Holly
winked at him. “Yeah, you know,” she waved her arms. “Our
credentials.”
“Oh,
those credentials. One moment, let me think of something good.”
Jack
laughed. “See, I told you they aren’t from an employment agency.
You either have credentials on you to show or you don’t. You don’t
need to think of something.”
Joel
snapped his fingers. “I’ve got it!” They all disappeared in a
blinding flash of light.
----------
As
Jack’s eyes recovered, a breeze blew against his skin. A jungle
came into view, complete with thick underbrush and tall trees
towering above them. Jack’s mouth hung open as he took in the
scenery. “How did I get here?”
Bob,
also displaying a shocked expression, said, “You guys aren’t from
a job placement agency, are you?”
Joel
grinned. “Let’s just say, not from any agency you are familiar
with.”
Jack,
still with his mouth hanging open, stared intently at Joel. “Not
only how did we get here, but where is ‘here’?”
Bob
added, “And I most certainly hope you can get us back to where we
belong.”
Joel
held up a hand. “All in good time. Your second question is the
important one, Jack.” Joel spread his arms wide. “We’re in the
jungle!”
Bob
threw up his hands. “Duh! I would have never guessed.”
Joel
laughed. “Of course you wouldn’t have. Like, it’s a jungle out
there. Ever heard that phrase?”
Bob
nodded. “So, aside from the word jungle, what are you getting at?”
Jack
put his hands on his hips. “Yeah, what is this about? Out with it
man. I demand to be returned to our house, now!”
Joel
shook his head. “You don’t see the point, do you? Okay, I’ll
spell it out. The reason they call the job world a jungle is because
to survive, you have to struggle each day to work. You have to do
things you don’t like. Like the real jungle, where people spent all
their time hunting for food just to live each day. There was little
time for other activities.”
Jack
shrugged. “I fail to see what this has to do with me. I don’t
live in a jungle.”
Joel
smiled. “You do now.”
“You
can’t be serious.” Jack peered into Joel’s eyes. As far as he
could tell, he appeared serious.”
Ben
cleared his throat. “I don’t like this idea. I demand you take us
both back.”
Joel
shook his head. “You have prevented Jack here from experiencing the
consequences of his actions. Or inaction as the case may be.”
Ben’s
face became red. “Look here. You may think you’re God or
something—”
Joel
laughed. “No, not God, but sent by him to you.”
“—but
this isn’t funny. He could die out here. He knows nothing about
survival in the wild.”
“And
why is that, Bob?”
“Because . . . because . . .”
Ben hung his head. “Because his parents and I, none of us have
taught him.”
“Exactly.
Bye, Jack. I’ll come back to check on you soon.” Joel snapped his
fingers and they all left in a flash of light, leaving Jack alone.
For the first time in his life, he feared for his life.”
----------
Jack
cringed as the beast was about to strike. This was the end. After the
strange man didn’t return as he had promised, Hunger pains had
driven Jack to search for food. Had this Joel guy forgotten all about
him? So he worked to survive. And much to his surprise, he did
survive.
In
the six months he’d been here, though time tended to blur so he
wasn’t exactly sure just how long it had been, he had grown proud
of himself. He had built himself a makeshift house to shelter himself
from the elements and wild animals while he slept. Yes, he had done
quiet well. He would show that Joel guy that he could survive.
But
now, that it appeared his doom was sure, that Ben’s prediction
would come true, that he would die here, he closed his eyes and
waited for the beast to strike.
“Jack!
Are you going to stay cringing like that on the floor for long,
because I’d like us to fix something for dinner.”
Jack
opened his eyes. He stood in their old apartment! “What happened?
How much did I miss?”
Joel
turned to Holly. “Well, how is he now?”
She
gazed at Jack, standing as a smile filled his face. “I think he’s
fixed.”
Ben
scrunched his face. “Fixed?”
Holly
cleared her throat. “A poor choice of words. I meant he is ready to
work.”
Ben
laughed. “How? We just got back ourselves. He couldn’t have
experienced anything much.”
Jack
glanced at the clock on the wall. “What day is it?”
Ben
pointed at a calendar. “May 15th, 2019. Wednesday.”
Jack
shook his head. “But this is the same day and time we originally
left. How can that be? I just experienced months alone in that
jungle!”
“Well,
Holly, looks like our job here is done.”
“I
agree,” she said,
Joel
snapped his fingers and they both vanished.
Ben
shook his head to clear out the cobwebs. “Like I was saying, you
were supposed to be working you way up to being a cook.”
Jack
dropped his head. “I know. I blew it. I sabotaged that job.”
Ben
said, “You’ve got to be . . . what did you
say?”
Jack
rose from his seat on the couch. “I said, I blew it. But I know a
place where I can apply and they are desperate enough for help that I
can probably get the same deal there. I’ll go apply right now.”
He stepped toward the door and reached his hand out to grab the door
knob. Before he did, he turned to Ben. “By the way, what just
happened? Why do I feel so different now?”
Ben
shrugged. “I have no earthly or heavenly idea.”
Jack
thought for a moment. “Oh well, time to go earn a living.” He
stepped out the door and shut it behind him.
Ben
returned to washing dishes and shook his head. How long would this
last? He had no idea. But he hoped it would be more permanent.
And
so it was.
