Sitting in the coffee shop with the jobs paper open in front of her was strangely comforting, Akiko found. It felt normal, even though it wasn’t something she particularly wanted to be doing. It reminded her that there was a normal life out there, and that she could, probably, participate in it again.

A group of young people, maybe high school students, came into the shop, laughing and joking, and Akiko glanced up, noticing that they were all wearing filter masks. She looked around the cafe, and realised that more than half the people there had the masks, most placed on the tables while they ate. She remembered what Akira had said a couple of days earlier about a fever doing the rounds, and decided to get herself a mask as soon as possible. She couldn’t afford to get ill while looking for a job, after all.

With that thought, she turned back to the jobs paper, looking for serious jobs. She reckoned that she could put Shiraishi off for a while with a serious search, so she didn’t need to try for absolutely anything. Something in an office, something like her previous job, something <em>normal,</em> and reasonable for a woman of her age. That was what she wanted.

She went through the whole paper and ringed the candidates in red before calling any of them, and then went through again, to make sure she hadn’t missed any options. As she started reading over the descriptions again, she realised that she was putting off making the phone calls.

<em>They aren’t all going to turn you down again, you know,</em> she told herself, sternly. <em>And anyway, you have to call them, or Shiraishi will hardly believe that you are taking this seriously.</em>

Summoning up all her courage, Akiko opened her phone and called the first number.

“Hello? I’m calling about the secretarial job you advertised in the jobs paper. … Yes. … Oh, I see. … No, thank you. Sorry to trouble you.â€ She hung up. Once more the job had been filled already. She checked the date on the advert, and realised that it was already running for the second week. Sighing, she checked the other candidates. One of them was also on its second week, and she was about to cross it off when she thought about Shiraishi’s reaction. Taking a sip of coffee, she picked up the phone. <em>They might not have filled it yet.</em>

“Hello. Kanadera Services.â€

“Hello. My name is Akiko Tanahata, and I’m calling about the office job you advertised in the jobs paper.â€

“Oh, yes. The vacancy is still open; are you interested?â€ Akiko smiled to herself.

“Yes, I am.â€

“Well, we can do the interview this afternoon. Please bring your resume along.â€

“Certainly.â€ They organised the details.

“Please bear in mind that we won’t be able to decide immediately after the interview; we have to consider all candidates.â€

“That’s quite all right.â€

“And you will have to wear a uniform for the job. A fairly standard one, but we do ask that you wear it for the interview, as well. Obviously, we provide it.â€

“That’s fine.â€ A uniform was normal, but why did they want her to wear it for the interview? Akiko was a little puzzled.

“Well then, see you later.â€

“See you later.â€

Akiko hung up, and sat back, trying to pin down exactly why she felt a bit uneasy about this job.

“All three of mine have gone down with this flu.â€ Akiko caught a fragment of the conversation behind her. <em>Mustn’t forget to buy a mask,</em> she reminded herself.