The Call Center

2.

It's was 7pm when Jay showed up for training. The clouds hung low in the dark sky, looming over Belko Inc. The building for Belko was old and sort of resembled an old mental institution. Once inside, the front hallway was in decent shape, most people who worked there came off as sort of private, there wasn't a whole lot of socializing going out outside of a handful of small groups as they made their way to the Sales floor. It seemed to be kind of a chill, relaxed environment. Jay liked that.

    The building was definitely a little nicer inside than the buildings exterior suggested to him but it still left a little to be desired. The building was as cold as warned and Jay was glad he had brought his big jacket.

Jay had come to Belko Inc. earlier in the week and had grabbed an application after reading about it online. Two days after dropping it off they called him for a phone interview. He was on the phone with them for about ten minutes before they offered him the opportunity. The first few weeks would be training where he would be paid $12.25 until he made his way to the sales floor where he would start making $16/hr plus commission.

    Jay needed this job. He hadn't worked since his mother had died, he blew through the 15k he had made working the oil spill in Montana partying with Kyle, his roommate. Kyle had been working at Belko for a couple weeks and really seemed to enjoy working there so Jay decided to give it a shot, so he could afford his rent with Kyle.

The people in his training class all met in the cafeteria. It started raining hard outside and the sounds of the rain hitting the cafeteria windows echoed loudly, making their way down the halls.

Jay scoped the cafeteria, looking to see if there was anyone who knew. He recognized a couple people from high school, but no one he knew well. There was this girl in his training class, she had the most insane cat-like eyes, like a young Michelle Pieffer with dark hair. When she looked at me, she didn't smile; but she didn't glare either.

    The product they were training to sell were lotions and government approved, off-market sleeping teas that were supposed to be very effective in naturally making you fall asleep & supposedly wake up with energy. Everyone in the class got a yarn basket filled with Belkos products.

    Jay was put into a group with three other people to practice "communication exercises" were they would role play makings sells to each other. In Jays group was Tony. Tony seemed like a cool guy, he was Mexican but something about his bone structure closer resembled Native American. Jay and Tony sort of hit it off and after the exercise they were seated next to each other against the wall of the back room.

   The girl with the hood turned out to be as pretty as Jay suspected when she pulled her hood off. Her hair was blonde with small streaks of pink and her Monroe was pierced. Jay learned her name was Janet after the class took turns introducing themselves and sharing an interest.

   On Janet's turn, she said her interest were music, video games and her rats.

   When they asked Jay his interest, he didn't know what to say. He attempted to make a joke by saying "I'm about that dolla bill."

   There was a short silence before anyone laughed. Janet smiled, but Jay felt really stupid anyway.

   "You a baller, bro?" Tony asked him. "Hell yeah, me too. Up high!"

  At lunch Jay sat with Tony, they sat outside on the smoking patio. The benches were covered by a large plastic cover that protected them from the rain. Tony was telling Jay about a rap album he was producing for a friend when Sam came to meet up with them. Sam looked happy when Jay introduced him to Tony."

"What's with the smile, bro?" Tony asked. "You look like you just got laid or something."

"I just made two sells before lunch." Kyle said "I wasn't sure if I was going to get the hang of it. Three people from my training class have already been let go over some low sales so it's kind of a big deal."

"Good for you, man" Tom said "can't wait til I get on the sales floor."

"For sure." Kyle said "Alright, well I just wanted to say what's up because I know it's your first day, but I told these guys that I would come say what's up at lunch."

"Anyone we know?"

"Nah. Just some people that I work with, met through here. Anyway man I'll see you after work. Good meeting you Tony!" Sam said before walking out of the cafeteria and into one of the long hallways.

Then there was a loud rumbling noise that seemed to gently shake the building and rattle the windows.

"What the hell was that?" Tony asked.

"Almost felt like a mini earth quake" Jay said.

"That didn't feel like no, earthquake. That was like a shake. That was fucking weird, bro."

Doug, the new classes trainer, stared laughing and said "the buildings really old, some of the piping makes some really odd, intense sounds but don't be worried- you're all safe, the building is not going to fall apart."

Everyone laughed and continued their conversations. Jay noted that the training class seemed to be a lot friendlier and laid back than some of the sales employees seemed that morning. It seemed like the people on the sales floor were either really 'clicky' or were loners, either way they generally seemed to keep to themselves more than usual.

Jay made his way down the hall to the bathroom before lunch ended and he noticed a lot of the sales employees making their way back onto the floor. Jay also noted a large group of employees mostly dressed in black. They stood out as they all dressed similar and they all wore a lot of jewelry. It looked like gold bracelets and rings that they had won for high sales. Then Jay noticed that was the same group that Kyle was talking to. They seemed to be including him in their conversation. Jay wasn't sure if he impressed or worried.