It’s time for the Friday Fictioneers again!
“Okay, let me explain how this is going to work. Go to the park and light the first and fourth lamp of the menorah. Your contact will light the seventh. Here’s a picture.”
“This is my contact?”
“No, your contact will be twelve feet to the left of this man. Next, take this antique phone and dial 337. He will dial 105. Last, take these crayons and draw the Vietnamese flag on a nearby birch tree. His countersign will be to say: ‘That’s not the Japanese flag’.”
“And then I can get a job interview?”
“No, then Stage 2 begins.”
January 17th, 2013 at 5:13 pm
Wow.. Nice … All this for a stage 2 with no job interview in sight.. I can already see him losing interest if even after stage 2 he doesn’t get a job interview.. 🙂
January 17th, 2013 at 7:11 pm
I guess it depends on what the job is. 🙂 I’d go through a lot for some jobs.
January 17th, 2013 at 7:14 pm
Dear David,
Job interview? Makes me wonder what kind of job. I really enjoyed this piece. It reminded me of a Rowan and Martin routine, if you’re old enough to remember them. If not look them up.
Well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
January 19th, 2013 at 10:16 pm
Rochelle, I hadn’t heard of them before, but I looked them up on Youtube and watched some. Very funny stuff, so I’ll take it as a compliment. 🙂
January 19th, 2013 at 10:19 pm
David,
it makes me happy that you looked them up. They used to do a spy routine that was hilarious. And you may certainly take it as a compliment!
January 17th, 2013 at 7:20 pm
Good evening, Mr. Stewart,
Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to…..
Nice story, but the job? Hard telling, not knowing. Stage two sounds intriguing though.
Aloha,
Doug
January 19th, 2013 at 10:46 pm
Thank you, Mr. Macilroy. It definitely had a spy feeling to it, but I didn’t want to define it as such. Maybe it’s for a janitorial position.
January 17th, 2013 at 7:36 pm
Wonderful… suspenseful and strangely menacing….! 😉
January 17th, 2013 at 8:41 pm
I would only do this Stage 1 either if the job will make the perfect cover for a heist I am planning, or maybe …
Good story
January 17th, 2013 at 9:34 pm
WIth greater attion to be paid to details…
January 17th, 2013 at 9:35 pm
*Attention*
January 17th, 2013 at 11:31 pm
I once went through this kind of selection process… 😉
January 18th, 2013 at 1:11 am
Ah, he must be going through a temp agency…
January 18th, 2013 at 10:04 am
Yeah, really 🙂
January 18th, 2013 at 8:01 am
Oh, I love it! Funny, David. You managed to incorporate everything. Nicely done.
January 18th, 2013 at 10:03 am
When I first saw that picture, I almost despaired of finding any commonality; there are so many things in the picture. That’s why I decided not to go the serious route.
January 18th, 2013 at 8:24 am
An intriguing tale – I’d love to know what Stage 2 entails 🙂
January 18th, 2013 at 10:01 am
Hopefully whatever it is, the job is worth it.
January 18th, 2013 at 8:30 am
Yes–quirky and weird. (Hmmm, where did I get those two words? And why is the theme song for “Mission Impossible” running through my head?
🙂
janet
January 18th, 2013 at 9:56 am
Quirky and weird…I guess those aren’t bad things 🙂
January 18th, 2013 at 9:34 am
Oy, never mind the job.
Do have a crossword puzzle and maybe a spritzer of seltzer to give me to drink and take my mind off of round one fer a while?
(lots of fun)
Randy
January 18th, 2013 at 11:57 am
mysterious! makes me wanna take that job.. if only to know what it’s about.lol ^^
January 18th, 2013 at 1:20 pm
Oh nice…very original David
January 18th, 2013 at 1:49 pm
Talk about making a person jump through hoops. Dang. That’s really something. Is this for some crazy, geek, spy club? 😀
January 18th, 2013 at 9:37 pm
could be. I’ll let you decide. 🙂
January 18th, 2013 at 4:32 pm
soooooooo real!
January 18th, 2013 at 9:35 pm
yeah, I’m about to look for another job and it’s not easy in the least. I guess that’s why I thought of it. 🙂
January 19th, 2013 at 12:42 am
great post. my son’s in grad school and is having nightmares of this kind of interview. I’m sending him the link to this story.
January 19th, 2013 at 12:50 am
Thanks. 🙂 I guess this was my own painful experiences with looking for a job.
January 19th, 2013 at 3:10 am
Hi David,
Talk about tough entrance requirements. Excellent use of humor here! Ron
January 19th, 2013 at 9:26 am
It’s a tough economy……LOL!
January 19th, 2013 at 10:41 am
Nice one Mr Kafka.
January 19th, 2013 at 11:36 am
Hmm, I did write it with that in mind, but now that you mention it…
January 19th, 2013 at 12:19 pm
Sounds like a Paul Auster opening
January 19th, 2013 at 7:39 pm
Somehow I don’t think he’ll be getting the job. Great take on the prompt.
January 19th, 2013 at 9:00 pm
I thought all job interviews were a little like this…? But I think it was an ash tree in my case 🙂 very funny piece though.
January 19th, 2013 at 9:14 pm
Thanks. I’m sure every industry uses their own types of trees at this stage in the process. Plus, medical fields make you draw African flags. 🙂
January 20th, 2013 at 2:18 am
(Snicker!) Too funny – all that rigamarole, suitable for a bunch of college kids playing spy, and then you give us the perfectly plausible explanation of what’s really going on! I love it.
January 20th, 2013 at 3:05 pm
holy crap that’s a lot for just stage 1. well done.
January 20th, 2013 at 10:45 pm
So, do you think Stage 2 is even worse, or is it just “Sign your name here”. I guess we’ll never know.
January 22nd, 2013 at 7:02 am
So far the challenge seems to focuc on his ability to follow instruction and attention to detail. I would love to know what obstacles and challenges “Stage 2” will bring. I wonder if he applied for the job or was selected…..Great story!
January 22nd, 2013 at 9:37 am
That’s a good point: I could see some company doing this just to test how well someone followed instructions. As for what comes next…I guess we’ll never know. I’ll let you decide. Thanks for the comments. 🙂