by L. J. Hawke
They hugged it out, then it was Scar’s turn. Scar actually had a scar over her right eye from a motorcycle accident. Her real name was Dorothea, or Dorrie to most. She sported corded muscles from lifting swords and hay bales for onlookers to sit on to watch the bouts in her free time. She also worked with a real blacksmith and designed her own costumes.
Scar enjoyed sneaky attacks as well as blitzes. Her hair was more like Kandace's, more of a dusky red with black tips. Scar’s cheekbones were sharp enough to cut, and she wore shorts under a leather sarong, along with a leather bustier in black against Tania’s red. Scar held two dirks, one in each hand. They circled, then started swinging at each other.
Tania thought to herself, It’s my last night; might as well come out on top. She took Scar on with ferocity. There were flurries of blows, feints, dodges, rolls, slides, and fancy footwork. Tania swung, rolled, stabbed, spun, and went at it again, sweat running down her back, a wild grin on her face. They were at it for almost twenty minutes before the judge declared a draw.
Both women were a bit battered and bloody. “Buy you an ale,” said Tania. Scar, gasping, nodded. They sheathed their weapons and clasped greaves. They changed out of their fighting clothes, and Tania wiped herself down with a bucket of water and a sponge in the changing room. She checked each wrist and ankle carefully, but everything worked. She applied balm on her bruises and dressed, then turned in her rented equipment.
Tania and Scar bought each other some dark ale from the Society's keg on the side of the practice field. The women talked about their numerous bouts together, wished each other well, hugged it out, then Tania rejoined her friends.
Tania, Corinne, and Kandace stayed up all night. The Geeks were having an Avengers movie marathon, so they went there to relax after Tania’s fight. They popped popcorn and laced the bowls with mini M&M's, and drank Mountain Dew—the soda, not the local high-octane brew. Kandace and Corinne fussed over Tania's bruises and made snarky movie commentary that kept everybody laughing.
Tania wanted Tony Stark for her pretend husband, surprising the other two. “What?” asked Tania. “You girls whining ‘cause I didn’t pick Captain America?”
“Thor all the way,” said Kandace.
“Loki,” said Corinne. They both stared at her.
“You like bad guys,” said Tania. She sighed and stole popcorn from Kandace’s bowl. Kandace stole more back. Tania glared at her and said, “I want my guy to be smart. Precise. A little dangerous.” Kandace snorted and stole more popcorn.
They walked back down the road at dawn, past the people stumbling around in last night's party clothes, dancing to music only they could hear. They arrived at the dorm and looked at their packed things. Tania got the suitcase she had packed before graduation, stuffed it behind the seat of Corinne’s ancient red truck, and went with her girls to the airport.
They found a Waffle House on the way and ordered pecan waffles, crispy bacon, and orange juice. “My entire life in a rolling bag,” said Tania.
“Not much more for us,” said Corinne. “‘Cept for Kandace’s climbing gear.”
“Cliffs and cabins are our friends.” Kandace sucked on orange juice.
“I hate this leaving thing.” Tania tried not to cry.
“Shut your mouth, woman. These are fan-freaking-tastic waffles. And the bacon is extra crispy.” Corinne grabbed a piece of bacon, bit into it with a crunch.
Tania looked at Kandace and grabbed her hand. Kandace dried her eyes and hugged Tania. Corinne finished her bacon, sighed, and hugged Tania on the other side. They wiped their tears and finished breakfast.
They got to the airport two hours before Tania's international flight. Tania did everything she learned to do in the travel videos. She took off her tiny butterfly hair clips in the bathroom and stowed them in her luggage, and put on comfortable sweats and tennis shoes, her passport safely in a case around her neck. She came back out of the bathroom ready to harass her friends. “Y'all better call, text, email,” said Tania.
“I will,” said Corinne.
Tania cut her eyes at Kandace. Kandace sighed, pissed at having to spell it out. “I will stay sober,” she said.
Tania narrowed her eyes. “You better. Not scraping you off a damn sidewalk.” Kandace’s best friend in the Program, Marti, had relapsed, gotten drunk, and climbed the water tower during a hot summer night of high wind gusts before a storm hit the next day. She fell off while drunk, lapsed into a coma, and died four days later.
Corinne cringed. “Hey.”
Kandace held up a hand as if swearing on a Bible. “I will stay sober and not fall off the water tower to a horrific death. Or be a stupid ass and go bungee jumping with those crazy college kids. Yeah, they're mostly old bikers at my meetings, but there are no old bold bikers.”
“Cool,” said Tania. They clasped hands, let go. Corinne and Kandace walked behind Tania’s silver rolling bag, her computer case with its ultralight, cheap pink Walmart laptop on her shoulder. They stood with her as she scanned her passport, received an e-ticket, and went to the desk to turn in her luggage and get her boarding pass.
They walked her to the security gate. “Come back to us,” said Corinne.
Tania rolled her eyes. “I'm going to South Korea, not the moon. It's got a lot of really tall buildings, and apparently it's more wired than Japan.”
“Rock and rule it,” said Kandace. “If I've learned any damn thing, it's that life is extremely short. Enjoy every damn minute.”
“Will do,” said Tania. A last hug and tears, and she went through the glass doors, a smile on her face as she walked into her new life.
Heaven Life
Tania had a week to move out and go...somewhere. It was three weeks before winter vacation, and only a few months into her new year-long contract. Very few schools would hire at that time of year, the same in Japan as well. Tania had to go somewhere. She decided she might as well try to find someplace warm.
Since she was days away from losing her teaching visa, Tania had to leave the country on a visa run anyway. She decided to attend a job fair in Thailand that would start in three days, edited her resumes, went to a printer to print them, and cried when she had to spend precious money that could have been spent on her massive education debts on a ticket for Chiang Mai.
She had paid off thirty-eight percent of them by living in a studio apartment she could barely turn around in and eating mostly ramen noodles, but her after-school academy where she had taught had closed suddenly when the owner’s father had a heart attack. He survived, but his son closed the academy to care for him.
Tania couldn’t go back to the USA, after application after application for schools all over the country were rejected. It was right before winter break. Her friends had their own new lives, and she could never go back to where she came from again. She shuddered. Except for her grandmother and brother, who both hated her, she had no real family except Corinne and Kandace. Her friends were enough; they had to be. They were in their own economic holes; she couldn’t ask them to help bail her out. No, Tania had to stand on her own.
Tania thought it through and decided to apply for both education and online marketing jobs everywhere she could. She still had online marketing clients from the States, but that income wasn’t anywhere near enough to pay the rent. Tania answered job website ads in various countries, including Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Her future was terrifying but open. Every decision she made would either bring her closer to her goals or blow up all the forward progress she had made. She hoped she was making the right decision to go to the job fair in Thailand. If she didn’t get a job, she’d have to spend more money to fly back or find another job fair in Asia.
Going from icy winter to a balmy and humid climate was delightful. The plane ride to Chiang Mai was relatively short, and Tania changed into shorts and a loose shirt in the bathroom when she landed. She stuffed all of her winter clothes in the bottom of her backpack and went to catch a motorcycle taxi for he
r backpacker hotel. She bought sunblock and mosquito repellent at a nearby convenience store and applied both before checking in.
The next morning, Tania took a motorcycle taxi to the job fair. She was stunned to see the sheer number of people lined up outside the conference center/hotel, resumes in backpacks, briefcases, and held in clear folders. Tania perused online ads on her cell phone while waiting in line. Once inside, Tania circled the space like a shark and put in applications for both teaching and marketing but was exhausted and discouraged by the end of four hours. No interview had lasted longer than three minutes. “Happy birthday,” she said to herself.
Tania took a motorcycle taxi back to her backpacker hotel, ordered lunch and some iced lime tea at a cafe, and started looking up job sites online. She spied an online ad for a specialist in internet marketing to help an import-export company working with Thai businesses. Tania applied for that job, ate her late lunch, applied for more jobs online, and got her one and only answer from the thirty-one jobs she’d applied for that day. She made an online appointment to visit the import-export business the next day.
In the morning, Tania took a tuk tuk, a motorcycle with a sheltered seat in back to the address. It was just north of the Nimman District, famous for providing housing and working spaces for people working online who called themselves digital nomads. There were hotels, cafes with dozens of tables with computer hook-ups and even pools and gyms, places advertising laundry washed and charged by the kilo, restaurants spilling the scents of lemongrass and lime into the air.
Tania entered the gate in the white wall that led to the building and found herself in a cool courtyard with a small fountain. She smiled looking down at the carp in the artificial pond. Tania walked over the little bridge and opened the door to the building of teak and glass. Inside the long, narrow space a Thai woman sat at a front desk, her hair perfectly coiffed, wearing a dark blue skirt and a gold, silk top. Tania was glad she’d also went with a skirt and went up and introduced herself. “I'm Tania Brussell, here to see Mr. Kaung.”
“Yes, of course,” said the woman in perfect English. “Please, have a seat.” Tania did, smoothing her skirt.
A woman in black Capris and a coral top with a backpack on her back came out, high ponytail swinging behind her. She moved at a brisk pace, her low heels clacking on the tile floor, and slammed the door shut behind her.
“Mr. Kaung will see you now,” said the receptionist, unperturbed by the woman’s outburst. Tania stood up, walked back to the office, and peered in. The person standing behind the curved mahogany desk was tall, with black hair somehow layered with shimmery copper that brushed his shoulders. Hell of an expensive dye job, Tania thought. He wore khaki slacks and a royal blue polo shirt that brought out the copper overlaying his black hair. His coppery skin was smooth, and he had huge brown eyes. He unfolded himself from his seat, stood, and smiled gently at Tania.
“Please be seated,” he said. “My name is Sanur Kaung. I would be delighted to hear more about what you do.” He gestured to the two rattan seats in front of his desk. His voice was cultured, precise, with hints of both British and Australian accents.
Tania took in a breath, fought for composure. Those eyes kicked up her heart rate. “My name is Tania Brussell.” She sat in one of the proffered seats. “I've been teaching as well as working on marketing, specifically social media marketing, to bring together small businesses and individuals. I know how to do ad campaigns that bring people to your website.”
“Anyone can do that,” said Mr. Kaung. “I need someone punctual, reliable, who doesn't live on Thai time. I may have you work with clients, find me a new receptionist, and do other things as needed. I need someone who can multitask.”
“So you want me to be your office manager as well as your internet marketer?” asked Tania. “And the receptionist is leaving?”
“Yes,” he said. “Leyva, the person you met at the front desk, is doing me a favor right now. She's off to a university in the United States in a week.”
“How wonderful for Leyva,” said Tania. “I will congratulate her on the way out.”
Mr. Kaung smiled. “That's the kind of small touch that I'm looking for. This business is doing very well. Thai people and those from the surrounding countries have some excellent products, mostly furniture and art, that can be sold all over the world. It's my job to get those products out. The craftspeople who make them are working in their homes or with small manufacturing. These people deserve just as much of a chance as large businesses. With online sales, they receive most of the profit.”
“And your cut?”
“Ten percent across the board. You see, I already have money. I don't need to steal money from the people that I'm trying to help.”
“That's a change from how people normally do business. At least in the United States.”
“You'll find the people of Thailand a bit different.” Mr. Kaung smiled, then his eyes grew serious. “I will give you thirty percent over what I promised to pay in the ad if you will be my office manager as well as my internet salesperson.”
“Do you need help with your website? I've looked at it, and I can think of a few improvements you can make.”
Mr. Kaung raised his eyebrows. “Excellent. What exactly would you like to change?”
“Well, it's a small business. You want to really make the products shine. The colors are a little too garish, and some of the wording is a bit stilted. You want to come across as friendly while still being professional.”
“And you can do that for me?”
“I can.” Tania kept her voice cheerful but worked to show her competence. “I went through the Free Code Camp program, learning to program both the front and back end of websites.”
“Well, once you learn Thai, you can do some translation on this end.”
“It'll cost you.” Tania smiled to take the sting out of her words, but she meant them.
Mr. Kaung smiled back. “I'm absolutely certain that it will. What you will need to do is bill me for your separate activities. We will compile them into a salary. For now, the base salary is thirty percent over the one in the ad, but we’ll add on more when you sign the contract for your website work. You will also have an hour and a half for lunch. There's normally a two-hour lunch here, but I expect you to be back in the office before then.”
“Of course.”
“Have you selected an apartment yet?”
“No, I have not. I figured it was better to find a job first.”
“Well then, there's a place not two blocks from here. It has a pool and is a one-bedroom apartment. It also has a small gym, a convenience store, and a laundry.”
“How much a month?” Tania tried to keep the fear out of her voice. An apartment with a pool sounded expensive. She would live in a shack if she had to.
Kaung grinned. “The rent is only three hundred American dollars a month, so I will pay for that. You will be required to pay some bills, but they probably won't come to more than a hundred dollars a month.”
“That sounds excellent.” Tania tried not to dance in her seat. “What made you choose me so quickly?”
“You're young, you're bright, and you're not here just to see the sights. You're here to work. I read between the lines on your cover letter, and I'm sorry that your last school closed so suddenly. You've been living overseas for over a year, and it's obvious that you have a grasp of expat life.” Tania nodded, and Mr. Kaung sighed. “Many of the people applying are so-called digital nomads. They're here to begin a business that they can do online and use it to travel. Expat living is not nomad living, and I don't want someone who will be here for two months and then vanish. I've made the mistake of hiring people like that, and I don't want to do it again.”
Tania nodded. “I understand. I will be happy to sign a multi-year contract.”
Mr. Kaung wrote something on a sticky note, pulled it off its pad, and stood. Tania stood as well. “Welcome to my company.” He shook Tania’s proffered
hand.
“Thank you.” Tania smiled at her new employer. He smelled...like paper and incense. A little dry and smoky at the same time. And that hair. She had to sneak into his calendar and find the name of his hairdresser someday.
Mr. Kaung let Tania’s hand go. “I will have Leyva move back my afternoon calls. Let's get you the apartment. I take it your things are in a hotel?”
Tania was elated by the fast turn of events. “They are, Mr. Kaung. I only have one more box that can be shipped. It will be nice to get rid of all of my winter things.” She granted Mr. Kaung a dazzling smile.
“That it will. Please, call me Sanur.”
“Sanur?” asked Tania. “Isn't that a segment of Bali?”
“Yes, it is. My parents fell in love there.”
“That sounds romantic.” Tania smiled and went ahead of Sanur at his gesture.
“Apparently it was.” They went to the reception desk. “Leyva, please move back my afternoon calls by thirty minutes, then alter the employment contract in these ways and leave it on your desk.” He handed over the yellow note with the changes. “After that, please get yourself some lunch.”
“Yes, boss,” said Leyva and laughed.
“Congratulations on attending college,” Tania said.
Leyva smiled, showing all her blindingly white teeth. “Thank you. Hard work gets you everywhere!”
Sanur opened the door for Tania. “Let's go.” They walk the two blocks in silence because a building was under construction nearby. “Sorry about the noise. It's the price of doing business here. Things are booming in Chiang Mai, and you'll find that there is some construction nearly everywhere. It's quieter here, believe it or not. As I've said, your new apartment building has a convenience store as well as a laundromat. It's usually only a dollar or two to wash your clothes."
“Fantastic, I much prefer that. Takes up less of my time.” Tania meant every word. No one in South Korea used clothes dryers. Hanging up laundry to dry in a small apartment was annoying.