Candy cringed. “Uh, what do you know about shorthand?”
“Like, my left hand is a quarter inch shorter than my right hand! Next question!” Sandy urged without showing the slightest clue that she was botching the interview.
“Uh...Sandy, how do you plan to get to New York?”
“I'm going to hitchhike! I've got two hundred dollars in my savings that I will, like, use for food and all. Next question!” Sandy pressed in an excited voice. “Totally!”
Candy looked at Betty with a painful expression and then closed her eyes. She needed to think. Sandy was a twenty-one-year-old young woman who was being thrown out of her home. She needed a job...was willing to stick out her thumb to reach New York...had two hundred dollars to her name...and couldn't type. Boy, oh boy. “Sandy...tell me something about yourself.”
“Like, I grew up in the Valley...big fan of the 80s...got my associate’s degree...and now I'm ready for the real world. I mean, like, I even have two hundred dollars saved up! How rad is that? Sandy answered in a proud tone.
Candy drew in a deep breath. Something in Sandy's voice reached deep into her heart. “Well, Sandy, the ad you saw online didn't mention any specific jobs.”
“Like, a toy factory will need a secretary.”
“Yes, but I can handle that part myself. What I need...and the job I think that would fit you...would be that of a teddy bear maker,” Candy explained.
“A teddy bear maker?”
“Sure.” Candy took a quick sip of coffee. “The job is fun and pays well...and free room and meals come with the position along with health insurance...and college money.” Betty made a funny face. Candy held up her right hand. “Would you be interested?”
“What would I be doing?”
“You would be bringing teddy bears to life.” Candy smiled.
“Well...I mean, like, that does sound really rad and all...sure, why not!” Sandy announced in an excited voice. “Like, when do I start? I will, like, need time to hitchhike from California to New York.”
“Uh, I would rather send you a plane ticket, Sandy. The sooner you arrive, the better.” Candy started to feel a strange urgency in her heart. Why? She wasn't sure. All she knew was that all of a sudden, she felt that she had to get Sandy away from Los Angeles and to New York as soon as possible. “When can you leave?”
“Like, today if you want. Totally!” Sandy couldn't believe her ears. “Are you, like, really going to fly me to New York?”
“First class,” Candy promised. “I'll call the airport in Los Angeles and buy the ticket for you and then call you back. You need to pack—”
“Well, like...I said my parents are going to throw me out of the house...they, like, well...kind of already did. I'm living, like, on the beach. My bags are already packed. No one here at the surfboard place knows that, though.”
“Oh...well, then...is there a Western Union nearby?” Candy asked.
“Totally...there's one just down the street.”
Candy grabbed the paper and pencil Betty had been holding. “I need the name and address of the store. I'm going to send you money. Take a cab straight to the airport.”
Sandy almost fainted. “Like, are you for real?”
“I'm for real,” Candy promised in a stern tone. “Sandy, give me the address of the store.”
“Like...sure...” Sandy felt a strange—scary—feeling enter her heart. Suddenly, she felt like she had to get out of Los Angeles as soon as possible. And what was even stranger...even though she was only hearing Candy's voice—the voice of a strange woman—she felt as if she somehow knew Candy. “Uh, like, I'm starting to feel really scared and all.”
“Just get your bags and go to the store. When you get the money I'm going to send, I want you to take a cab directly to the airport. Your plane ticket will be waiting.” The feeling of getting Sandy out of Los Angeles started to become more intense. It was like...hearing a pack of wild dogs in the distance and seeing an innocent bunny rabbit trapped in a shallow hole.
“Like, sure...uh, let me tell you what you need to know.” Sandy hurried and told Candy the address of the store. “Like...uh, I have red hair...I'm a little short...I'm wearing a blue shirt and a gray beach dress...just in case something happens to me because...like…suddenly I'm starting to feel really scared.”
“When you get the money, call me. I want you to stay on the phone with me until you board your flight. Is that clear? As a matter of fact, don't hang up. I'm going to leave my home right now and transfer the money.”
“Like, okay...”
“I'll go!” Betty shot to her feet. Something in Candy's eyes and voice told Betty that the girl she was speaking to was in danger. “I'll send the money.”
“Send a thousand dollars.” Candy handed Betty the piece of paper she had written Sandy’s information on. “I'll pay you back.”
