Our first two contestants

Mr. Mitch And Sandra

Nerves turned Mitch’s stomach inside out as he stepped out of the subway and into the hustle and bustle of the big city. God, I’m such a bumpkin, he thought. ‘The big city,’ or Seattle as most called it, was so far removed from his home that he felt like he was on another world.

The station was crowded, and to his horror, the street was not much better. Though thankfully, his walk was going to be short. After less than a block, he found his first stop. The line to the Starbucks stretched all the way outside, which left Mitch standing in the rain. He didn’t mind, none, though. In fact he was grateful for it! A native to the desert, the rain was half the reason he agreed to take the job in Seattle. It was a much needed change of pace, feeling the rain on his skin, even if it was going to wash the gel out of his hair before his first day.

A woman’s voice caught Mitch’s attention as she approached the end of the line. “Shit, shit, shit…” A young woman approached the end of the line, one person separated from him. She was hunched over, holding a cream colored blazer over her head in a poor attempt to keep her white blouse dry.

“Shawty, did you forget where you live?” Laughed someone across the street. Mitch watched the girl scan her brown eyes nervously across the line, debating whether or not to stay. She was clearly distressed and looked young, maybe 18 or 19.

Instinctively, Mitch reached into his trench coat pocket and pulled out a collapsed spring loaded umbrella which he had held off on deploying just to enjoy the rain. He offered the person behind him his spot in line, which they quickly agreed to, putting Mitch next to the young woman. He pressed the button on the umbrella and it quickly shot open, creating a canopy above the two.

The girl let out a sigh of relief, letting her blazer fall to her shoulders, though her light shirt was rendered semi-transparent, allowing some men across the street to openly stare at her bra. “Thanks.” She said, giving Mitch a sincere but reserved smile before looking at the state of her clothes, giving a small whine of frustration.

“Of course.” He smiled. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. It looks like today’s an important day for you.”

She looked to him, they were about the same height in her heels, and thought for a second, clearly not expecting what he said. She was expecting the guy who looked to be in his thirties to be a bit of a creep. He was standing in the rain with no umbrella a second ago, and then when the young girl with a see-through shirt shows up, he has an excuse to stand next to her all of a sudden? She was expecting to have to make dull, uncomfortable small talk while ignoring his leering as the men walking down the street did. But his eyebrows were furrowed with sincerity and he was looking her straight in the eyes apologetically.

“Uh, yeah…” She nodded, taking in a sharp breath as she decided to take the risk and confide in the older man. “Yeah, today’s my, um, first day. As an intern.”

The man smiled wide, reminding her of how her dad reacted to the news. “Hey, that’s great! Congratulations.” He smiled, stepping forwards as the line moved a few inches.

The woman, Sandra, smiled involuntarily, feeling an unexpected sense of pride from the kind stranger. “Yeah, it would be. If I didn’t wear the thinest, whitest clothes I own. I mean, everyone’s gonna think I’m a…” She stopped herself from saying the word, not knowing how the man might react to such profanity. “It’s my first day and my dad said I should bring coffee to make a good impression.”

Mitch nodded empathetically. “Your dad’s a wise man.” He chuckled. “Believe it or not, it’s my first day at a new job, too. Buying a coffee for myself and some gift cards for my new team as my own first impression bribe.”

“No way!” Sandra smiled, neither of them believing the serendipity of the coincidence.

“What’s your internship?” Mitch asked. “If you don’t mind me asking.”

“No, please.” She beamed, quite pleased with the interaction so far. “Honestly it’s nice meeting a stranger who’s not a total dick in the big city.” She admitted. “I’m gonna be a secretary. A bit scared because I’m so new to the corporate world. How about you? What’s your new job?”

“Manager. Although when I first started out, I was a secretary just like you.” Mitch collapsed the umbrella as they stepped inside. Sandra gave him a look to say ‘no way,’ which he answered with a nod and smile. “Do you mind getting some unsolicited advice from an old guy?”

“Fire away! I really want to be an executive one day, so I’ll take anything to get a leg up.”

“First off, good. You stay hungry like that and you will move up. Otherwise you get trapped in middle management like me.” He laughed, flashing a sarcastic frown. “But seriously, don’t let yourself just be a secretary. You’re an intern, too, they need to be teaching you. If your boss is any good, they won’t just dictate what they need from you. They’ll explain what they’re doing, invite you in on meetings, give you a breakdown of how things operate. If they don’t do that, then you need to push and advocate for yourself. By the end you’ll never get hired at that company after your internship, but you also won’t be stuck with only having the skills of a secretary and getting trapped.”

Sandra nodded, grinning ear to ear at his candid explanation. For the past month she was terrified about making a good impression and not messing up. But she never considered that her bosses would also need to work for her. She was a student, after all.

After some time of Sandra bombarding Mitch with questions he was happy to answer, they eventually ordered their coffees and Mitch his gift cards. The two stepped outside into the rain, deploying his umbrella. Mitch checked his watch and saw he still had forty minutes before he needed to be at work. “Sandra, before we part, I’m going to give you one of these.” He flashed her a business card, laying it in the empty spot in her drink carrier. “Congratulations, you’ve just networked.”

Sandra laughed, awkwardly manipulating the heavy tray to look at the card. Justin Mitchell, the name read, though he had insisted she call him Mitch. “If you need a lead on jobs after college or have any questions, you can email me.”

“Thanks, Mitch.” She nodded, still shocked to have met a normal and kind person in such a big city. She didn’t come from the sticks or anything, but the suburbs trained her to think of big city people as self absorbed assholes. “I uh, hope it’s not too big of an imposition, but my clothes are just starting to dry. Would you be able to walk me to my building real quick?” She scrunched her face, not wanting to take advantage of Mitch’s kindness. “It’s just that one right across the street.” She jabbed her chin at the big skyscraper just across from them.

Mitch knitted his brow and looked at the building, then back at Sandra with an inquisitive expression. “I’m sorry, it’s ok, I can run and—“

“You work there?”

“Yeah but it’s—“

Mitch started laughing and shaking his head, leading Sandra to think she’d made a grave faux pas some how. “That’s where I’m going, too!”