A PAINFUL EXPERIENCE

The advert in the evening paper seemed the answer to Jill's financial predicament, or credit carditus to be precise. 'Are you chatty with a friendly personality?' it read. 'Telephone canvassers required. No experience necessary.’ She was called in for an interview with a lady named Jackie, so the following evening she presented herself at 'Sealit Windows'.

The office was down a dingy alley and she couldn't help but notice that one of the office windows was smashed and two of the glass panels in the front door were missing. As she opened what remained of the door she entered a showroom littered with various bits of double glazing. A voice from upstairs shouted: 'Hello,' and Jill replied that she'd come for an interview. 'Come up^’ the mystery voice shouted back. Jill found herself in a room full of men and women all shouting down telephones.

In a corner sat a woman with yellow streaks in her hair and behind her was a large board with everyone's name on it and how many appointments they'd made that night.

The walls were peppered with notices reading 'Smile As You Dial!' and 'If You Don't Like The Phone You'd Better Go Home!'. The woman rose to greet Jill. She was wearing a pelmet for a skirt and a thick ladder had crept up her black tights. She introduced herself as Jackie and sat Jill down at a desk explaining that although they only paid the basic rate, astronomical wages could be earned depending on how many appointments you could clock up. More money was available if any of yours sold and she told Jill that the world would be her oyster.

This statement was met by a sarcastic cough from a woman on the front desk and after giving her the evil eye, Jackie asked her if she could start immediately. Taken by surprise Jill said yes, so Jackie set about finding her a folder and a phone that worked.

'You'll have to work a week in hand,' she said, ripping a page out of a telephone directory. 'You're doing the five nights aren't you?'

Jill answered in the affirmative, frightened of saying no in the present economic climate.

Jackie sat her next to a young girl who seemed to be having trouble pronouncing surnames. 'Jasmine,' Jackie shouted over the din. The girl looked up open-mouthed. 'Whar?'

'This is Jill. Let her listen to you for a while and help her out if she goes wrong.'

With that, Jackie disappeared into another room where most of the male sales force seemed to have gathered.

After fifteen minutes of listening to Jasmine she felt confident enough to have a go on her own. She worked her way down the list until she'd gone through a complete page of the telephone directory without making a single appointment.

As she walked to her car the man with the hangover caught her up and offered a few cheery words, saying that if she hadn't got any appointments by the end of the week, they'd probably sack her.

The next night passed with no appointments as did the following two. Even Jasmine with her absent brain was notching up more than her. Jackie kept giving the odd word of encouragement but Jill could tell by the tone of her voice that she had been earmarked for the door marked 'Exit'. Desperate measures were called for.

Two days a week Jill worked behind the counter for a newsagent and the locals liked to fill her in on the local gossip. Top of the agenda with most people was the amount of burglaries in the area. Salvation was at hand. She seized the opportunity and let it be known to all and sundry that she worked for a window company. People were only too willing to make an appointment with her as they surveyed their mutilated windows and doors although a few wags suggested that it had been her going round smashing windows then offering replacements.

She did feel like a Judas though, cashing in on the misfortune of others but to ease her conscience she told herself that all she needed was an appointment, they didn't have to buy anything off 'Sealit'.

Soon she was top of the charts on Jackie's board and won numerous little prizes thanks to an alarming robbery rate but her Nemesis was just around the corner.

Coming home one Friday with her forty pieces of silver, her face dropped when she saw her curtains blowing in the wind.

Long shards of glass lay in the front garden glinting in the moonlight. The front door was off its hinges and when she went inside, there was an ominous gap where the television and DVD player had once been.

A chill wind blew through the smashed window and on the carpet lay a leaflet that someone had put through the broken window. 'Having trouble with your windows?' it read. 'Ring 'GaleGuard Windows' for a free, no obligation quote.'

From one Judas to another.

by BERYL LOMAS.