Being a senior in college and finding out I was accepted to an internship at a prestigious law firm elated me! A partner at the firm was a former graduate of my college and embraced the upcoming generation. He was willing to take me under his wing and I wasn’t going to let him down.
My hours were half days on Mondays and full days on Wednesdays. Yikes – only a week to prepare myself for my first professional position! I quickly made an appointment at a salon for a well-needed haircut to tame my shirley-temple locks. Looking in my closet I had plenty of clothes from Shaky Jakes, my go-to consignment shop, but my $3 Denim jacket with the cigarette burn hole on the left sleeve somehow seemed inappropriate. So off to TJ Maxx. I bought several classic suits, matching shoes, stud earrings and conservative underclothes. I was ready to go and perfectly coiffed.
On my first day, I woke up extra early to the silence of my roommates sleeping. I dressed with a tiny light on so I wouldn’t disturb them. Beautiful gray skirt suit, fuchsia silk blouse, single strand of pearls. Hair was modern, shoes were stylish and didn’t pinch, face was blemish-free, eye shadow applied perfectly. Looking fresh from head to toe and felt like I was a ‘big girl’ ready to take on the world!
I nervously rode the elevator up to the eighth floor and fidgeted as I greeted my mentor. Bill was 20+ years older than me, had an excellent reputation in the community, was the manager of a large staff and was mild mannered and gentle. He took me around the office to meet his staff pointing out the obvious – bathroom, kitchen, filing cabinets etc. I smiled politely as I was introduced to the entire office staff. They were cordial and welcoming.
My first tasks were to review a file, prepare a summary, make copies of various pleadings, and file a stack of documents. During the day, I walked back and forth around the office, in and out of files, over to the copy machine, back to the filing cabinets, into the kitchen. I passed by at least twenty people during the morning and swear if I had eyes in the back of my head I would have seen people staring at me in a peculiar way. Maybe I was just paranoid, or maybe they thought I was a fashion queen – after all everything I had on was ‘tres chique’.
At noontime, I said goodbye and thanked Bill for a great first day – he waved back to me, smiling, “See you Wednesday Gayle – thank you!” I was relieved to have the first day over with and looked forward to the next five months! Once in the hallway I realized the morning flew by so quickly that I didn’t have a spare minute to go to the rest room. I walked in the ladies room and went over to the mirror to fix my hair. There before me, as I lifted a brush to fix my hair, were two gargantuan white, notebook-sized price tags hanging from my armpit…..
Maybe, just maybe, someone could have said something to me? Stay tuned for Part 2 tomorrow…..