Happy to Help

Sarah Collins was in an unenviable situation. A recent university graduate, she was enjoying her time in London so much that she didn’t want to return home once her studying was done but the same could not be said of her flatmate and she had moved out as soon as term was finished.

Sarah had managed to rent a studio flat on the outskirts of the city but what was left of her student loan was fast running out and she had been unsuccessful in finding a graduate role so far. Now she was faced with being unable to make rent at the end of the month and having to return home to her parents.

With time running out she had been applying to anything and everything just hoping to get a role to pay the bills. Any interviews she had been granted had all ended the same way, she lacked experience, 

“How can I lack experience for an entry position?” she sighed as she lay back on her bed.

As she picked up her phone to check her emails she noticed the missed call and message on her voicemail, it had been from the manager of the local supermarket offering her an interview for that afternoon. It may not have been the ideal role but Sarah was desperate and responded saying that she would be able to make it.

Sarah’s slim figure was still dressed in her interview attire from that morning, smart black shoes and skirt with a white blouse and dark green jacket. Her long blonde hair was done up and she wore a modest amount of makeup on her face. At 6 foot even she was the epitome of eye catching.

Sarah arrived 15 minutes early for her interview and was led through to the manager’s office, if you could call it that, it was basically a desk, two chairs, a couple of filing cabinets, no windows and seemed to share space with excess promotional merchandise. One of the chairs was taken up by the manager, a heavyset man who appeared to be in his early fifties, dressed in a cheap suit with a shirt that he couldn’t possibly hope to fasten around his thick neck. He struggled to get up to greet Sarah.

“Miss Collins, thank you for making it on such short notice”, 

“Not at all Mr Peterson, thank you for seeing me” replied Sarah.

The interview went as standard as interviews go, tedious questions that really had no bearing on the position but had to be asked nonetheless. When it came to the any more questions part Sarah had asked when she would know if she was successful or not to which Mr Peterson had replied

“Well I can tell you now that you have been unsuccessful I’m afraid”

At this news Sarah became teary and asked if she could have some feedback on why she had failed this time, 

“Well to be honest Sarah I think this role is beneath you, you’re a university graduate but here you are applying for a basic cashier’s role. I invited you in for an interview because I thought you might have been padding your CV but I can see now you are just as intelligent as you make out to be and for that reason I just don’t see you fitting in here.” 

“But please Mr Peterson, I don’t think the role is beneath me, I really need this job or I’ll lose my flat, is there any way you will reconsider?” asked Sarah.

“I’m sorry Sarah but I’m really looking to employ someone who will be here a while, you know as well as I do that someone with your skill set would be off as soon as something better came along and I’m back here having to hire and train someone else. Not to mention how you would get on with the other staff.”

“But I get on really well with everyone” replied Sarah 

“Well that may be the case but the truth is you’re of a different generation to most of the women who work here, they don’t take kindly to young college know it all’s, as they put it. And the men, well you’re a beautiful young woman, I don’t have to tell you how that would cause havoc with that lecherous bunch of oiks”.

Sarah began to full on sob “I just don’t know what I’m going to do”, 

“Listen, Sarah I understand you must be desperate but these situations need to be mutually beneficial and I just don’t see how hiring you would be beneficial to SafeShop” 

Sarah suddenly had a moment of clarity “How about if you signed me to a temporary contract? You could set the minimum term at a year and add a break clause that I would owe back my wages if I left before a year? I’m so very loyal so there’s nothing to worry about!”

“Well I could sign you to a year’s temp contract but I’m not sure I could add those kind of stipulations and it still doesn’t help you fit in here but I am impressed with your determination, would you really stay for a year?”, 

“Absolutely! And I’d do my very best to fit in!”

At this Mr Peterson got up and began digging through a filing cabinet, when he turned round he placed the store uniform on the desk, which was merely a green tabard with the company logo on the breast along with a contract.

“Oh thank you Mr Peterson, you won’t regret this” cried Sarah, 

“Now just to be sure, you really want to do this?” asked Mr Peterson 

“Definitely, I’ll even start today”, 

“Very well, if you could just fill in the contract and put on your uniform I’ll get someone to show you through induction”.

With that Sarah dried her eyes, luckily her makeup was waterproof, and filled in the contract. When she was done she stood up and lifted the tabard over her head. Almost immediately after fastening the belt at the side she began to feel strange.

First to change was her clothes, it seemed to start at her feet and work its way up. Her smart interview clothes seemed to shimmer as they remoulded themselves, first her black shoes morphed into a pair of plain white trainers, not brand ones either. Next her black skirt lengthened and rearranged itself into a pair of blue denim jeans with a high, elasticated waist, Sarah had seen these referred to as ‘mom jeans’ on the internet and had never thought she’d actually wear a pair. Her green jacket seemed to disappear completely as her blouse thickened into a cream coloured knit sweater that then rolled down to her wrists.

“What’s going on?” stammered Sarah, 

“Consider this a helping hand” replied Peterson, “This will help you fit in, you’ll find your wardrobe back home will have changed to similar attire too. Much more fitting for your new role and your new figure”, 

“My new figure?” asked Sarah in horror as the changes next went to her body. 

No sooner had she finished her question then she shrunk about a foot in height. Her skin felt like it was crawling as her body fat redistributed itself over her body, her breasts shrank as she grew a pot belly that pushed against her sweater. She could feel her muscle mass almost evaporate as her pert bum inflated and then drooped onto thighs with a lot more jiggle to them. While not fat by any means she was now undoubtedly out of shape and flabby.

Sarah’s chin receded and the skin beneath it became mushy so that whenever she looked down she would get a double chin, making her look fatter than she actually was. Her makeup disappeared from her face, her long blonde hair shortened and restyled itself into a tight perm as a smattering of lines invaded her features appearing to age her about twenty years.

“That’s better” said Peterson “Now the men won’t be leering over you all day and the women will accept you as one of their own” as he pinned a badge on her tabard that read ‘Sarah, Happy to Help’.

 “Now that contract is for one year at the end of which if you decide to leave I’ll change you back. But it does also include an option for us to make it permanent if we’re happy with your performance. I really dislike the hiring process and like you said, you’re going to try so hard to fit in and you’re so very loyal, I can see you being here for many, many years. Welcome to the ShopSafe family”.