Tim Grant adjusted his tie for what seemed like the tenth time.
"Dude, you really need to relax. Everybody who gets picked to Shadow gets placed, you don't even need to try."
Tim glared in the mirror at the reflection of his roommate, Seth. "That's not the point. First impressions matter. This could be the start of my future!"
Seth just rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to SportsCenter. Tim sighed and looked himself over again in the mirror. The lanky, unremarkable 20-year-old was as ready as he'd ever be. He grabbed his bag and headed out of the dorm.
It was the day he had been waiting for all semester. He had applied to the college's uber-selective job shadowing program. Students in the program got to closely shadow real professionals in real work environments, full time. Hundreds of students applied every year, but only a handful got selected. Those that did, however, inevitably landed real, paying careers in short order.
And they must have been lucrative careers, because Tim had never heard of any student returning to campus after their placement. And now it was his turn, as he entered the small building near the edge of campus.
A mousy young woman was seated at a desk in the lobby. She looked up at Tim through thick glasses and smiled nervously.
"You- you must be one of the selectees?"
"Yeah, um, Tim Grant's the name."
"Wonderful! Go on in, Ms. Newsome is expecting you."
Tim was a little weirded out at how that... secretary or whatever she was... had looked at him, but she seemed harmless. He walked down the hall and stopped at the first open door to see a large, well adorned office.
"Come on in, Mr. Grant. Welcome. And congratulations!"
The older woman smiled warmly from behind the large oak desk. The purple skirt suit hugged her mature body tightly - just a hint of cleavage poked out at the top of her blazer. A mane of auburn hair flowed past her shoulders. She oozed sexiness and confidence.
"Uh, thank you Ms. Newsome." Tim replied nervously. "It's an honor to be a part of this program. I've heard so many great things."
"Well we pride ourselves at selecting the finest specimens from this institution!"
Tim thought it odd that Ms. Newsom had used the word 'specimen,' but was far too nervous to give it much thought. He pulled a manila folder out of his bag.
"Well, I'm really excited to get started. I've brought along my transcripts, along with some essays about my career goals, and a list of my strengths and weaknesses. I figured that might help you narrow things down to help me find a good fit."
Ms. Newsome looked at the folder, then up at Tim. She smiled. "My, you are quite the go-getter, aren't you. You'll make a wonderful shadow. But all this paperwork is unnecessary! You've already been placed, after all!"
Tim cocked his head to the side. "Huh? You've placed me already? But I only ever filled out an application."
"Our program moves very swiftly."
"But... you never even asked what my major was!"
"What is your major?"
"Mechanical engineering."
"Wonderful!" She picked up a small index card and held it out. "Here's your placement. There's a cab waiting outside to take you there. You don't need to worry about a thing!"
Tim grabbed the card, and as he did he felt a tingle in his fingers - but it quickly passed. He looked at the card - in small, neat lettering, a street address was printed. And nothing else.
"I don't understand."
"That's the beauty of the Shadowing program. You don't need to! Everything will be taken care of. You'll see!"
Tim was still baffled as he left the building. So much so that he barely noticed the mousy girl nervously waving goodbye. Sure enough, a yellow cab was parked at the curb. He hopped in an read the address on the card to the driver. The cab sped off, but Tim still had no idea where he was going.
