For duh_i_read, who gave the prompt "Judith pre-cannon"

Temp, wherein Judith and her sister talk about a career change. 383 words



“I don’t understand how you can stand working as a temp. There’s no stability and you lose out on the all the benefits.”

Judith rolls her eyes at her sister and takes the glass of wine from the table, “I like it and the jobs I get pay well.” She says and takes a seat on her new sofa, care of her gig at a high-end nightclub a few months back.

“Yes, but haven’t you found something that you really, really like doing that gives you a bit of… I don’t know, permanence, maybe?”

“I like being a… secretary?” Judith replies.

Her sister gives her a disapproving look, “Really?”

She shrugs, “Not just a secretary. Remember that time when I went to Vegas? I was called in to work for a demolitions company for three months and they wanted someone who can do clerical work and who also knows what a block of C4 looks like. For three months, I didn’t know if I’ll work on boxes of explosives or on worksheets and phones for the day. That’s the kind of work I want—mundane yet exciting at the same time.”

“When did you learn how to identify a block of C4?”

“Remember that guy I dated, Mark? He was with the LAPD bomb squad.”

A blanket of silence falls on them. Her sister stares at her for a long time, no doubt remembering that time she dated a very proud member of the NRA and had a roomful of different kinds of guns to prove it.

“Momma should have just let you attend cop school.”

Judith snorts, “Even momma knew my moral compass won’t pass that of an aspiring cop.”

She sees another disapproving look from her sister. Judith knows she’s seen as a carefree, albeit slightly airheaded, Jill of all trades (mistress of none), and she’s totally okay with that—it’s her sister who’s not okay with it.

“Fine.” She sets down her wineglass and puts up her hands in mock surrender, “I’ll try using my accounting skills for once.” She isn’t entirely fond of the idea, but she has to try to appease her sister, right?

“Good. Because I know a few people who are willing to hire you.”

Judith bites back a disgusted sigh. Accounting world, here she comes.





Happy New Year!