I answer phone calls from the future

I found this odd job on Craigslist. It pays a thousand bucks a week, which was way too good to be true. But I was desperate. I was evicted from my apartment two weeks ago and bad been living in my car with my dog Mira ever since. Rent is expensive and it didn’t help that I lost my job about a year ago. I have a bad anxiety problem and it’s difficult for me to find work. I’m not good at interacting with people. My anxiety doesn’t help when it comes to a job interview. So when I saw this job post, I had to bite. A thousand bucks a week was insane. It was the kind of money I made working a regular job. But this wasn’t a full time job. According to the job post, they only wanted six hours a week. That’s it. Six hours a week for a grand? It was too good to pass up. I drove to the address in the post. It was some business park on the outskirts of town. About thirty minutes from my house. Maybe a little longer when you consider I’ve been living out of my car. I walked inside and was greeted by a receptionist. I told her I was here for the job post. She led me to a man in a white lab coat. “I’m Professor Geraldo. Come this way, please.” He was a tall thin guy. Middle aged. With a monotone voice that didn’t convey much enthusiasm. He seemed a bit detached when he spoke to me, which was okay. I wasn’t there to make friends. I just needed the money. He took me to a room that looked like it was straight out of a science fiction movie. Except instead of futuristic gadgets and blinking lights, there was a desk with a chair and a telephone on top. “Thank you for coming. Please sit.” I sat in the chair, nervously fidgeting with my hands. “If you could just sign this please.” He handed me a piece of paper filled with legalize and other complicated words. I didn’t bother reading it. I just signed my name at the bottom. I was desperate. I would have signed anything. “Thank you,” he said, retrieving the paper. “Now, everything you need to know is simple. When the phone rings, just answer it and talk to whoever is on the other line.” “That’s it?” “That’s it. Just talk to them.” “But what do I talk about?” Professor Geraldo shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. They’ll probably just hang up after a minute anyway.” “Okay,” I nodded sheepishly, though I really didn’t understand what the hell I was doing here. A thousand bucks a week to answer phone calls? I felt like I was missing something. “Any other questions?” he asked, as if he was in a hurry to get somewhere. I thought for a second, trying to come up with something. But nothing came to mind. Not because I wasn’t curious, but because I was broke and desperate. “Can I get paid now?” He looked at me for a second but quickly recovered when he reached into his pocket and pulled out a stack of crisp hundred dollar bills. “Thanks.” “Any other questions?” I didn’t even answer this time. I just shook my head. Professor Geraldo nodded and walked out of the room. I sat there for a while. It was a little over an hour before the phone rang. I stared at it. I didn’t know what to do. But when I finally came to my senses I picked up the phone. “Hello?” “Hello,” a man’s voice answered from the other line. He sounded familiar. “I know you can’t see me, but I’m smiling.” “Who is this?” “You wouldn’t understand if I explained it to you,” he said. “But you will. One day you will.” I didn’t know what to say. He was right. I didn’t understand. “Listen,” he said. “I don’t have much time. I know they’re watching. But I need you to know something. They’re going to talk to you soon. Offer you more money.” “Who’s going to talk to me?” “They’ll introduce themselves. And they’ll try to get you to sign another contract. But don’t do it.” “Why? Why not?” I heard a click on the voice on the other line and then it went dead. I was confused as all hell but eventually decided to forget about the whole thing. I probably locked in the money when I signed that contract, and figured that they wouldn’t fire me for answering one phone call. Three days went by before they called me again. I had almost forgot about the whole thing. The day before yesterday I found a job at this dead end shop and started immediately. I guess you could say I forgot all about the phone job until yesterday, when Professor Geraldo called me personally to remind me that I hadn’t showed up for work yet. “I totally forgot.” “That’s not a problem,” he replied. He was even less enthusiastic over the phone then he was in person. “But we do need you to come in today.” “Okay. I guess it slipped my mind.” “Well you’re on the clock now,” he said. “You better get here or you won’t be paid.” I hung up immediately and drove to the business park. When I got there, I was greeted by Professor Geraldo again. “Thanks for coming,” he said. He sounded relieved that I showed up. “They were getting impatient with you.” “They? Who are they?” “They’ll introduce themselves in just a minute,” Professor Geraldo said. “But first, your last phone call.” “I only had one?” “Yes. A man called you. He was a...prank...caller.” “Okay,” I nodded. “Thanks for telling me.” “You don’t have to thank me. I have to tell you. After all, you’re an employee.” I chuckled. I wasn’t sure why but I found this guy’s lack of enthusiasm funny. “Thanks,” I said sarcastically, before following him back to the science fiction room. “You good?” I nodded. He turned around and walked out. I sat in the chair and waited. Nothing happened for a while. Eventually I fell asleep. But woke up to the sound of the phone ringing. I was groggy and my head was hurting. How long had I been sleeping? I reached over and picked up the phone, rubbing my eyes. “Hello?” “Hello,” a man’s voice answered from the other line. He sounded familiar. “I know you can’t see me, but I’m smiling.” “Who is this?” “You wouldn’t understand if I explained it to you,” he said. “But you also did understand.” “I don’t get it.” “Not now. Maybe never. But you will. One day you will.” I didn’t know what to say. He was right. I didn’t understand. “Listen,” he said. “I know they’re talking to you right now. They’ll try to convince you to sign another contract. But don’t.” “Why?” I asked. But there was another click and the voice on the other line went dead. I sat there dumbfounded not moving. But eventually, I put the phone down. Fifteen minutes later, a man and a woman walked into the room. They were both dressed in lab coats and wearing blank expressions. “My name is Dr. Kim and this is my associate Dr. Hughes,” the man said. He gestured to the woman standing next to him. “That will be all, Professor.” Professor Geraldo nodded and walked out of the room. “So, you just answered a phone call, correct?” I nodded. I was still in a daze. “Well, we want to talk to you about that call.” Dr. Hughes said. She pulled out a piece of paper. “If you just sign this, you’ll be making a lot more than a thousand bucks a week.” “How much?” Dr. Hughes smiled. “Twenty grand a month. But we need to own all of your time.” “Twenty grand?” All I could think about was how much twenty grand would change my life. My money problems would be over. I was already thinking about what I would buy. But then I remembered the man from the other line. “Listen,” he said. “I know they’re talking to you right now. They’ll try to convince you to sign another contract. But don’t.” But twenty grand. I could buy a house. Rent one at least. Stop living out of my car. I could live a normal life. Twenty grand would change everything. “Okay. I’ll do it.” Dr. Kim and Dr. Hughes exchanged a look. They were smiling. They looked like they had just won the lottery. I signed the paper they handed me and they took it. They quickly walked out of the room. But before the door closed, Dr. Hughes turned around. “If you think about backing out, don’t.” “Okay,” I nodded. But she had already left. I sat in the room for another hour. Nothing happened.

I answer phone calls from the future

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