I was then quickly shown the kitchen, fire exit and meeting point. I was then immediately shown a huge mountain of papers, it almost reached the low ceiling of the office!
“These are the files that contain everyone that we work with, as you can see there is a file for each letter of the alphabet. Now we have been saving you these, (pointing to the mountain) I would expect that it would take you till the end of the day.” Said Sarah. I stood there dumbstruck looking at her, hoping that it was some sort of joke. I could barely reach the top. I would need mountain climbing equipment if anything else were to be put on top.
“You can use that little desk there in the corner, we don’t want you hurting your back.” The small desk was about half the size of an average school desk, it had a small chair that was definitely looking as though it was on its last legs, facing a grey wall, but the table was the least of my problems as I watched the mountain of paper tremble. I sat at the table and felt as thought I was a ‘dunce’ who had been forced into the corner with extra homework!
‘Where on Earth am I going to start?’ I thought. So I sat on the carpet where there was space and started a pile for the people with surnames beginning with A, B, C, D… I took up most of the space around Kes’ desk. I had to lean over the papers, after a while my back began a steady throb. I couldn’t believe it, it suddenly dawned on me, I wasn’t going to be answering phone, or sitting in on interviews. I was going to be the office dogsbody, doing all the jobs no-one else wanted to do, they were using work experience as an excuse to use child labour!
I left for lunch at 1 O’clock in a foul mood, I still had a great deal of filing still to do. I really wanted to know if Claire had done any better. I searched high and low, I went into to Marks and Spencer, but she was no-where to be seen. So now I couldn’t have a good old moan with her! I bought a sandwich and went back to the small kitchen at Office Angles. Alone, I read the local paper absentmindedly. The afternoon was much like the morning, but I made more coffee!
Nothing changed as the days went on. I filed a bit more; filed on the computer; filed filing cabinets; was told I had been told to file the wrong things; and filed in the storeroom! I loathed the storeroom the most. Not only was it hot, but it was so secluded, I couldn’t even watch the array of people that floated in and out of the office. Files would fall on my head and the dust would set into my clothes. I had never been so bored. Maths was beginning to sound more interesting!
Claire was doing no better; she was stacking shelves and folding clothes. Like me, every time she tried to strike up a conversation, she was interrupted by phone calls, clients or other members of staff. Every day when we were going home we both contemplated never going back.
Finally Friday, the last day came. I knew that today would be a bit more enjoyable. As part as the company marketing program, the company would offer the “temps” a packed lunch. I was sent off to Marks and Spencers straight away. I was given instructions to buy 60 sandwiches. I practically cleared the shelves! I was frequently given snide remarks and queried looks. Luckily Claire was there to help me, all those sandwiches filled a shopping trolley. The four large bags containing the sandwiches ripped and dug into my hands as I carried them up the now-familiar staircase. I spent the rest of the morning preparing lunches. Then it was time for the road trip. Heather and I stumbled along Hemel Hempstead High Street, heavily laden with Marks and Spencer bags. It seemed miles before we got to Heather’s little Volkswagen. As I stepped into the car I was overwhelmed by the stench of cigarettes. This was not surprising, all the girls in the office were heavy smokers. I felt sick, and did do for the rest of the “trip” around the industrial estate. Whilst Heather got out of the car to go inside the grand office buildings and deliver the lunches, I opened the side window desperately to try and get some fresh air! The industrial estate in Hemel Hempstead is very vast. We got lost several times, and passed the very last building we wanted more than once, whilst we put together what little navigational skills we had.
Finally it was time for us to return to the office. With no more lunches left to deliver, Heather was left free to light up one of her foul cigarettes. She took one long, pleasurable, swig and offered me one. I had to try hard not to turn up my nose in disgust as the fumes started to fill the car. Instead, I told her a story I had read about lung cancer and what happens when you get it, I did not spare any gruesome detail. Heather gave me a quizzical look and flung the cigarette out of the open window!
“So what did you learn from work experience?” Mr Powell asked apprehensively. Mr Powell, my deputy head of house at school had taken a handful of my class into a nearby geography room. Some exhaled deeply, others all of a sudden perked up, which was almost unheard of from most teenagers on Monday mornings! We all waited for our turn to describe our week excitedly, or moan excessively. I wasn’t the only one who felt was cheated out of an experience. When I think back, I don’t think I learnt much at all. From all the filing, I now know the alphabet back to front, and how to make various types of coffee and tea, but that will not help me in the future. I now realise that I cannot just leave school without anything, or face having to be the “coffee girl” or “file girl” again. I am going to try so much harder, I can’t afford to rely upon my terrible memory, I am going to have to sit down and do the most mind-numbing pastime known to teenagers, I am going to revise!
