"Don't get me wrong" Sacha said. "I'm flattered that you called me. You know, for advice. But . . .I don't really understand why you of all people would need advice about looking for work."

"What do you mean, 'me of all people'?" Rona asked curiously.

"I mean - aren't you still on the dole?"

"Yeah, of course."

"So - aren't you out looking for jobs all the time?"

"What? No! The only reason I went on the dole was 'cause I was working practically full-time at the Word. Not because I was unemployed."

"Yeah, I know that, but . . ." Sacha couldn't help but wonder whether Rona was deliberately misunderstanding her: had she hurt Rona's feelings somehow? Was Rona sensitive about being on the dole? She'd never seemed to be in the past. "But, what I mean is" Sacha continued, "is - to get the dole, don't you have to do the dole diary? So don't you have to be going to job interviews all the time?"

"Oh, that!" Rona laughed, and the sudden realisation that was apparent in her voice indicated to Sacha that she really hadn't known what Sacha was talking about. "Yeah, I still have to do that. I do that all the time. But those aren't jobs. Those are just interviews."

"What's the difference?"

"A job is something that someone might actually want to do" Rona explained.

"'Someone'?"

"Well, me."

"I see." But Sacha still didn't really understand the distinction. "But - why are you looking for a job, anyway?" she asked.

"Because I need some money. More than the dole. And I need to do something instead of just veg out all the time."

"So why don't you just take one of these interviews seriously? Actually go for the job? No-one's saying you'd have to work there long, just 'til something better comes along."

"But what if something better doesn't come along? I mean, I've been looking for ages and I haven't seen anything."

"Well, do what I said before as well, drop your C.V. off in places. Wait for something to come up. Most jobs aren't advertised. But you can work in some stop-gap job in the meantime."

"I dunno" said Rona. "I don't know if I'd be able to work in a job I didn't like."

"Christ, Rona!" Sacha exclaimed. She suddenly couldn't contain her exasperation any longer. "It's life. Everyone works a shitty job at least once in their life. It's just something you have to do. Accept it!"