Noah's boss, the Head of Facilities, despised him.

It was karma or too much happiness. Yesterday had gone too right. Malik had helped him out and they spoke between rushing to refill plastic cups and mopping spilled curry, or rather he mopped and Malik disappeared to pick up trays. They parted without mentioning the dire secrets Noah had promised to divulge.

He'd also managed to plead with Ranveer, the longest-serving volunteer at the temple, to allow him a cold shower. Ranveer's good nature acquiesced. In the evening Noah had slept at Hotel 24, which was not a hotel but a night bus. Since he had a valid ticket, he'd taken the round trip, rounding to a total of six hours of interrupted sleep.

He showed up for his first day of work wide awake, clean, and full of hope.

Until he had met Mrs. Forester and the hope deflated. She was a strong, able-bodied woman with hard lines on her forehead. Her salt and pepper hair was piled high into a strict bun. She wore a thick belt with huge sets of keys latched on it.

Sitting across each other in Mr. Hancock's office, Mrs. Forrester's tough stares were divided between Noah and Mr. Hancock. The latter, however, was unfazed.

"You were sick Diane," Mr. Hancock said, "and the last boy quit.'

"He was fired.' Diane corrected. "He either didn't show up or smoked pot in the toilets."

"Neil here wouldn't, would you now?" Mr. Hancock gave Noah a pointed look.

Neil?

"Ah. No."Noah said.

"Problem solved." Mr. Hancock took a gulp of his coffee.

Mrs. Forester leaned on the edge of her chair. "Could you excuse us, Neil?"

Noah didn't need telling twice. He averted his gaze from the faculty staff and grabbed the door's knob in his wake. It rebounded a fraction, leaving the door ajar and the conversation within earshot.

"It's another boy from the shelter." Mrs. Forester said.

"Yes and we pay them minimum wage like grown men.'

"The interview was meant to have been conducted by me."

"The interview would've been an indirect conflict of interest, Diane."

"It is Mrs. Forester!"

There was a burst of laughter and shouts from a group of guys and girls in the hallway. The rest of the conversation had dropped in volume. Noah perked his ears to catch the fragments but the group was getting closer.

The jingle of iron and brass keys alerted Noah. He stood a few paces away from the door.

"Follow me." Mrs. Forester said through pursed lips.

Noah walked behind her keeping his clashing thoughts at bay. He might've fooled Mr. Hancock and Malik but this woman has seen through his ruse.

I will starve, he thought, or work for Gold.

He thought of Pink and the look of disdain he'd given him when he ratted him out. He thought of Mrs. Lawrence and how she too had forgotten his name.

Mrs. Forester had taken them to a locker room. It was full of a musty smell of sweat, a couple of trolleys next to mops and buckets.

Mrs. Forester opened a locker and took out two garments.

"Change into what fits." She half tossed the garments to Noah."Fast."

They were overalls like the one she was wearing though the beige color has faded in patches.

"Bathroom is there," she pointed behind his shoulder.

The cubicle-esque bathroom had a sink and no toilet. Noah slipped out of shoes and pants, selecting the smaller sized coverall. It was a loose fit and he had to roll the cuffs and hems to rest above his shoes. The fabric itched on his skin and it stank of bleach. The third button was missing and his shirt peeked through. In the absence of a mirror, Noah had a feeling he looked like Mrs. Forester's underfed minion.

"Right," Mrs. Forester said when he came out. "I will show you how things are done and you will learn by being paired. Learning will be on the job and if you have questions you either ask your coworker or you come ask me. Yes?'

He had a job. He had an honest job.

"Yes."

He had to suppress the glimmer of hope creeping in. What if she changes her mind?

For hours Mrs. Forester spoke, pointed, and snapped orders. They covered the college grounds and had given Noah a map to memorize by tomorrow.

"A janitor isn't only here to clean. He is the custodian of these grounds and responsible for the safety of the students. You're expected to read and follow the health and safety manual."

Noah nodded, jogging to keep up with his boss' long strides. He kept note of the cameras in the building. He planned to memorize the map and pinpoint in his head where the active cameras are placed.

The information may come in handy.

"The bathrooms are cleaned at five-thirty and then it's every three hours."

They stopped before a bathroom at the end of a long line of lecture halls. There was a yellow maintenance sign in front of it.

Mrs. Forester knocked. "Jelani step out for a minute."

There were snuffling noises and soft French then a young man from an African or African American descent came out wearing a fitted version of Noah's uniform.

"Oui?"

"This is your partner for the day," Mrs. Forester gestured to Noah. "Show him how it's done."

"Okay," Jelani said lazily.

"Report at Mr. Hancock's office at four. Work hard and good luck."

She swung her strong hips, ambling away from Noah and Jelani. Her keys jingling as she disappeared down the stairs.

"Come," Jelani said.

His new co-worker gave him the task of disinfecting the sinks, moving on to the toilets while he impersonated Mrs. Forester. Jelani did not lift a finger, crossing his arms over his chest while Noah scrubbed bubble gum carcasses off the floor.

Mopping was the easiest in spite of the chemicals burning at Noah's nostrils, he found he was losing himself in the task. The stalls were soon gleaming, the floors reflecting beams of light.

"Bien," Jelani said. "Down."

They, or at least Noah, did the same process. There were cigarette butts instead of bubble gum and for some bizarre reason, there was piss on the ceiling.

By the time Jelani had signed his name on the janitors' shift paper at the back of the bathroom, Noah's knees and shoulders ached. And he was happy. He'd done an honest day's work and the fatigue would wear off since he ate yesterday.

By the end of the month, he'd get a paycheck.

Noah's stomach dropped. A month. How was he supposed to find shelter over the next month? He didn't think Mrs. Forester would welcome the idea of paying him early.

A woman wearing the janitor's uniform and a name tag, Carmen, came to Jelani and spoke to him in a low voice. She glanced at Noah while she spoke.

"Hey." She said.

"Hello."

"Mrs. Forester lost her phone. Jelani here said it's your first day?"

"Yes."

"If you don't find it she gon blame you. Say you stole."

"I. What?"

"Ah-huh," Jelani said. "Bitch are crazy."

Noah looked from Jelani to Carmen. His boss didn't like him and today had been a series of tests. It was true he was a thief. Had she sensed this too? Did he have the right to be upset because he didn't steal the phone but had stolen from convenience stores?

"I'll look," Noah mumbled.

"Meet us here when you find it," Carmen said.

Jelani pushed the cleaning cart after Carmen, leaving Noah to scramble upstairs. He retraced where they'd walked, checking the grounds, the empty bins, the bathrooms he'd scrubbed, which were getting dirty again.

Noah bit his nails, tasting detergents. He should've asked what the phone looked like. What type of model or color or size. He was never going to find it. He was going to get fired, branded as a thief, he'll freeze to death at night, his body would be trampled on or dumped in the nearest river. Fish food. It will be fish food.

He laughed, it was hilarious. Fish food. He was going to be worth something and it was going to be fish food.

"Neil? What on earth are you doing?"

He was leaning against the bathroom wall hugging himself tight as if he was going to fall flat on his face. He was sweating like a pig too and didn't register when his boss came in.

"It's past six,' she said. "You should've been out of here by now.'

"I'm sorry. I couldn't find it."

"Find what?"

"Your phone," Noah whispered. He could feel the dizziness coming.

"Phone? Are you going to be sick?"

Mrs. Forester was frowning.

Noah swallowed the bile threatening to spill out of his mouth.

"Did Jelani pull a prank on you?'

"No."

"Someone else? Because I can tell you I didn't lose my phone or keys or purse."

Mrs. Forester had her hands on her hips, "Who put you up to this?"

Noah sensed he was about to mess up. He didn't want to make enemies if he had a shot at this job, he had to keep his head low.

"No one," he said, "I must've misunderstood."

He heard his boss sigh, "You know if you don't stand up for yourself I sure as hell won't. Pack up and leave. Be here at five tomorrow, Neil."

She turned to leave.

"Um."

"Yes?" Mrs. Forester asked.

"It's Noah. My name is Noah."

The boss slowly nodded and repeated, "pack up and go."

She turned to go and someone held out the door for her. Malik's frame came into view.

Suddenly the men's restroom became as quiet as a tomb.

"If you're Noah," Malik said. "Who the hell is Jude?"