1 ELLIE SUTHERLAND opened her mouth to speak, but the sound that emerged was more like a croak. “I’m fired?” Her supervisor, Joan Wright, coughed lightly, then leaned forward to rest her elbows on the desk. “Not fired. With the new budget cuts, I’m afraid we have no choice but to let you go. In one week,” she added sorrowfully. “Please don’t take it personally.” “I don’t believe this,” Ellie mumbled, shaking her head. How am I going to make the rent? “Ellie, yours is not exactly a dream job.” “Oh, great,” Ellie said. “I’m fired from a job that sucks, and that’s supposed to make me feel better.” Credit cards. Food. “You know what I mean, Ellie. You’re overqualified to be a gofer in a dumpy little federally funded arts center. You’re too talented.” “Yeah, that’s why gallery owners are beating down my apartment door.” Utilities. Painting supplies. “You’ll get your break. Just hang in there. You know as well as I do it takes talent, luck and perseverance to make it in the art industry.
