How can I be sure to get a job with the local newspaper?

I've been looking for a job lately to finance a road trip next year. I'm 16, so I don't have any bills, the hard part is keeping my grubby mitts off the money while saving it. I can write, and I enjoy it, so I decided to go to the local paper office to ask about a job there writing in the paper. That was several days ago. They gave me a list to put my name and number on, and there was only one other person on this list. I thought, oh good! I can get this easy! But now, it's been a while, and nobody has called me. I wanna go there and have them give me a simple ignment, one that's not important, just so I can prove myself to them. But how do I do this? I'm not the ertive type, and I don't know how to ask them for this "test." How can I do it, and how can I be sure to get the job?