piped up.
"Oh, that's a great idea, as long as you don't mind!" Lily chirped, glancing from my dad to my mom, and then back again.
"Absolutely, I'm always happy when Jacob makes a new friend."
"Great!" Lily scribbled her number on a sticky note - where she'd gotten it from, I had no idea - and handed it to me. "Text me, okay? Or call. Whatever. We should hang out sometime."
"Sure," I said, managing a smile. "Absolutely."
I stayed slumped in the backseat on the drive home, not participating in the conversation, even when Marissa's name came up. My mom glanced in the rear-view, clearly expecting some kind of input from me, but I had nothing to say. Nothing they'd want to hear, at any rate.
At home, I flopped down on my bed and stared at the ceiling for a while. I had to start filling out more job applications, but at this point, there was nothing I'd rather do less.
My phone started buzzing on the beside table. I didn't recognize the number, but the area code was nearby.
"Hello?"
"This is Liam Harris, I'm the assistant manager of the consumer electronics department at Ashefield's. Is this a good time to talk?"
I hesitated. "Yes," I said. "Is this about the...interview?"
"More or less." He let out a long breath. "Listen, I wanted to call you back and see if you were still interested in working here. Before you answer, let me assure you that the manager who interviewed you is no longer working with us."
I sat up. "Oh, really?"
"I can't go into details, but I'm sure I don't need to. The point is, whatever experience you had with him isn't representative of how we conduct ourselves, as a company. I've been going over the applications he took care of, and a lot of those people have understandably moved on. But all our college kids and high school graduates are going back to school in a couple months, and I'd love to have someone well trained to replace them. Would you be interested in coming in for another chat?"
"Sure," I said. What did I have to lose?
"How about this afternoon?"
"Yeah, all right, sounds good."
I hurried down the stairs, pausing in the kitchen to answer my parents' questioning glances.
"I might have a job," I said. "At Ashefield's."
My dad rolled his eyes, but my mom actually managed to smile.
"That's great, honey," she said. "Go get 'em."
***
Mr. Harris was a kindly man, probably approaching forty, who smiled, shook my hand, and apologized for the fact that he had to interview me in the seating area of the deli.
"No worries," I said.
"The office where we'd usually - well, you know all about that," he said, shuffling a folder full of papers. "We're having it steam-cleaned. We can't figure out how to get rid of the smell."
I laughed. "Have you tried Nature's Miracle?"
He glanced up at me. "What's that?"
"Oh, it's like, this - enzyme-based cleaner. You get it at pet stores. I have a dog, and she wasn't always as well-behaved as she is now. But I hear it works for cat stuff too."
"Do you think that's what it is?" Mr. Harris frowned. "That's what everyone else is saying, but I can't figure out how he managed to get cat smell all over the room. Unless he was smuggling his cat in here."
"Hey, anything's possible."
"I'm sorry," he said, putting on his reading glasses. "We've wasted enough of your time already, I think. Let's get down to business. Without experience, I can only offer you minimum wage for now, but you'll get a raise every six months. I need a clerk for my department, someone to help customers, cash out, cleaning, organizing, stocking, sales. All the usual stuff. I just need someone who will show up on time and put a little effort in. You seem like a nice kid. Now what's this business about not being able to work nights?"
"My sister," I said. "She's - she's in the hospital a lot, and my parents need me home to take care of the house, and the dog. You know."
"Sure," he said. "Well, that's no problem, just let me know ahead of time whenever you can."
"Absolutely," I
"Oh, that's a great idea, as long as you don't mind!" Lily chirped, glancing from my dad to my mom, and then back again.
"Absolutely, I'm always happy when Jacob makes a new friend."
"Great!" Lily scribbled her number on a sticky note - where she'd gotten it from, I had no idea - and handed it to me. "Text me, okay? Or call. Whatever. We should hang out sometime."
"Sure," I said, managing a smile. "Absolutely."
I stayed slumped in the backseat on the drive home, not participating in the conversation, even when Marissa's name came up. My mom glanced in the rear-view, clearly expecting some kind of input from me, but I had nothing to say. Nothing they'd want to hear, at any rate.
At home, I flopped down on my bed and stared at the ceiling for a while. I had to start filling out more job applications, but at this point, there was nothing I'd rather do less.
My phone started buzzing on the beside table. I didn't recognize the number, but the area code was nearby.
"Hello?"
"This is Liam Harris, I'm the assistant manager of the consumer electronics department at Ashefield's. Is this a good time to talk?"
I hesitated. "Yes," I said. "Is this about the...interview?"
"More or less." He let out a long breath. "Listen, I wanted to call you back and see if you were still interested in working here. Before you answer, let me assure you that the manager who interviewed you is no longer working with us."
I sat up. "Oh, really?"
"I can't go into details, but I'm sure I don't need to. The point is, whatever experience you had with him isn't representative of how we conduct ourselves, as a company. I've been going over the applications he took care of, and a lot of those people have understandably moved on. But all our college kids and high school graduates are going back to school in a couple months, and I'd love to have someone well trained to replace them. Would you be interested in coming in for another chat?"
"Sure," I said. What did I have to lose?
"How about this afternoon?"
"Yeah, all right, sounds good."
I hurried down the stairs, pausing in the kitchen to answer my parents' questioning glances.
"I might have a job," I said. "At Ashefield's."
My dad rolled his eyes, but my mom actually managed to smile.
"That's great, honey," she said. "Go get 'em."
***
Mr. Harris was a kindly man, probably approaching forty, who smiled, shook my hand, and apologized for the fact that he had to interview me in the seating area of the deli.
"No worries," I said.
"The office where we'd usually - well, you know all about that," he said, shuffling a folder full of papers. "We're having it steam-cleaned. We can't figure out how to get rid of the smell."
I laughed. "Have you tried Nature's Miracle?"
He glanced up at me. "What's that?"
"Oh, it's like, this - enzyme-based cleaner. You get it at pet stores. I have a dog, and she wasn't always as well-behaved as she is now. But I hear it works for cat stuff too."
"Do you think that's what it is?" Mr. Harris frowned. "That's what everyone else is saying, but I can't figure out how he managed to get cat smell all over the room. Unless he was smuggling his cat in here."
"Hey, anything's possible."
"I'm sorry," he said, putting on his reading glasses. "We've wasted enough of your time already, I think. Let's get down to business. Without experience, I can only offer you minimum wage for now, but you'll get a raise every six months. I need a clerk for my department, someone to help customers, cash out, cleaning, organizing, stocking, sales. All the usual stuff. I just need someone who will show up on time and put a little effort in. You seem like a nice kid. Now what's this business about not being able to work nights?"
"My sister," I said. "She's - she's in the hospital a lot, and my parents need me home to take care of the house, and the dog. You know."
"Sure," he said. "Well, that's no problem, just let me know ahead of time whenever you can."
"Absolutely," I
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