The Retail Store, part 1

A degree in hand and
debt chasing me down
This is my life now
Job hunting wasn't favorable on me
The market is closed off right now

Just when I was about to give up
Something did come up
A friend of mine recommended
I join her workplace
It was at a retail store
The pay wasn't that good
Yet for some reason
she was really happy to work there

So I thought what the heck

The store wasn't that huge
It was just in the vicinity of the mall
Yet it was almost hard to notice
When driving past
The building must've been built
before the mall era

I showed up for my interview

The manager was also the founder
And though she seemed stern
One could also tell that
She was proud of her store.

I was trying to decipher her whilst she was interviewing me:

'Claire said you were looking for a job, is that correct?'

'Yes mam' I quickly responded

She wasn't old enough to be my mother
Yet her authority made me feel like she needs an honorific

'So why would you want to work here, with your credentials you could get a well paying job?'

Feeling a little judged I responded:

"Well I did work and study. However I have student debt right now and it's holding me back."

She started to jot down on a clipboard . It was as if I wasn't in the room

Should I break the silence? I don't know what to do. Why am I so nervous? I've been to interviews before why am I in my head so much?

'Be here tomorrow morning at 7, don't be late' - she remarked whilst continuing with her business

I guess I'm dismissed.

The following day, I arrived and got introduced to the staff. A meeting was being held, to state todays target reflect on the weeks performance and so on. I was in my head drifting off a little when I realized the manager was now referring to me:

'Well guys we have a newbie with us'

As I attempt to greet everyone

'Hi I'm....'

'Oh no you haven't earned your name around here yet, you're still the newbie. You have to prove yourself first. Don't get me wrong, you haven't got the job yet. We still need to see how you perform'

The store wasn't huge, yet it had enough space for multiple departments. You could tell the building was old but it did get renovated. Probably to feel more modern. Yet it only had 7 employees excluding the manager.

Ben got assigned to showing me around. He was a bit of a class clown, happy go lucky kind. Yet today I could bare it. He constrasted my nervousness.

The day went well and I got a feel of how things work around here.

Towards the end of the day, the manager called me in to her office.

'So do you think you could work here?'

'I believe so, everyone is so nice here'

'I am glad, they seem to have taken a liking to you. We are all close and that's good for business. Customers can tell when there's tension' the look in her eyes pierced through me. Yet I found myself staring right at them.

She smirked a little and got up from her chair to sit on the desk. Right in front of me. Her legs were close to my shoulder.

I looked to the door that was still opened

'Don't worry we have an open door policy, plus you still have some questions to answer'

She stood up in front of me

'I'll see you on Monday, that's when you'll answer them'

I got up preparing to leave

'Oh and one more thing'

That's when she pulled me to her and gave me a kiss.

It was so out of the blue, did I miss something? Yet I would be lying if it was a bad one. I just went with it.

'7am don't be late'

I walked out, not sure about what had just happened. The staff members all seemed to be holding in their laughter.

I don't know, is this a prank or what?

Now I have more questions than answers.