The Ad said, 'Help Wanted' and Lena was ready to help. She stood outside the store looking at the sign for some time. Lena bit her bottom lip, listening to the sounds of cars driving through the wet slush on the road behind her. Normally this road is desolate, with only a few cars driving by from time to time. This day was different, however. A huddle of black SUV's raced down the highway. About a month ago a young woman went missing, she was finally found.
Lena was never one for getting out very often. She closed her eyes and inhaled a deep breath of cool March air, only opening them once her lungs were full. Swallowing her nerves and pushing some of her messy blond hair behind her ears, she made for the shop door. The handle was cold in her hand as she gripped it tight. She pushed it open and was medially met with the happiest of chimes. The sound rang in Lena's ears, filling her with more anxiety. She gripped the manila folder in her hand tighter as she slowly made her way further into the store. The store was full of shinny nick knacks, trinkets, and fairy tale figures, each one sparkling in Lena's eyes.
At the counter stood a man in a black suite and grey trench coat. He was talking quietly to the woman across from him. He had one arm leaning on the counter while the other was on his hip, it was pushing his coat back, revealing a holstered gun on his black belt. Lena, afraid of the stranger, kept her distance. She could only pick up on a few things the two were saying.
"..I-I-I only worked with her for about a week. She was still new," the woman said. WAKE UP.
"still," started the man, "did she seem agitated?" He watched the woman shake her head, "Paranoid? On edge, or at all off, in any kind of way, leading up to her death?" The woman whispered a response to him, and he looked behind himself to see Lena standing a little bit away. He looked her up and down. "Did you know the Wilcox girl?" he asked.
"Wh-Wh..." Closing her mouth she quickly looked down at her feet, feeling small.
"Well?" he spoke up. He had turned his whole body to face Lena, leaving one hand on the counter.
"no..." Lena quietly pushed out. The man nodded and turned his attention back to the store-keeper. "Thank you for your time, we will be in touch with more questions." He turned away from her again and walked out of the store, leaving the sound of the chimes to echo throughout the store in his wake. The woman blew a bubble in her green gum, it popped, and she shoved the its corpse back into her mouth with her tongue. Lena looked at her name tag, 'Kristina' was written in what looked like red sharpie across duct tape.
"That's was the fourth one they found," She sighed. "Can I help you," Kristina's grey eyes dug into Lena. They were framed by a thick rugged line of black eyeliner.
"Y-yes," Lena took a step forward, her little black shoes barley lifting off of the carpet beneath her. She handed Lena the envelope. "I would like t-to apply..." Lena already felt defeated. Her gaze never met Kristina's, it mostly stayed looking down.
"You?" Kristina chuckled. "You, want to work here?" She gazed down at Lena, "Look at me."
Lena's head slowly rose to meet the younger woman. Her lip quivered. Kristina saw this and spoke again, "I've seen you around before. Where'd you come from?"
"My Mother," The shy Lena started, "owns the house on the hill," She pointed in the distance of the house. "I live with my mother."
"Is this your resume?" Kristina asked as she opened the envelope.
"Y-yes," Lena brought her hand up to nervously pat her curly hair. It was something her mother would do every time they were in a stressful situation.
Looking over Lena's resume, Kristina come to learn that she did not have much work experience, or any at all for that matter. She questioned her on it, only to be told that Lena is trying to be independent for the first time ever. "I will give this to my uncle," said Kristina.
