REM // Van McCann

62. Bondy

Monday

I hardly slept the night before because of my excitement. It's unlike me to be so indecisive about my wardrobe; I stood there for a solid ten minutes before deciding on a blue button up shirt which I tucked inside my black jeans. My morning appetite had gone because of nerves so I settled on a morning cigarette and tea.

Today was my first day and I didn't know what to expect. It seems like this was a long time coming. I applied to this program months ago and now I'm finally here. There's no telling if it'll be worth it and if I'll like it here but I had to remind myself that if I didn't like it here, I could always go back.

Once I was ready to leave, I leant against the wall to put my boots on and stepped out the door. I was quite early having skipped breakfast but I knew staying in my flat wouldn't do me any good. Having walked to work from my flat a few times, I knew the way and took my time, observing what life was like in Seattle. The roads were alive with cars and buses and there were people in a rush to go to work. However, if you slowed down enough, you could see two friends greeting each other, someone eating breakfast on the go, and someone telling the bus driver to wait as there's one more person coming. There were more people here than where I previously lived so the idea of making friends was daunting. I'm more of an extrovert but I do have my introverted tendencies.

Eventually, I made it to the building and waited in the lobby. I was to call them when I arrived but I was early so I found a place to sit. Based on what I've seen for five minutes, this looked like a building shared by several companies. Some people were dressed neatly while others were dressed more casually and the work badges were different. I looked down at my attire and wondered if I was dressed appropriately. How can you feel overdressed and underdressed at the same time?

As soon as it neared 8:30 AM, I called the number they gave me saying today was my first day. They sent someone down to get me so I waited. The nice thing was that most people were headed to work so it was easy spotting who they sent to get me. After a few minutes, I saw a young man around my age walk out. He was wearing a cap to tame his curly hair and walked out into the lobby to have a look around. To save him the trouble, I stood up and walked towards him.

"Hi, I'm Van. Are you from DecodeREM?" I asked, holding out my hand for him to shake. He shook my hand cautiously and I wondered if my hands were sweaty. I wiped my hand surreptitiously on my jeans while he stared at me.

"I haven't heard that accent in a while," he said, grinning. I immediately recognized his Geordie accent which was fading from having lived here a while. "The name's Bondy, by the way. Let's go on up." We walked towards the lift and he pressed the button to go up.

"What brought you out here?" I asked.

"Probably the same reason you're here. I came for work and liked it here so I stayed."

"How long have you been here?" It wasn't clear if I was asking how long he's been living in the States or how long he's been working here. My hope was that he'd answer both.

"I've been in Seattle and at this company over a year now. I actually submitted my two weeks' notice today."

"What?" I asked and Bondy's eyes widened. He probably regrets telling me.

"I love it here and learned loads. I wasn't planning on leaving but someone approached me asking if I wanted to work for them. They're a startup in this same building but on a different floor."

"That's great. Congratulations." The lift arrived and we walked in, along with several other people. "What will you be doing?" I kept my voice low, aware that there were others in the lift but it doesn't seem like it's anyone Bondy knows.