Amanda

One.

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I swung my purse over my shoulder and looked both sides to cross the street. A car was headed the other direction, so I clicked my car keys to make sure I had locked my car. It beeped and assured me that it was locked. There was also nothing in my way on the road, so I crossed it and looked for the building I was heading towards. I walked around until I saw a sign that read "Albright's Orphanage." It was a dark building with moss growing on the walls. Hmm, that's weird. The email showed pictures of a modern looking building with big glass walls, and colorful paint. But this one gave me an eerie, unsure feeling. I shook it off and opened the front door. I really needed this job.

Inside was a small brown dusty couch, and looked like no one had sat on it in a really long time. On the walls there were a couple portraits of old professional looking people, which were also very dusty. Most of the room was taken up by the main desk, which was the only clean thing in the entire room. Behind it sat a girl with dark red and black hair. She was looking down, and didn't notice me come in.

"Umm, hello?" I said as I walked to the desk.

The girl looked up and didn't answer. She just obnoxiously chewed her gum and looked back down.

"Excuse me, I'm here for an interview." I tried again.

She popped her gum and pulled her headphones off. So that's why she didn't hear me.

She sighed and got up without saying a word. I opened my mouth to say something again when she sighed and finally replied.

"Follow me."

She led me down a series of hallways until we got to a door with several parts splintered off. She knocked on it.

"Wait here." She said as she popped her gum, and left.

She didn't look nice. She hadn't smiled at all this entire time. I decided that she wasn't the most pleasant of people, and that I shouldn't get on her bad side.

I stood there and waited. Five minutes had passed and the door still hasn't opened, so I checked my hair and teeth in the small reflection of my phone. A couple minutes passed. Still no answer. I was humming the tune of my favorite song when the door opened and startled me.

"Come in." A woman dressed in formal business clothes opened the door. She stared at me, and watched me walk in. My dark jeans and shirt made me feel under dressed with her grey blazer and skirt.

"Sit down." She motioned to the chair, and I awkwardly made my way around and sat on the wooden chair.

She spent a couple minutes looking at me then writing something down. Her face was expressionless as she jotted down notes. This lady wasn't smiling either. Did people never smile here?

After a good five minutes, she put her pen down and looked up at me. And she smiled! But it was the fakest smile I'd ever seen. It looked as though she had simply widened her lips and shown her teeth. But she had made an effort.

I blankly smiled back, waiting for her to speak.

"What is your name?" She asked finally, with a straight face.

"Gail Mason." I answered, clearing my throat.

"Good." She replied as wrote something down. "How are you with kids?" She asked, without looking up.

"I'm okay, but-"

"Okay great." She cut me off, and scribbled something onto the paper. "Excuse me for one second." She said as she stood up and smoothed her black hair back into her bun. She took the papers, and hurried out of the door, leaving me confused.

Was I accepted? Was I denied? That wasn't it was it?

To pass the time while I waited, I examined the room. It was the size of my bedroom, maybe a little bit bigger. The dark oak table we were sitting at was the only piece of furniture in the room. A vase sat in the far corner, with dead flowers. The walls were grey, and a small lamp in the other corner supplied light to the room. It looked too much like a police interrogation room.

I had been waiting for fifteen minutes when I faintly heard arguing outside the door.

"We need someone Aubrey, I can't work full time. You know I can't. I need someone to help with the receptionist is not willing to help at all." A deep, low voice yelled.

"Fine, Mark. But she doesn't seem eligible." I recognized the stern voice of the woman who interviewed me. Aubrey, it seemed her name was.

I wasn't eligible? She hadn't even asked me anything for her to conclude that!

"Really Aubrey? Tell me what you asked her. The only thing you wrote down was her name. What is it? Gail Mason. That's the only thing it says. What's this scribble?" He yelled again, but it seemed louder this time.

"Mark, please calm down. She's sitting inside this room here. She can hear us." Her voice became a whisper.

"Okay. Tell her that you will email her later. We need to talk more about this." I barely heard his voice this time.

I heard the knob turning so I turned back around and pretended to do something on my phone. Aubrey came in from the door behind me and sat down in the chair on the other side of the table.

"Expect an email soon from me, Aubrey Albright, regarding the job. It was nice seeing you." She nodded, and led me out of the room.

"Uh, excuse me." I said quietly, and she turned back to look at me. " Can you lead me back to the front?" I asked quietly.

She didn't reply, just continued down the hall and when she saw I wasn't following her, she motioned to me to do so. I thanked her and continued behind her, making sure not to accidentally bump into her. After a minute or so, she stopped in front of a door and knocked.

"Mark, take her to the front please." Looking at me, she said, "Mark will take you. Have a nice day." She flashed me an insincere smile and hurried off, not waiting to see if Mark would come out and actually take me.

He did though.

A man with light blonde hair and icy blue eyes came out, and stared at me.

"Can I help you?" He grunted.

"Can you take me to the front." I asked, breaking the awkward silence.

"Please." I added.

"Follow me." He nodded his head and I followed him.

After a couple minutes of winding hallways, we made our way to the front, where the girl with the headphones was sitting.

"Thank you." I said as he turned back.

I exited the building, thinking about how weird this place was. No one was friendly. Did they not want a new worker? With the way Aubrey seemed to be talking to Mark, she didn't like new people. Did she like kids? Of course she did, how could the owner of an orphanage not like kids?

But this place was weird. Inside the building, I sensed something was wrong. Everyone was tense and not smiling. Was there an important death? They looked like someone had just died. That was, by far, the weirdest interview I'd been to. Mark was attractive. Would I be working with him? Would I even get the job?

Many questions raced through my head as I drove home. Hopefully they would be answered soon.

Thanks for reading guys!! This chapter wasn't the most interesting first chapter, but it will get better, I promise. If you did like it, please leave a vote! It really helps me and keeps me motivated c:

What do you guys think of Gail? And Mark? And Aubrey? Tell me in the comments :D