Since We Were Kids|| Phan (unfinished sry)

Chapter 2

Dan woke up to the sound of an ambulance passing by his street. Blinking back the sleep that clouded his mind, he reached over to his laptop and opened it up. He had one new notification, it was his email. Of course!

Dear Dan,
I'm happy to say that you are my new coworker. You start Monday, and will receive your check every other week. Please arrive 8am sharp.
Sincerely, Hannah.

Sweet, since it was Sunday he had one more day before he started work. While the thought of having to wake up for work at 8:00 seemed dreadful, he was very excited to get a paycheck because his parents will only pay for a few months of the apartment. He replied to Hannah with an email expressing his gratitude, and went into his living room. Making himself some cereal, he sat on his couch and turned on the tv. There he stayed until he was hungry again, and made himself a sandwich.

He decided that if this was his last day free from responsibility, he would go explore a bit of London. Stepping out of the building, he immediately regretted his decision. Most people who came to London would be dazzled by the sparkling snow on the streets, the crisp wind that blew in your hair, or even the unique architecture that made up the London buildings. Dan, however, was not. To him, the snow was mush that got in his way and seeped through his boots as he marched along the streets. For him, the air was heavy and hurt his lungs. It felt as if he breathed in gravel. For him, the sky was grey and tired looking and since lazy clouds covered the sun, he walked in a light shadow that covered the whole of London. The chill seeped into his bones and joints, so he walked stiffly across the sidewalks with an annoyed look across his face. Turning around, he couldn't take another step trying to go on an "adventure". He always tried to push himself out there, to make himself enjoy the world more, but he ended up hating the world more and more every time he forced himself past his comfort zone. A few minutes later, he reached his door and proceeded to warm himself up with blankets and dry clothes. He thought about the job he was going to be starting tomorrow morning. Is this really what he wanted? Did he want to spend almost every day working a regular job from eight to five? What will happen to him when he isn't working? Just play games and go on tumblr? Is that all there is to his life now? Is he just distracting himself? If those are meaningless distractions, then what is he distracting himself from? The fact that there's nothing else to do in his life?

He asked all of these questions over and over again until he snapped himself together and scolded himself, "It doesn't matter now because if you don't get money from the job, then you won't even have an apartment. Being homeless is a bigger problem than what you are doing with spare time."

He was tired from over analyzing his life and contradicting himself. Dan was exhausted and his body felt like it was being sucked into a black hole. While he wanted to rest up so he could wake up early, his brain just wouldn't let him sleep. Even as he attempted to clear his head and think of nothing at all, his brain kept bringing back the thoughts of his existence. Even though his eyes were closed, he was tortured by his head to stay awake which eventually shut down.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEE-

Shutting his alarm off, he looked at the time. SHIT. That wasn't his alarm, that was his snooze alarm! His clock said 7:45. "Shit shit shit..." He thought as he grabbed some black jeans from his dresser and snatched up a dark shirt from his closet. Adjusting his necklace, he slipped on his sneakers and coat, and sprinted out the door.

The store was actually on the outskirts of the city and around a 15 minute walk from his flat, so it took Dan about half the time, as he was running. He barged through the door at full speed and almost fell over. Leaning against some bookshelves, he breathed heavily occasionally coughing, his lungs burning from the exercise and the temperature. He turned red when he heard a small laugh behind him, "Well at least you aren't late." Although groaning, he eventually became stable on his feet and started breathing normally. He looked back up at her for instruction as she started to talk, "Alright Dan, let's get you to work!"

She had him dust all the bookshelves, catalog the new orders, and when business started picking up, she taught him how to man the front desk. At 12:00, she said they could take a lunch break for a bit, so he ran up to Starbucks and got a latte. On his way back against the frigid air, he held the cup and warmed his hands with its heat. He slowly sipped it and hissed when the scalding coffee burnt his tongue, but continued to drink it anyways.

He pushed the book store door open and a rush of warm air blew in his face. He really took some time to look around the store, and realized it had a classy look about it. It had ladders on wheels to reach the higher shelves, it had an antique looking staircase with an ornate wooden railing that curved slightly up to a loft space. In the loft, there were a few more bookshelves and loads of plush chairs and pillows meant to be used as a comfortable living space. There was also a certain smell, as if the pages and stories were alive. It smelt like home and comfort, and a little bit like warm autumn, which is a deep contrast to the icy winter that frosted the windows.

He and Hannah started to talk some more and he found out that she was pretty funny. While her extremely energetic attitude made him uncomfortable at first, he now could see now that she truly was a nice, happy person.

The customers started picking up around 2:00 and continued to escalate until his shift ended at 5:00. "Bye Hannah, See you tomorrow." Dan said quietly.

Her head popped out from from around a bookshelf across the room as she squealed, "BYE DAN!" He could hear her giggle as the door slid closed.

He then scuffled back home with his eyes on his shoes.

This routine continued for about two weeks. After a tiring week, Friday came and he finally got his paycheck.
"Bye Hannah."
"BYE DAN! You've been a great employee, keep it up!"
"Alright, thanks."

Dan went home and after a few hours of tumblr and a microwave dinner, he passed out, thankful for the weekend.