The Butterfly Effect (Emison)

Chapter Four

The thing is, Alison is usually good at finding a job.

Emphasis on 'usually.'

It's just... she'd learned from an early age that the more people you know, the easier it'd be to get on with your life. Her first job had been as a babysitter, and that's only because the Montgomerys had a son with the hots for her. Either way, she had been fourteen, and earning enough money to buy herself a new bike all because Mike Montgomery couldn't keep his eyes off her ass.

In high school she'd managed to scrape up a couple of shifts at the local café from where she lived, having saved the manager's cat from a tree, and as a result talked her way into the customers' good graces in the hopes of making some connections.

It's how she found half the jobs she'd been driven to take that didn't involve her neighbor's pervy son eyeballing her the entire way.

It's how she survived; survival of the fittest and all.

Now that she had dropped her waitressing position at The Brew, her luck seems to be running out. There isn't a whole lot to look into when a good portion of the jobs available around campus are already occupied by college students, not to mention she's running low on the last of her savings.

It's probably why she had been desperate enough to ask Spencer for a little more guidance.

"Alison?" a voice snaps her out of her thoughts. "Are you even listening?"

Aria gives her a stern look when all Alison can offer is a sheepish grin, one that falters as soon as the small brunette hands her a list of the upcoming projects. Its length conjures up a defeated groan that she quickly stifles in order to avoid another scolding. Maybe not from Aria, but definitely from Spencer.

When Alison had asked for help in finding another job, she hadn't exactly expected, well, this. A used bookstore of all places.

It's not that she doesn't appreciate Aria's kindness, when her willingness to pull some strings to get Alison this job had allowed her the opportunity to prove herself in the first place. She's just... never been a huge fan of books. And she's starting to realize maybe waitressing has at least some perks.

Taking the paper from Aria's hand, Alison smiles weakly in return, only it turns out to be more of a grimace instead. "Got it," she answers in the affirmative, and tries to salvage what's left of her grin when Aria simply quirks an eyebrow at her. "Everything's colour coordinated. Red labels go with the hardcovers, blue for paperback, and yellow for schoolbooks. Oh, and no more Fifty Shades of Grey. Did I miss anything?"

"Only everything I've been talking about for the last five minutes," Aria practically deadpans, her accent thick and noticeably less controlled now that the formalities are done with. "Seriously, Ali?"

At least Alison has the decency to look ashamed, face flushed as she ducks her head and reluctantly admits, "Alright. So maybe I wasn't listening."

"Spence told me you were working at the diner before you started looking for another job," Aria explains after a moment of shared silence, in which Alison awkwardly shifts on her feet. "Why don't you just keep working there if this isn't your thing?"

"It's... complicated," Alison says with some hesitancy, not wanting to go into full detail on her financial affairs when her current situation is humiliating enough. "Let's just say the pay wasn't all that great."

"It's not much better here," Aria points out, smiling at Alison's knowing look.

"Yeah, well." Alison merely shrugs before casting a long look around the store, dingy in its appearance and resembles more of a pawnshop than an actual bookstore. "Where do I start?"