The Harkins Haunting

The Fued Between Us

Tuesday arrived after many continuous days of repetitive school work and sports. I just finished getting off the bus and waved goodbye to Ava as I headed home. I got dressed in an average black t-shirt with black dress pants and plain black shoes with no logo showing. It seemed like I was all set.

As I made my way to Harkins, I began to think about life. Before I knew it, it was all going to change. I would no longer be the same Chanel Henen, but a whole new person, I was unrecognizable, even to myself. I took a deep breath as I stood outside the doors once more.

I wasn't sure if I was ready for such a drastic change, but a part of me knew this was for the best. As I walked through the doors, I was greeted by some managers and others waiting eagerly to start training. I stood quietly hoping to avoid awkward conversations by others but was soon confronted by a girl with curly blonde hair who looked around my age.

"Hi there" she spoke. "My name is Laurie"

"Hello, I'm Chanel." I responded, relieved to find a normal looking person to talk to.

"Nice to meet you Chanel. Do you wanna head up stairs together? It's where they are doing our training."

"Sure!" I replied following her down the lobby.

Laurie, I, and a few others accompanied by a manager found ourselves at the elevator. The way up was an awkward one. Few words were spoken and everyone found themselves staring down in their own certain direction. As I began to think matters couldn't get any worse, I finally reached the training room where I was greeted by the rest of the group I was meant to be training with.

There was one boy in particular that stood out to me. He eyed me down as I sat in the only available seat, the one being right in front of him. Laurie glanced over and looked at him before speaking up.

"Cam! There you are! I was starting to think you wouldn't show!" She spoke beaming with excitement.

Cam, huh..so that was his name.

The boy continued staring at me, refusing to break eye contact.

"Who's this girl we have here?" He finally replied rolling his eyes back.

"Oh," Laurie responded. "This is a new friend I made downstairs. Chanel meet Cam, and Cam meet Chanel."

"Hmph" I heard Cam mutter. Ugh, I thought. Who does this guy think he is. And what kind of guy name is "Cam" anyway!?

I turned my head refusing to give him any sort of attention and began to listen to the manager as she explained the training to us. Every few minutes or so she would stop to quiz us on what we went over and just as I would raise my hands, across the table I would see Cam's arm bolt up refusing to give me the satisfaction of giving the answer.

This was so ridiculous. Not even actually starting the job and already making an enemy with someone. After two hours of lectures and outdated cheesy videos, we were finally able to go back downstairs and begin our hands on training.

We began waiting in the back of concessions for what our manager called the "TL" to arrive. Finally, a guy who looked a little older than us appeared. I noticed he was wearing the same uniform but a red shirt instead of a black one.

"Hi guys, my name is Aaron, I'm going to be training you guys tonight"

Woah, I thought. Something about his voice sounded awfully familiar. It was then I made the connection. I could recognize that sarcastic voice anywhere! He was the same guy on the phone that I talked to, I knew I was bound to meet him sooner or later.

After he finished introducing himself, we were given tedious tasks involving sweeping up popcorn and wiping down bathroom counters. I was told this was the task of us "newbies" for the first few months.

After a few hours, we were told the training was over. Aaron excused us and went back to cleaning theaters, meanwhile Cam continued glaring me down and ignoring me.

I couldn't exactly say that it was quite what I expected. I'm sure many people view having a job as exciting and filled with opportunity, however, if I had to remain mopping down bathrooms for the next 3 months, I didn't plan on doing it alone.

Oh yes Ava, that means you.