Noelle

Chapter 3

It's Friday morning and I find myself waking up earlier than usual to get ready for work. It's a strange feeling — it being my first official job away from home, and one that I'm actually looking forward to. My mother hadn't allowed me to work as a teenager besides doing little things like babysitting and yard work for the neighbors.

At the time I had figured that my mother, like many others, just didn't want her little girl to grow up. That's what I'd been told. Now I have a sneaking suspicion that it was her way of keeping me from leaving. Especially when I'd begun leaving little hints that I might want to move out.

What she didn't know is that I'd saved every single penny that I earned over those years, thinking that someday I might need it for something really important. Now I thank that instinct.

I feel a deep desire to make a good impression on Alexander and prove myself worthy as an employee. Despite the brave face I try to put on I'm incredibly nervous, though I know that asking for the job was the biggest obstacle for me to surpass.

After pulling my hair into a ponytail and quickly checking my appearance in the bathroom mirror, I deem myself acceptable for work. 

Alexander hasn't specified a dress code and I suspect that there isn't one in the small, laid back gift shop, but I still want to show that I made an effort to look presentable. I swap my favorite hoodie for a button up shirt and slip on my nicest pair of shoes.

At quarter past eight I make my way into town and enter the shop, the bell above the door alerting anyone present of my arrival.

The shop is nearly empty and I assume it's usually that way on an average week day. The only people present are Alexander, who waves as I enter, and a small girl examining a display of antique comics.

"Hello, dear! Ready to get started?" Alexander smiles at me, holding up a stack of papers, and I smile back in response. "I'll have you take over the cash register for today. Let me give you a quick rundown on how to use it."

He leads me behind the counter and points out all of the buttons and when to use them. He also explains how the pricing of the shop works, basic shop protocol, and a phone number to use if anything happens requiring his presence.

"Any questions?" he asks.

I glance at the register, which like many things in Aspen, is clearly a bit dated. The wheels in my head turn as I try to guess how long it will take before I mess something up. "I think I've got it."

He pats me on the back. "Let me know if you need any help."

The phone in the back room begins to ring and he takes off to answer it, thereby leaving me to run the counter. I take a look around my workspace and quickly notice a big box of antique photographs on a shelf beneath the counter. Kneeling down, I peer inside.

Many of them are portraits, but I recognize some as the town itself, and I'm fascinated by how similar it has remained over the years. I reach my hand out to pick one up.

"Hey!" a voice chirps from above my head.

Startled, I slam my head into the edge of the counter, grabbing it as I let out a groan.

"Oh, shit! I'm so sorry!" the girl says, running around the counter to help me up. "You're bleeding! Oh my God!"

I gently push the girl's hands away which have begun to pat frantically around my forehead. "It's okay, I'm fine," I assure her.

I shakily stand up and face the girl. It's the same one who'd been crouched down by the comics when I came in, but now I realize that she must be close to me in age.