Legend's Apprentice

Training

Barney is at the security desk, and he looks at me intently. This is the first time I've shown up with anybody else.  "Hi," Aslyn says. "I'm here for an interview." Barney doesn't miss a beat. He may look like a rent-a-cop, but he's pretty sharp.

"Your names?" he asks.

"Aslyn Akiyama," she says to him and spells it. "It means 'autumn mountain,'" she says to me in an aside.

"That's pretty," I say. "Barnes means... storage structure, I think." She cracks up and even Barney grins as he picks up the phone.

"Somebody from IT is coming down for you, Ms Akiyama," he says. "And you, miss?"

"Alixzandrya Barnes," I say absently. He frowns at the computer screen, and I flush and spell it for him. He looks enlightened, and picks up the phone.

"Computers, huh?" I ask Aslyn, to divert her attention in case Barney mentions my uncle's name. I'm just not ready for anybody at school to know about my uncle, it's not that I'm ashamed of him. Heck, I'm not even ready for my parents to know that I've met him.

"Yeah, I want to do database administration," she says, looking abashed. "I know coding and hacking and all is cooler, but this is what is interesting to me."

"I have no room to talk," I tell her. "I've applied for the chemistry lab. Nothing more old school than that."

"You want to be a chemist?" she asks as Barney puts down the phone.

"They'll be down for you shortly," Barney tells me, breaking in deftly.

"Thanks," we say, and move to the side.

"I guess so," I tell her. "It's the most interesting thing I've studied so far. And I'm at Midtown so I can study at a better school, get a jump on college credits, get a good career."

She nods sympathetically. "Parents." That makes me chuckle. We hear elevator chimes and look over to see one of the special elevators disgorge a few people. There's a guy in rumpled khakis and buttondown, who couldn't look more sterotypically computer geeky--except he's hot--a really snappy-looking woman in flowing pants and a lab coat, and both Mr Stark and Uncle Bucky. Both of us let out exhales of appreciation, possibly for different reasons.

"This is a good looking company," Aslyn mutters to me. I grin. Khaki guy looks at us both and nods to Aslyn.

"Akiyama," he says to her. "You're with me. Todd Hall." He leads her back to the elevator. "We'll be interviewing with a couple of the other analysts in the conference room--" His voice cuts off when they enter the elevator.

"Hey, kid," my uncle says, putting his arm around my shoulders and pecking my cheek. It feels kind of odd, actually, seeing as how I just met him a short time ago, but nice.

"Alex," Mr Stark greets me briskly. "This is Carolyn Martin." The lady in the lab coat smiles at me. "You'll be working with her."

"I got the job?" I said blankly.

Ms Martin rolls her eyes. "It's normally the procedure for the labs to interview the candidates," she says crisply, looking hard at Mr Stark, who is totally not worried about a thing. "But Mr Stark made this hire himself." She looks at Bucky, who still has his arm around me. "I've seen your resume and listened to the interview, and I think you'll be fine." I cringe. Starting out on the wrong foot, but at least she doesn't seem to hold it against me personally. "Let's go."

"See you later, Uncle Bucky," I say. "Mr Stark." I follow Ms Martin to the elevators and am a little surprised when both men follow. In the elevator, my uncle asks me about my day and Aslyn, seeming pleased that I've made a new acquaintance. Ms Martin and Mr Stark listen. So awkward. Now everybody knows  I'm not popular. At least I'm able to report an A on the chemistry pop quiz.