iGuard

The taxi driver turned to look at me.

"Hey kid, are you sure that this is where you wanna be dropped off?"

The taxi stalled in the middle of a quiet, seaside neighborhood, a salty breeze flowing through the open window of the peeling yellow taxi.

I handed the man driving the taxi a roll of cash, and he clammed up immediately.

"Yes, thank you."

I stepped out of the old taxi that had clearly seen better days, received my luggage from its trunk, and looked up at the house I would be living in temporarily.

It was big, a hulking mass of wood and paint, illuminated by the moon. The taxi man drove off, eager to get away from this strange piece of architecture that stuck out like a sore thumb among its fellow seaside houses. I took a step back and stared at my new home. It looked like someone decided to take an old Victorian house and a seaside cottage and fuse them together.
The result was a tall, 2 storied house painted a peeling light blue, complete with quaint, round windows and a wrap-around porch featuring a wicker table and chairs.

Not exactly the best design choice.

I trudged up to the iron gate surrounding the house, and pushed open the elaborately designed metal doors.

There didn't seem to be much of a front yard, only a couple of patches of grass here and there.

I stepped onto the faded wood porch and rang the probably broken doorbell.

I waited for a minute. There was someone living here already, right? When I signed up for the job, I was told that I should expect a roommate.

Usually, they assign jobs so we get partners of the same gender, so my roommate is most likely going to be a guy. Well, he or she probably didn't get here yet. Oh well, I guess I would have to wait a little longer to see who they were...

I reached into my jacket's front pocket and pulled out the house key I was given upon receiving the job. Before I could put the key in the lock, I heard hurried footfalls, and a muffled voice that yelled something that sounded like "coming!"

I jumped out of the way as the door flew open, revealing a beast of a guy with a mess of auburn hair, a lopsided smile, and a disheveled t-shirt and jeans. He took my hand in his and shook it, hard.

"Hey, I'm Brian Williams." He smiled again, and released my hand.

I awkwardly nodded back to him and tried to edge my way into the house. The guy took a step back, and let me in.

"So, who are you? What's your name, I mean?" He asked me once I had made it into the house. I turned to glance at him.

"My name is Levi Bareings." I started to walk down the foyer, my sneakers squeaking against the polished wood floor.

"Are you fresh from Apple?" I stiffened. I could feel the guy staring at my back.

I turned and glared at him.

"No, I'm not new to this type of work, if that's what you mean."

I've worked for many employers before this, too many to count. I was actually pretty lucky to get this job, really.

"Then why are you still wearing the standard jacket? It seems a bit strange that an experienced agent would still wear the same outfit given to him during training, doesn't it?"

I consciously tugged on the sleeves on my gray jacket, a size too big.

"It was a gift from a friend. He isn't taking jobs anymore."

He glanced awkwardly at the ground.
"Oh. Sorry." We awkwardly stood there for a couple of minutes, and then I turned and started to tug my small suitcase up the old wooden stairway.

"Hey!"

I looked down at the guy from halfway up the stairs.

"I'm excited to work with you, Levi."

Brian stared at me from the first floor of the house. I turned, and continued walking to my room, eager to plug in and regain some of my energy.