Alone

Chapter 1

 The town had a certain air to it. The place was small, cozy, everybody knew everyone, despite its larger size that caused it to border being classified as a city. Something about this town just put me in a good mood, and apparently Sarah as well.

She didn't want to leave, and I didn't know why. She had never felt this way about a specific town before. Was it how it felt? Did it put her at ease? I didn't want to bring myself to ask, since I knew how moody she could be.

Maybe she was too tired of being on the road all the time. I certainly didn't mind the road, but sitting down all day for weeks at a time, it was taking a toll on my physical health.

Regardless, I needed to find a job. If we were going to stay here for more than a month, then I'd need to find a place to work and support us. We had a lot of money already for leisure things we wanted, but the money I'd earn would go to living expenses, food, taxes, etc. If we needed to pull from the leisure pile, then we would; It'd only be in small amounts.

When I was first looking for a job when Sarah and I moved out of our parents' home, I hadn't realized just how much work went into it. I started working online, trying to limit the amount of social interaction I experienced, to which I had little practice. Later on, I realized that I had to actually walk into the stores and ask. I didn't want to, but if I wanted a place to stay rather than the streets, then I needed to do it. So I taught myself, with much difficulty.

Now I'm twenty-five and have had a lot of practice looking for jobs, having changed one with every move Sarah and I made. Since we moved every month to every other month, then my job changed with the cities.

The more I searched, the later in the day it became and employees began groaning louder and more passionately whenever I walked in, some near closing time. Some of the employees tried getting me to leave if it was five minutes before they closed because they just wanted to go home. I didn't want to bother them, so I obliged, pledging to go back the next day.

On my way back home from my job search that day with little luck, I saw a small store just off the sidewalk. The building was about the size of a typical dollar store, and its parking lot was smaller than the building itself, with room for about twenty cars. The sign that hung above the front doors glowed dimly in the descending sunlight: "Granny's Garage."

It's on the way back. I can see if they're hiring.

I made a brisk walk towards the store and place my hand on the door, pushing it open. As soon as I step in, I can tell that "Granny's Garage" is a donation place. People donate their unwanted junk and the shop sells it to people who can somehow find a use for it. Crafts, strange toys for their kids, kitchen supplies that are so near broken that it's a miracle that people would even buy them.

People in this place really do have a lot of junk.

Wait, what's this town's name again?

As I tried to remember, I absentmindedly strolled up to the cashier and... Did I ask for the manager? I was so preoccupied that I wasn't sure I actually said anything. I must have, because the employee smiled and nodded then went to the back room.

I grew so lost in thought that I hadn't noticed the manager approach me from the front. He was darker, sort of a bright chocolate brown. Gray trousers, a white dress shirt, blue tie, and his vest thrown off somewhere in the back when he was only concerned with comfort and not formality. His hair looked to have been slicked back earlier in the day but was now sticking up in places, just an overall mess that gradually grew worse as the day wore on. He was slimmer and around my age, older by two years at least. His eyes held exhaustion, bags dragging his eyelids down further and a scowl dressed across his face without the negative emotion accompanying it.

"Did you bring your resume?" He asked.

"Oh, yes, of course." I handed him the slip of paper in my hands.

He tilted his head, furrowed his brow, and let a slight smile creep up on his lips. "You've had a lot of job experience for being only 25." he commented, continuing to look over my resume.

"My roommate and I move around a lot so I've never had one job for more than a month. But I'm confident that I'll be here more than a month, I assure you."

He smiled and released the ghost of a chuckle, looking up from my resume to look me up and down, my long white hair pulled up into a ponytail and hands picking at each other.

"Your roommate? You didn't have to go with her, or him, when they moved."

"She can't survive on her own for long. She wouldn't have survived two days if I hadn't tagged along. I enjoy her company anyway." I pulled at the hem of my shirt.

He hummed in response. "How are you with social interactions?"

"It may not seem like it, but I have no problem talking to strangers. It's people I'm trying to get to know that I struggle with." I answered, not making eye-contact.

This time he actually did laugh. "Well, you're not the only one. Trey in the back struggles around people all the time. I think you'd fit in just fine here."

I blinked as he placed my resume on the counter and held out his hand. "I'm George. George Warnet."

I took his hand. "Um, Violet Raymond."

Idiot, he read your name on the resume.

"What about an interview? To, like, get to know me, how I'll do in certain situations?"

He shook his head. "I'm a firm believer in learning about a person through actions, not by what they say." He lifted and twisted his hand to check his watch. "I need to close up in a bit. Are you okay with texts?"

I nodded, pressing my lips into a thin line. "Great! I'll let you know when to come in for training!"

He gave me his number and I put it into my phone. As I was leaving Granny's Garage, I glimpsed a man leaving the back room, strides quick and eager with twitchy hands. I heard a hesitation in his voice before the door closed behind me. I couldn't quite make out his face, but he had fair skin and nervous mannerisms. I guessed that was Trey.

Luckily, Sarah and I didn't live too far from the retail store, so while Sarah used the car I could walk to work. It was a ten minute walk at most. There weren't many people left on the sidewalk and only then did I notice that it was growing late in the day. People were at home eating dinner with their significant others and their families, not out for walks down the side of the road.

I stepped into the apartment building and made a beeline for the stairs. I'd never trusted elevators. I needed the exercise anyway.

I climbed my way to the third floor and passed a few rooms and faced a door on my right. I stared at the "311" screwed onto the door as I placed my key into the lock and stared into the peephole as I turned the knob.

Once inside, I let out a sigh and let my keys fall out of my fingers onto a small table just inside the apartment. I slipped my shoes off and lined them on the wall: a pair of black Keds next to a pair of casual slippers, ones you would wear with a dress.

Sarah's head snapped around the corner with an eager grin. "So? How'd the search go?"

I looked at her sadly, letting a frown form on her lips. "Got a job at Granny's Garage."

She squealed and leaped towards me, yanking me into a hug. My muscles tensed under her touch and my smile that I had finally obtained faltered for a moment when I wrapped my own arms around her.

"That's great!" At last, she released me but held her hands on my shoulders. "I made casserole and I've got netflix open."

"Oh? What are we going to watch?"

"Your choice. You spent the day looking for jobs, you need to relax with a show or movie of your choosing."

I pressed my lips forward and nodded. "Fair enough."