LAYERS

Job Application

When Mint entered the living room, she found Ashley picking up the half empty pizza box that was left on the coffee table from the previous night. The sound of footsteps closed in behind Mint, Plum finally leaving the bathroom to join her.

A concerned expression adorned Ashley's face, seeming tucked away in his thoughts as he neglected to acknowledge the siblings entering the room.

"Hey," Mint murmured, startling Ashley from his trance.

The pizza box tumbled out of his hands, and he only narrowly caught it before it could reach the floor. "Oh, hey," he sputtered. Unsure of what else to say, Ashley asked, "Are you- are you alright?"

Immediately, he wished to retract his question, withering under the sour look Plum was sending him. Though, astoundingly, the sour expression softened when Mint looked at Plum.

"Yeah. Just had a bad dream." Mint pushed out a chortle, scratching at the back of her head as Ashley made his way to the kitchen.

Plum, not wanting to engage in any conversation though willing to 'give Ashley a chance' for the sake of his sister, followed after Ashley to the kitchen. He nodded at Ashley as a greeting, then busied himself with making breakfast.

Ashley gave a delayed nod back, intimidated, before returning to the living room.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Ashley offered Mint as he folded the blanket they had shared.

"Maybe in a bit," Mint said, trailing off. Then she picked up like nothing had ever happened. "Oh, I grabbed a job application from Renee yesterday before leaving, but forgot to give it to you. I'll go get that."

Mint strolled towards her bedroom, shutting the door behind her when she arrived.

Why are things so awkward? Mint groaned to herself, placing her hands on her cheeks. After a moment dedicated to allowing herself to breathe, she walked towards her backpack and retrieved the job application, as promised.

As Mint was fetching him the application, Ashley ambled towards the kitchen. He went to sit at the small table, right across from Plum, who was eating cereal.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Ashley asked, keeping his voice low.

"She'll be fine," Plum replied airily, playing with his food. "She'll open up eventually. She seems to like you, so..."

Ashley wasn't sure how to respond. When he asked his question, he wasn't even expecting a response, not to mention a polite one. He couldn't help but stare at Plum with astonishment.

Plum looked up from his food at Ashley's silence, gasping upon seeing his expression. "As a friend. She likes you as a friend, I mean," Plum spat out, words rushed as his face warmed under Ashley's gaze.

Ashley smiled wide. "Oh, yeah, I know that," he said with a chuckle. "We just haven't talked before, so—"

"Pluuum, are you and Ashley finally getting along?" Plum jumped under the teasing vowels of his sister's voice, shattering the quiet tension of the room without warning as she entered, paper in hand.

"What? I—uh, no! I mean—yes?" Plum stuttered out, immediately turning to stick his tongue out at Ashley. The man laughed good-naturedly, and, in his embarrassment, Plum emptied his cereal in the sink and stomped back to his bedroom.

Mint grinned as she watched Plum leave, moving to sit across Ashley.

"Here's the application," Mint said, sliding the paper towards Ashley. "I don't work today, but the cafe's open every day this week. We can drop it off once you fill it in."

Mint's disposition was the complete opposite of moments ago, when she had been solemn and quiet. The cheerful tone felt sticky to Ashley's ears, and all he could hope was that it was genuine. "Thank you," Ashley said. He turned the application so it faced his direction, then paused. "Do you have a pencil? Or a pen? Something?"

"Oh, yeah," Mint said, pulling a pen from her pocket. She intended to give it to him alongside the paper, but it had slipped her mind. "Here."

"Thank you," Ashley said again, taking the pen.

As Ashley filled in the empty slots on the paper, Mint got up to fix herself some water. The shower could be heard running in the other room, and Mint thought it must've been Max. He had been trying to use the bathroom earlier.

"Okay, done," Ashley called, signing the signature box at the bottom of the application. "I think that's it." He held the application up to Mint as if it were a test he'd got an A on.

"Great!" Mint congratulated him. "The cafe opens soon, wanna head over now?"

"Yeah, that's fine," Ashley replied, leaving the kitchen to put on his shoes.

Leaving her glass of water on the counter, Mint trailed after him to the front door. After putting on her shoes, she followed Ashley out the door, and started for the maid cafe.