Resolve // Van McCann

6. First Day

I couldn't shake off what he told me. I was genuinely worried now and I hated that he told me that. He knew I was already curious about Larry and he knew telling me this would rile me up even more. What is he playing at exactly? Sometimes I couldn't tell if he even liked me. One minute, he'd be nice and then the other minute, he'd be unfriendly.

My parents eyed me as I sat down silently. They didn't need to speak for me to know they were wondering what that was all about. I cleared my throat before speaking.

"I was calling Dan because I have some questions about my first day," I lied, keeping my voice steady.

"During dinner on a weekend?" my mom questioned, raising her eyebrows.

"He said I could call him anytime," I said, shrugging my shoulders. "He honestly didn't mind." I grabbed a spoon and dug in, noticing my parents almost destroyed it.

"Do you know who the cake is from? It says 'I'm sorry,'" my mom continued.

I shook my head. "Your guess is as good as mine." The rest of dinner was silent after that and we were too full for ice cream so we went home. All the excitement I had for my new job was gone.

.

.

Monday finally rolled around. It came much faster than I wanted it to. My hand blindly shot up to turn off the alarm and I groaned. I forgot how much I hate waking up early but I had to get up. I can't be late for my first day.

I brushed my teeth, washed my face, and changed into something nice. Dan didn't specify the dress code so I decided on something semi-professional yet comfortable at the same time. I put my hair into a half ponytail and put light makeup on. Looking at the time, I realized I spent too much time getting ready which didn't leave me much time to catch the bus. I stuck a piece of toast in my mouth before grabbing my coat and bag and rushing out the door. My parents started earlier than I did so luckily they didn't see me running late. I half walked, half ran to the bus stop and found another person waiting which meant I didn't miss the bus and began eating my toast as quickly as possible. The bus finally came and I climbed on.

I spent the past few days doing research on how to get to and from work without a car. My family only has two cars since having lived in the city before, we didn't really need a lot of cars. Now that we live on the island, we needed a third car but couldn't afford one as we had just bought a house. Once I have saved enough money from this job, I hoped to get a car of my own.

I got off the bus and began my fifteen minute walk to work. There weren't many people in Friday Harbor so the buses don't run as often and they only serve popular routes. Dan's Music Shop is away from the touristy area, hence my long walk, but exercise and fresh air will do me some good. It's going to be awful in the winter when it's grey and drizzly. I made my way to the front door and the bell chimed. Dan was already at the store along with Noah who I have previously met. Dan is the owner of the store and is rarely around. Noah and Oliver are sales associates. Noah takes care of the first half of the day while Oliver takes care of the second half of the day. I said good morning to the both of them and put my bag on the counter to fish out my new hire paperwork. Once I found it, I handed it to Dan.

"Thanks Freya. I'll give this to Will to process," he said, grabbing the papers from me.

"Who's Will?" I asked.

"Will is the manager. You didn't meet him, did you? He was on vacation when we interviewed you."

I could feel my stomach twist in knots as Van's warning entered my head.

"Larry told me all the shit the manager's done to him. Be careful."

What are the chances that this is the same manager Larry worked under, three years later? I guess I'd have to ask how long he's been here for. As if on cue, the bell rang and I turned my head to see a man with short brown hair walk in. He was tall and his body was a medium build but his presence was commanding. As soon as his eyes landed on mine, he smiled, holding out his hand.