audrey (bidabble) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2015-12-02 12:08:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, audrey, remus lupin |
Who: Audrey and Remus.
When: Late October.
Where: Baxter Bakery.
What: Job application!
Rating/Warnings: Low/None
Status: Complete!
It’s midterm time. Given Remus’ major, midterms generally meant papers and essays as opposed to traditional exams - and he misses the traditional exams. It was easier to just study and sit for a test. Papers are exhausting. But that was exactly why he was at the bakery in the morning (despite it being his day off), killing time before an afternoon class, books neatly organized around him and laptop open.
There had been studies about how certain noise levels stimulate the brain. Remus hadn’t actually read them, but he’d been around conversations about them. White noise apps were apparently on the up and up, but coffee shops were prime locations. Baxter Bakery was always busy, the hum of noise never stalling, so he hoped it would be conducive to inspiration. More importantly, though, was the constant stream of caffeine. With his first cup empty, Remus took it up to the counter, hoping to get a green tea refill.
Audrey was used to all of her customers. She knew most of them by name, by face, and by drink order. When the young man came back over to the counter, Audrey was a little shocked. She’d never made the connection before, but after her fresh dreams… wow. The similarity was unmistakable. This must be what her former Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher looked like when he was young. And Remus. How could she not have known??
“H-Hi there,” she said, forcing the shocked expression from her face. “Need a refill?” Audrey hoped her smile didn’t look as forced as it felt.
Remus just gave her a pleasant smile, if not a somewhat apologetic one. He assumed he’d perhaps startled her in the middle of a task.
“Oh - yes. It’s just a tea.” He placed the mug on the counter between them. “Honestly, I don’t really think I need a fresh bag, just some more hot water on top should be fine.”
“Ah, that I can do.” Audrey said, feeling a little awkward now. She accepted the mug and turned around to fill it with hot water from the drip coffee machine. It was ridiculously hot--near boiling. But he likely knew that, considering he came in often enough.
Audrey turned back around. “Here you go, Remus. Uh… how’s your day?” She added. Lame. Not great small talk.
“Well, I can’t complain. It’s not particularly eventful,” Remus offered, taking his mug, “but it’s not terrible. Yours? Busy as usual?”
As he talked, he put honey into his drink. It was bordering on a lot of honey, but he had a fondness for sweets and sweet things. Besides, he swore it helped to cool down the tea. The stirring certainly helped with that, too.
“Busy. Work’s going well.” Audrey paused for one brief moment, wiping her hands on her apron. “Had some weird dreams lately. Maybe I’m just stressed.” Oh, God, horrible. She was not subtle in the slightest. “I always seem to get bad dreams around this time of year. Maybe it’s something in the Pumpkin Spice that seems to be permeating the whole world during October.”
He snorted, an amused sound. “Everyone has weird dreams. Or so it seems.” He hadn’t had weird ones yet. Yet. Remus was surprised that he mentally added that word without thinking of it. “I hope they’re not too distressing? I’ve seen people talk about some terrible things.”
Remus frowned. He couldn’t imagine, being caught up in some of the things people around him were. The thought made his insides twist a bit. He took a cautious sip of his tea. “You know, if you’re overly busy - Holidays are coming up and I’ve been thinking that I probably need a part time job, and I was actually wondering if you needed any extra help.”
“Oh, no. My Dreams aren’t bad.” It was a knee-jerk reaction for Audrey now. She didn’t tell people the bad parts of her Dreams, she didn’t want other people to know that she had darkness in them. It’d been frightening, but she didn’t like looks of pity, or people worrying about her. Besides, she lived through it all, and had amazing daughters and everything. So.
“Oh, that would be great!” Audrey brightened a bit. “We’re definitely looking for part time work. It’s pretty easy stuff… just working the espresso machine, food-handling and customer service. Have you worked with a cash register before?”
“Well, that’s a relief.” Remus gave her a smile. He really was curious about the dream thing. He’d never spent a day beyond Orange County in his whole life and had never experienced anything like the dream phenomenon. He honestly wasn’t sure if that should be a relief or not.
But that could wait to be pondered another time.
“Oh. Yes. A couple of summer jobs during high school. Not very taxing. I’m sure I could manage a til system,” he answered. That would be embarrassing otherwise.
“Well, why don’t I get you an application, and you can come in for an interview? You can ask either myself or Izzy.” Audrey dug around under the counter for the application papers, then brought one out for him. “Just fill it out, it’s pretty standard. We’ve got full benefits for anyone who works more than eighteen hours each week. You get the starting wage plus tips. First raise comes at six months, and then once a year after that. We do provide rewards for positive secret shopper reviews, too.” The job paid pretty well.
“That would be great. I’ll go fill it out and drop it off before I leave?” It would be good to have something to do on the side, Remus thought. He felt so useless when he wasn’t studying and everyone else was busy. He read over the paper and nodded. Straight foward.
“Sure!” Audrey broke into a smile. As weird as it was, connecting this guy in front of her with the… other… she was always glad to hire good people. And Audrey knew good people when she laid eyes on one. “Here’s a pen. I should be around when you’re done, or just have them put it on my desk in the back.” She was looking forward to having him around more.
“Thanks. I promise I’ll bring it back.” It would be bad to put in a job application and then steal a pen. At least that’s how Remus saw it anyway. He took it back to his table and (very neatly) filled out the application. True to his word, after packing up, he stopped by the counter to deposit his mug and to see if Audrey was still around.
Audrey was behind the counter when Remus came back up with the application. She brightened at the sight of him, her smile growing wide. This was going to be weird. Good, but weird.