Abelas looked on thoughtfully, a curled hand at his chin, debating whether to help his new co-worker or not; she had somehow managed to run the forklift into a towering pile of tires, and was currently yelling colorful curse words while slamming her small fists into the steering wheel. A small smirk begged at the corner of his mouth, before he schooled his expression into one more professional.
He casually walked toward her, halting his steps at the very edge of the lift's bars, and crossed his arms across his broad chest. "Ellana," he began, "you informed us you could operate this particular piece of machinery?" Ellana, to her credit, had the courtesy to appear sheepish as she withered under his gaze. Abelas had taken the time to teach her about the inner-workings of each piece of equipment, and this was the only one she had seemed to know anything about at the time.
When asked, she had told him she knew how to operate it. Sadly, Abelas had believed her, and he was now going to have to admit to the owners of their small shop that it was in fact his fault, and he would take whatever punishment they would deem necessary. It was because of this he decided to let her leave from work early. Clearing his throat to force her to look at him, and narrowing his golden eyes in the most accusatory way he could manage, he uncrossed his arms and pointed toward the overhead door leading out into the street.
Ellana nodded and bowed her head as she slid out of the forklift's seat, her shoulders slumped forward as she headed toward the locker where she kept her backpack. Grabbing it, and somehow managing to not meet Abelas's angry gaze, Ellana hurried her steps to get out of the shop as quickly as she could, before she got fired on the spot. It would be horrible luck indeed to be fired from a job the same day she had begun.
Walking to her apartment building, she saw a notice on the outside of her door. An eviction notice, to be exact. Sighing, she ripped the notice out of the door jamb, unlocked her door, and slammed it shut once inside. Tossing her bag to the floor, and tossing herself onto her couch, she pressed a hand to her forehead, sighing deeply. "So stupid. So. Stupid." She said to the empty room. "All you had to do is drive the forklift but nooo…you got distracted by a pretty face!" She hissed, slamming her hand against her head.
Angry with herself, she sulked to the shower, hoping the hot water may ease her nerves. She had just received a call from the owners that very morning, that her resume had been accepted. Ellana had been overjoyed at the news, hopping in place in her kitchen when she received the call. One of the owners, Mythal, had informed her she would be guided by someone who had been in her service for many years, and that he would not lead her astray.
That morning, after getting ready and hugging her cat to her chest in a farewell, she had walked only a city block when she had already arrived at the mechanic's shop. The heady scent of gasoline filled her nostrils immediately, and she inhaled deeply, having missed the smell from back home. She had been too enthused with looking around the shop and learning its smells when she walked into a very solid object. Ellana has gasped in response, an apology ready on her tongue, when gold hawk-like eyes narrowed down at her and forced her to forget any words she had been about to say.
Backing away slightly, she managed to get a better look at him, and the more she saw, the more she was looking forward to working here. He had tattoos that twisted along his forehead, in a branching tree-like formation. They were very much faded, like he had received them centuries ago, and she noticed that the design followed down along his neck and disappeared into his shirt. Too late, she realized she was staring and began to back away further. He had narrowed his eyes when she had been close to him, and now seeing she was backing away, he had shrugged his shoulders slightly and pushed past her.
Heaving a sigh, she began to walk toward the door that had "office" in big, bold letters across it. Hearing nothing from within, she rapped on it gently, and heard a soft "come in" from the other side. She had met Mythal, had filled out the paperwork, and had, admittedly, been half-listening as she went on about what would be expected of her, lost in thought about the man she had quite literally ran into.
Mythal, at length, became quiet, and eventually mentioned that Ellana should meet the man who would be training her. She called over the PA system for someone named Abelas to please come to her office. Still lost in thought, and not really wanting to make small talk with the owner, she had fallen silent; only to feel a very deep blush inching its way from her cheeks to her chest when the man she couldn't quite seem to get out of her head walked through the door purposefully.
After introductions had been made, she still couldn't meet his eyes. It was because of that fact, perhaps, that she had taken an interest to the forklift, saying she was very familiar with the equipment. In truth, she had only driven one once, as a child, and had long since forgotten how sensitive the steering wheel was. She had been unabashedly been watching her new mentor as he bent to lift a large monster truck tire onto its side and lean it against the wall, and feeling her blood quicken at his impressive physique, she had pressed down on the gas pedal a little too hard, and had run it into the pile of tires at the back of the building.
If she were honest with herself, now alone and laying in the tub, she would rather him believe her incompetent at handling a forklift than have him know the truth – that she had gotten so distracted by his figure that she ran a piece of heavy machinery with pointy things at the end through a mountain of tires. Growling at herself in frustration, she drew her knees to her chin and hung her head in shame.
XxXxX
Abelas was fighting a losing battle after Ellana had been dismissed for the day. Mythal had called him into the office, her features masked until she sat him down and began asking him about what his opinion of her was. Abelas began speaking on how she seemed willing to learn, but was untruthful in what she was skilled in, and he did not understand why. The more he spoke, however, the more Mythal's smile became more pronounced. Finally, with a slightly annoyed huff, Abelas asked what was so funny.
Turning the monitor around on her desk so he could see, there was a fifteen-second long video that had been paused. Furrowing his brows together, confused, he waited until Mythal had clicked the "play" button. Abelas watched with minute interest as he saw Ellana get into the driver's seat of the forklift, turn it on, and do a double-take to her left. Abelas saw her stare at a particular area outside the cone the camera could see, and watched in horror as the forklift sped up and rammed ungracefully into the tires.
Stopping the video, Mythal looked to him, a secret smile spreading on her face. "What?" Abelas was still as confused as before, and showed as such. "Do you not wonder, Abelas, what she was so enthralled with to cause her to react so?" He lowered his gaze from hers in contemplation. He ran the scenario back through his mind, after hearing the crash of the machine and her colorful curses – some of which even he had never heard before. Upon realizing what she was getting at, Abelas lifted his head to see Mythal had switched to another surveillance camera, having paused it at the exact moment he himself had turned 'round to see the aftermath, a curled hand at his chin, and his weight evenly balanced on both feet.
Abelas sighed, removing himself from the chair, and not meeting the owners' gaze, walked out the door, shutting it quietly behind himself. Deciding he needed to speak with her about her actions, he walked to her locker, knowing all employee's addresses were typed out at the top, so in case anything was left when they were fired from their job, the owners would know where to send their belongings. Opening the locker, and discovering not only her address but her cell phone number, he input the number into his own phone, and set a reminder to text her when he got home.