I shifted uneasily in the waiting room chair, mouth dry. I hadn't expected to hear from Asgard Graphic Novels quite so soon, or at all, so I had reason to be anxious. They had very high expectations and very little remorse for firing members of staff. They also sometimes called the people who had the worst CVs in so that they could ask why they were ridiculing the company. I hoped I wasn't one of them.
I waited, slowly noticing that all of the other applicants were male. I felt like a fish out of water, sat there, high heels, black pencil skirt and white blouse, the whole thing, next to a bunch of… How shall we say…? Rather round men with offensive body odours and t-shirts two sizes too small and jeans. Put simply, I felt doomed.
Finally, my turn came and my name was read out 'Lofn Anderson?' I stood up, timid, but determined to be confident. I walked to the interview room and took a deep breath and opened the door. Then I saw him. His sharp green eyes met my charcoal grey pair and invited me to take a seat. I noticed the co-owner, a strong looking man with blond hair that was rather long for a man. Come to think of it, they both had fairly long hair. For men anyway.
I snapped back, thoughts coming back into focus as I took my seat.
'Miss Anderson. I am the owner of Asgard Graphic Novels, Mr Laufeyson. This is the co-owner, my step-brother, Thor.' He said the word step-brother with a lot of unnecessary venom.
The co-owner nodded. 'It's nice to meet you.' He smiled. I smiled back. He was reading a paper, presumably my CV. I swallowed gently. 'From your CV, you seem to be ideal, but we need to ask you a few questions.' I nodded a silent ok.
Mr Laufeyson looked at a sheet on the desk, 'Would you be able to promise that anything that goes on in here would remain secret, unless we say otherwise?'
'Of course. I used to work at a hospital and…' I said.
'Yes, that's fine miss, we don't need to hear too much, it makes an awful backlog. Are you able to handle banter and jokes?' Mr Laufeyson asked.
I laughed inwardly 'Yes. A concise yes.' I nodded.
Mr Laufeyson nodded, stacking the papers. 'That's all. You've got the job. You start tomorrow.'
'That's it?' I ask, confused.
'Yes. Why would it need to go on any longer than this?' he frowned.
'Don't you need to ask about my qualifications?' I was concerned for their lack of questions.
Mr Thor (well, I presumed it was a surname) laughed slightly 'We know all we need. Tell the other applicants the vacancy has been filled.'
Mr Laufeyson went out into the waiting room to announce that the vacancy was filled, which was greeted by a disappointed round of groans and grumbles.
He returned, closing the door quietly.
'Can I go now?' I asked, almost silently.
'There's one last thing. How much do you know about Norse mythology, Miss Anderson?' Mr Laufeyson asked, a small, cheeky, knowing smile on his lips.
'Odin was king of Asgard, Thor was his son, and Loki was his other son. Thor didn't share a Mother with any of his siblings. That's about it, other than about Sleipnir. The 8 legged horse that only exists because Loki screwed a horse.' I smiled. 'And you can call me Lofn.'
'Good. And it might be best if you leave out the bit about Loki screwing a horse.' Mr Thor laughed.
Mr Laufeyson scowled 'It was only once. And trust me, it created something amazing.'
'Whatever. At least she's knowledgeable about the past of our people.' Mr Thor laughed. 'And you may call me Thor, Lofn.'
'I'm called Loki, but don't panic, I don't screw many horses.' Loki laughed slightly.
'OK. I feel like I recognise you two from something big. But I don't know what.' I remarked, quietly noticing their British accents.
'There are a lot of people who look like us, Lofn. But we're just us. Normal.' Thor smiled slightly.
I started to notice things about both of them. The way Thor looked like some kind of Body-builder work-out fanatic, but still dressed well. The way Loki looked in dire need of some rest and to eat more. They were both so extreme, I felt awkward. They were both incredibly tall, and I could tell that from even when they were sat down.
'Well said.' Loki remarked, quietly sizing me up.
'Is that the end?' I spoke up, feeling uncomfortable with Loki's staring.
'Yes. You start tomorrow. We look forward to seeing you.' Thor smiled, his stormy grey eyes seeming to subside in their storminess. I nodded and walked out, just as they started another conversation.
'It's impossible.' Loki snapped. 'It is.' Thor replied.
That was when I shut the door. I didn't want them thinking I was a busybody. I walked out, silently glad that it was over and I had got the job. But I couldn't help wondering about the hushed conversation that occurred as I left. I shrugged and stretched, stepping out into the bright sunlight.
I skipped along the road, putting my earphones in and putting on 'It's a beautiful Day' by Michael Buble. I laughed and walked along, singing too. I felt happier and lighter and freer willed than before.
I skipped to my apartment, yawning with the stress of a tiring day. I glance at myself in the mirror, not feeling the need to take too much of a check, since I knew my makeup was fine. I flicked my milky ash blonde hair over my shoulder and walking up the stairs quietly. I was about to flop onto my bed, if a note hadn't caught my eye. It was a small piece of paper, about the size of my palm and had neat, yet looping handwriting scrawled across it. I frowned, picking it up and gently prying it open. It had the following sentences scrawled in black ink across it.
'Lofn Anderson,
Meet me in Weatherstone Park, by the water fountain at 5 o'clock sharp. Please come, it would be incredibly embarrassing if you didn't, especially after that interview you had with me earlier. I would be incredibly grateful if you would come for ice cream and a chat.
~Yours, Loki Laufeyson'
I smiled slightly. Then frowned all over again. 'How did he…' I said, confused. 'Hey, I'm still going for ice cream.' I mumbled, laughing slightly. I stretched, looking at the clock, to see the time. It was coming up for quarter past four and I sighed. Well, I didn't want to go dressed like this. It seemed like it was going to be an informal matter, so white fitted blouse and pencil skirt might not be the best way to go. I changed into a pair of pale blue jeans, a loose, light yellow blouse and a grey jumper with the lettering 'CHILL' on it in black. I sighed, checking the time and by then it was half four. I slumped, realising how slow time was going. My stomach gurgled and I looked down at it, shocked. I decided to satisfy it by eating a sandwich. I looked at the clock, and suddenly it was 4:45. I felt cheated, but excited. I pulled on a jacket and started walking down to Weatherstone Park.
I arrived at the fountain no later than 4:55, so I sat down on a bench, basking in the sunlight. It was strange how quickly seasons could change, since she was sure only yesterday there had been no leaves at all on the trees. I yawned and almost drifted off, before realising it was 4:59. He would be here soon. I straightened myself out, stretching and trying to make myself look full of energy, which I really wasn't. I was beginning to get anxious, since he had 10 seconds in which to appear from nowhere or he'd be a hypocrite. I smiled, knowing I could never bring myself to mention it if he was. Sure enough, as my analogue watch was a second away from 5:00, he strolled around the corner, smiling.
"Have you been waiting long?" he asked.
"A few minutes. Nothing major." I shrugged. "So where are we going?" I smiled.
"I actually have no idea. Somewhere that sells ice cream." He laughed.
"You have no idea where 'Somewhere that sells ice cream' is do you? Come on. I know a place. It's the best ice cream ever!" I laughed, taking his hand and running, dragging him behind me.
He followed, almost tripping over a few times. I kept looking back to make sure he was ok, but he was never frowning or looking concerned. We stopped in front of a large ice cream parlour, with a pastel sign, reading 'Stark Ice cream'. Loki looked suspicious.
"Really? I never knew he ran an Ice cream parlour…" he muttered.
"He doesn't run it, exactly… He owns it. They were in financial trouble and Stark couldn't bear to let it go. He'd loved coming here as a kid, so he bought it, but still allowed the family who ran it to continue running it. He didn't want them to change the name, but they insisted, as a thank you." I grinned at him. "Not all big famous people are absolute jerks."
He smiled, looking almost surprised at the story.
I drag him in, laughing. "Hey Mr Willing." I said to the old man behind the counter.
"Lofn, it's been such a long time since you'd visited! You didn't need to buy anything, just come for a chat. The doors always open." Mr Willing smiled. "And who might this young man be?"
"Loki Laufeyson." We both said in unison. We turned to each other slowly, our faces matching expressions of shocked laughter.
"Well, Loki. I hope you're good enough for Lofn. She's hard to impress!" Mr Willing laughed.
"Mr Willing. It's not like that. We're just friends." I laughed awkwardly.
For now… I thought.
The parlour owner shrugged. "It's your business, not mine. I apologise."
Loki nodded. "It's ok." We took seats at the bar. "What do you recommend?" he whispered.
"Anything. But especially the chocolate banana or the banoffee. Or the Turkish delight one." I smiled, whispering back.
"Ok. Could I have a double scoop chocolate cone with banoffee and chocolate banana?" Loki asked.
Mr Willing nodded. "Lofn? What do you want? The usual?"
I smile, looking up. "Double scoop plain cone with Turkish delight." I grin.
"The usual then?" Mr willing laughed. He went into the back to pick up some cones and an extra tub of Turkish delight flavour, since the tub at the front was running low.
"You have a usual?" Loki asked, a small smirk on his lips.
"Yes. Deal with it. I used to come here every day. I'd always get Turkish delight flavour, I don't know why, but Rose and Lemon always appealed to me. I guess they were pretty colours, and I just liked it as a kid, being those colours." I smile.
The older man came back, carrying everything her had set out for. Our ice creams were done in a jiffy and we both started eating our ice creams. I looked at him, knowing what would happen next. I had been able to gather from our brief encounters so far that he was a mischievous individual to say the least. I wasn't going to be the first to end up as the first one to get ice cream on their nose. He was.
I acted on that thought and flicked the tip of the ice cream cone up, shoving his nose into it. He looked up, one eyebrow raised. He lifted his head from the ice cream, his nose covered in an odd mix of brown and yellow. I couldn't help laughing at him. He smirked and laughed slightly too. I raised an eyebrow an instant before my nose was mushed into my ice cream. My nose must have looked slightly normal, but odd, because Loki sniggered and laughed. I blushed, laughing too. I reached for a napkin and wiped the ice cream off my nose, reaching over and doing the same to Loki's.
"Sorry. Never could help shoving an ice cream in some-ones face. One of my nasty habits." I shrugged.
We finished our ice cream quietly, making small talk. When we were about to pay for our ice creams, Mr Willing wouldn't accept it. I looked at him, confused. "On the house." I smiled slightly, discreetly leaving a tip.
Loki and I walked out of the ice cream parlour, smiling.
He looked like there was something on his mind.
"What's up? Is everything alright?" I asked, concerned.
"Oh? Yeah." He muttered.
"Ok. In the note you said you wanted to talk?" I asked.
"Ah, yes. Do you have any family?" He looked thoughtful.
"Yes, but they haven't spoken to me since I moved away." I replied.
He glanced at me. "That's unfortunate. Where did you move away from?"
I hadn't thought about that much before. I reply, confused "I'm not sure I actually remember. It was a few years ago. I don't remember. Alaska, maybe. Something that begins with an A. I think."
Loki nodded. "It's ok. Just wondering was all. Thought you might be more comfortable talking about that outside the office. Was I right?"
I nodded, yawning. "Why wasn't your brother here? I would have thought you would wanted him to hear it too."
He shook his head quietly. "No. He wasn't really interested."
I shrugged. "It's getting late." I commented, looking at the colour of the sky. It was an orange hue, with tendrils of pink floating around the bottom.
"So it is." He smiled, holding my hand lightly. "The sky is a lovely colour isn't it?"
I smile and nod as he walks me home. As we near the door of my apartment, he stops me. "I hope this won't be the only time I see you outside work."
"Of course. Why wouldn't I want to do this again? It was fun." I stood on tiptoes and hugged him. "I better go. I'm tired and it's getting late." I stand back, smiling.
Loki looked shocked at the sudden hug, but smiled. "Ok. Whenever you need me, I'm here." He replied.
I walked to the door and turned to wave at him. He smiled, waving and waited until I was inside the door to walk away.
