Evan stood at the register of her music shop, mindlessly scrolling through the many songs on her iPod, while keeping a subconscious eye on the customers who were browsing the aisles. Her hair, dyed green, hung down in her face, having grown longer than she liked, but she just hadn't gotten around to trimming it. Two piercings adorned her face, one on her lip, the other on her freckled nose, just under a pair of black-rimmed glasses. A tight-fitting T-shirt, which once stported a band logo, but had long since faded, hugged her body, the short sleeves showing off her tattoo-littered arms. Her hazel eyes flicked up occasionally to check on the customers, and then back down to her iPod.
The customers perusing the store were a couple of teenage girls. Once they found what they were looking for, they made their way over to the cash register. Evan had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. They'd spent a long time in the store, and all they managed to decide on was some celebrity gossip magazine. She hated even having those in the shop because they attracted people like those two girls, who were giggling at the air, and it made her eyebrow twitch. Being judgemental wasn't her thing, and she gave everyone the benefit of the doubt, but occasionally she allowed herself a slandering thought or two.
"Find everything okay?" she asked, a forced smile on her features.
One of the girls nodded, her grin matching Evan's, though probably not nearly as forced. She rang them up, going as quickly as she could, and sent them on their way, purposely leaving out the robotic, "come back soon" that was usually said at the end of a transaction.
They walked out, leaving Evan to her iPod before she heard the chime of the bell that hung above the door, signalling another patron walking in. She glanced up shortly, noticing a man had taken the place of the teenaged girls. Evan's glance was short, enough to notice a somewhat tanned face standing out against the dark clothes and dark hair. Evan's eyes were focused on her iPod, but kept her ears open, catching the shuffling of the man's feet as he browsed the aisles.
Just seconds later, the man now stood at the register in front of Evan.
"Find everything okay?" Evan asked robotically, taking the CD from the man's hand, inwardly nodding in approval at the Muse album he had picked out.
"Yup," the tall man answered. "I bought that CD here, like, a long time ago, but it broke, so here I am."
Evan nodded, her lips pressed into a thin like as she scanned the CD. The man paid for his album and Evan nodded, smiling forcibly as she recited her speech. "Have a good day and come back soon."
"Actually," the man said, holding the bagged CD in on hand, and shoving the other into the pocket of his skinny jeans, "are you hiring.?"
"No, sorry," Evan said, shrugging.
The man let out an exasperated and dramatic sigh.
"Man!" he groaned, stomping his foot like a child, suddenly eliminating all aspects of maturity that were once a part of his features. "Why is no one hiring?!"
Evan stood there awkwardly, knowing it was a rhetorical question, and being glad, because she didn't want to say anything either. She simply watched the pale man before her run a frustrated hand through his shaggy, dark fringe.
"Please," he said, desperation coating his word. "I need this really bad."
"Sorry," Evan shrugged, "I'm just not hir-"
"I'll work for below minimum wage," the man interrupted.
"Uh, you know the definition of minimum, right?" Evan retorted, already getting fed up with the man's stubbornness. She didn't appreciate pushy people.
"You know, I'll even work here on just tips!" the man said, completely disregarding Evan's sarcastic remark.
"What would that do for you?" Evan raised her eyebrow at the man before her.
"Look," the man sighed, leaning down so he could rest his elbows on the register counter. This brought him even closer to Evan, and she instinctively stepped backwards. She also despised her personal space being invaded. The man ignored the gesture that would have typically been insulting. "You know that video sharing website, YouTube?"
Evan nodded.
"Well, that's my 'job' right now, and I'm staying with my friend," he explained. "I'm afraid he's beginning to think I'm just freeloading off him. I just need to get out, and if I say I got a job, he'll understand and won't be suspicious. I'll do all the work you tell me, all you have to do is pretend that I'm actually getting paid."
"You make videos for the internet?" Evan said instinctively, having zeroed in on the part of the man's ran more than anything else.
"Uh, yeah," the man spoke slowly, shifting away from the counter. "Is...is that a problem or something?"
"I don't really like fame-starved geeks," Evan said, shrugging her shoulders.
"Oh, so you think you're better than me, huh? An elitist?" the man's eyebrows had furrowed.
"No," Evan shook her head. "I don't mind nerds. There's nothing wrong with wanting to be in the spotlight. I just don't like people like that."
"That makes no sense," the man shook his head. "How can you be-you know, never mind! If you don't want arses like me working in your store, fine by me!"
"Hey, don't call yourself that," Evan said as the man was about to spin on his heels and leave.
"How am I the bad guy if I at least have the decency not to call you that?"
The man just blinked at Evan. He couldn't, for the life of him, understand how it was possible for her to discriminate against him, and not be elitist.
"I don't get you," the man finally said.
Evan just shrugged and stood there, an awkward silence growing between the two.
"Well, if you say you're not the villain, will you please do me this favor?" the man went back to his begging and groveling.
"I told you I'm not hiring," Evan said, almost laughing at how quickly the man had forgotten that he had been seriously insulted.
"Come on," the man persisted. "If anything, just let it be for a week or two until I find another job. I really cannot just lounge around my flat anymore. I swear I'll do all the work as if I was actually getting paid. Just a week or two, and I'm out of here, job or no job."
"You're stubborn," Evan shook her head, already not wanting to allow this guy into her shop because of the sheer fact that he annoyed her.
"Please," the man begged one last time, looking right into Evan's eyes. "I really need this."
Evan couldn't help but detect the sincerity and true desperation in the man's voice and eyes. She began to wonder about what could have been so horrible about his flatmate that he was doing this much just to get away from him, yet not move out. Evan quickly shut her thoughts up, not allowing herself to grow curious about some stranger.
"Fine," Evan gave in, unable to take much more of the man's annoying persistence. "Starting tomorrow, I'll give you two days to show that you can actually work here. If you're good, I'll take you for two weeks exactly. I'll pay you, but in two weeks, you will be done whether you found a job or not."
What had to be the biggest smile known to mankind appeared on the man's face, revealing every small tooth in his mouth.
"Thank you so much!" he exclaimed. He extended his hand forward. "I'm Daniel Howell, your new employee."
"Temporary," Evan rolled his eyes, taking his hand in a short handshake. "Evan Way. Be here tomorrow at eight."
"Will do, Boss!" Daniel nodded happily.
"Evan," Evan corrected him. "Just Evan."
"Right," Daniel nodded. "Evan. But you can call me Dan. It's easier than Daniel."
"No, thanks," Evan said plainly. "Daniel."
Evan actually expected Dan to be repulsed by her—for lack of a better word—rudeness. Other people that had come looking for a job, after being plainly rejected, walked away without a glance back.
"Ok, whatever works for you," Dan smiled. "I guess I'll go let my flatmate know, then. Thanks again. It means so much to me, Evan, you have no idea."
"Right, yeah, whatever," Evan shrugged. "Two weeks."
Dan nodded happily, still smiling and walked out of the record store, waving to Evan through the window even after he was outside.
Everything about Dan agitated Evan. He was too cheerful, he was too stubborn, and he was much too comfortable around strangers, yet Evan had hired him. The only thing redeemable about him was his taste in music. Evan figured that maybe that had been the trigger to her giving in. Usually, the people that came to look for a job were teenagers who didn't even know about 90% of the bands featured in that store. Evan decided that that was it. She had a weak spot for music.
The one thing, though, that annoyed Evan more than anything was the fact that Dan just kept bouncing back no matter how rude or insulting Evan was. For Evan, whenever she wanted to push people away, all she had to do was unleash a few of her sarcastic remarks and they were fleeing away from her in seconds. Normal people were easy for Evan to get rid of. Dan was not normal.