Disclaimer: I do not own GMW or the MOMA. All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Especially MOMA employees. ;)
Without further ado.
I could kill someone right now. Seriously, someone was going to die.
What. Is. That buzzing sound?
"Mom! Turn it off!" I whined. Throwing a pillow over my head, I attempted to block out the sound until it stopped.
Wait a second... I don't live with my mom anymore.
Reminded and annoyed that I was an adult (kind of) and now had to do everything myself, I groaned as I peeked my head out of the covers and grabbed my phone.
My alarm. That makes sense.
Turning the blasted contraption off, I placed it back down, shut my eyes, and snuggled deeper into my comforter. Two seconds later though, my eyes popped wide open.
My alarm. It's today. I start today. Jesus Christ, how long had it been going off?!
I jumped out of bed. A little too quickly. I had to put a hand against the wall to stop the spinning.
That was stupid.
Once the room decided to stabilize, I glanced at my phone again. 6:45 am. I was not late. I breathed a sigh of relief before heading to the shower.
Nothing quite like your early morning freak out to get your day started.
I bit my lip and tried hard not to bounce my knee against the perfectly polished floor of my new manager's office. The pop tart I had grabbed while running out the door an hour ago was churning in my stomach.
Doing well with this internship meant endless possibilities. It meant connections. It meant world travels. It meant people could someday know my name. So I couldn't help but be nervous.
Suddenly, a tall lean woman breezed through the doorway and slammed the door shut behind her. I jumped.
She sat down in front of me with an air of superiority and started shuffling papers on top of the desk.
"Portfolio" she said reaching her hand out towards me but not glancing up. I handed it over quickly.
She roamed through the pages with a critical eye and an intense frown, almost as if she would rip out any of my work she found to be unworthy of her time. Who knows, maybe she would.
My cell phone rang suddenly and I panicked as I scrambled to find it and turn it off. So embarrassing.
"So you do know how to operate a phone then?" she asked, eyes still glued to the pages in front of her.
I lifted my eyebrows in confusion. "Um. Excuse me?" I asked, placing my cell back in my purse.
She set the portfolio down. "Miss Hart, do you honestly believe we primarily inform our interns of their acceptance via the U.S. Postal Service?"
I shifted in my seat. "Uh. No?"
"So why is it that after numerous calls, you did not return a single one."
I clamped my eyes shut. I felt like such an idiot. All of those calls from the same unknown number and the voice messages I never bother to check, ever. They were all to give me this chance.
"I'm sorry, Dr. Tate, I don't usually answer calls from numbers I don't recognize."
"Really now" she continued "You have the opportunity to interview for the most prestigious art museum in the country and you never bother to check your voicemail after?"
I didn't know what to say. I already felt stupid and I didn't know how to rectify this situation.
"Do you even want this job, Miss Hart?" she asked icily.
I cringed a bit at her tone. "Yes ma'am." I tried but failed to keep my voice from shaking. "I want this very much."
She stared at me for a long moment before picking my portfolio back up to critique it with her eyes once more. "If it was up to me, you would not be here. We have no room for insufficient people." she said in a small voice.
Too shocked to reply, I simply stared with my mouth slightly open.
"Perhaps you will prove me wrong, Miss Hart." She said. "Doubtful considering, well..." She gestured her hands toward me.
I look wrong? I act wrong? Part of me wanted her to tell me. The other part was too mortified. I settled for playing with the hairs at the end of my braid out of discomfort.
"You may go." she finally said after an eternity, nodding towards the door.
I did not have to be told twice. Scrambling out of my chair, I briskly walked out of her office.
Once the door clicked shut, I leaned against it and closed my eyes. This was not how I wanted things to start here.
Why didn't I answer the phone? Maybe if I hadn't automatically assumed the letter was a rejection notice and opened it sooner, I would have had a chance to impress this woman. That chance was long gone now. You only have one opportunity to make a first impression and I completely blew it.
"Hey, you're not crying." My mental rambling ceased when I opened my eyes to see a guy around my age with sandy blonde hair sitting on the bench in front of me.
"What?" I asked.
"You're. Not. Crying." he repeated slowly, rising from the bench to walk towards me.
I was so confused. "Why would I be crying?" I asked taking a few steps forward.
He smiled. "Because that is what first day employees usually do after leaving her office." he said motioning towards Dr. Tate's door. " That or run away fuming, never to be seen again."
I glanced at the door behind me and then back at him. He moved the rest of the way forward and stuck out his hand. "Aaron Abernathy"
I took it. "Maya Hart. It's nice to meet you."
He smiled "Likewise, Maya." he then turned around and promptly began walking away. "Follow me." he said.
"Um. Should I?" I asked, looking around confused. I really didn't know where I was supposed to go from here.
He stopped in his tracks and turned back around. He put a hand to his forehead and sighed. "She didn't explain anything to you, did she?"
I shook my head "No. She pretty much just sat there and judged me."
He laughed. "Well that is her way. Not sure why I expected differently."
He sighed again, then shook his head before raising his gaze back to me. "Anyways, please follow me, Maya, I will be showing you the ropes today." he said heading down the hall again.
This time I followed.
It was both weird and amazing to be inside the museum before it was officially open. I expected it to be calm and serene, but it was actually chaotic.
Employees were scrambling by each other trying to be ready in time for the doors to be open to the public.
I saw Josh running down some stairs following a gorgeous brunette while Aaron and I were climbing up them. He smiled and winked at me before following the same brunette into a side room. I noticed Aaron's cheeks turn red upon seeing the girl.
We finally arrived at a small room aligned with cubicles. Some were filled with people already working, others just had piles of papers on the desks inside. Aaron led me to an empty one near the back.
"This one is yours." Aaron said
I just stared at it.
"Not that I don't trust your sense of direction, but am I in the right place?" I asked looking down at the desk again adorned with just a couple of pens and a computer. "I thought I would be in a studio." That was what the interviewers had told me.
Aaron gave me a pitying look. "Dr. Tate doesn't let her interns in the studio until she deems them worthy."
"Oh." I said disappointed and yet, not surprised. "Um. Ok. What does she want me to do until then?" I decided to shake it off. For now.
He smiled at my acceptance. "I'll show you."
Aaron spent the next several hours showing me how to pull reports on cost estimates for future exhibitions. It was all painfully boring, but Aaron was a nice guy. He was patient with me for my lack of computer skills and even sat with me at lunch since I didn't know anyone. Except for Josh, of course, but I hadn't seen him since that morning.
The rest of my time passed in a blur of shaking hands, orientation, and company policies. At the end of the day, Aaron invited me to a nearby bar that many co-workers went to after work. He said it would be a great way to meet people. I felt like I had been shaking hands all day, but I looked forward to hanging out. I wanted work friends. Plus, after today, I really needed a drink.
Walking in, I immediately found Aaron.
"Oh good you're here!" he said when he saw me. "I want you to meet someone."
He led me straight to the brunette I had seen on the stairs with Josh. "Maya, meet Elizabeth." Elizabeth turned toward me fully. Wow. I had thought her gorgeous before, but obviously the word gorgeous did her no justice. "I'll let you two get to know each other. I need to go find someone." Aaron said, and with that, he disappeared into the crowd.
"Hi!" said Elizabeth. "How was your first day?" she asked, setting her beer down on the bar behind us.
"Uh. Well..." I said. Honesty or no?
She laughed. "Sounds a lot like how mine was. Let's get you a drink." she said already waving down the bartender.
I like this girl already.
"Oh surely your first day wasn't that bad." Said a voice behind us directed at her. "I specifically remember you telling me you had the best day of your life."
I recognized that voice. I turned around after giving my order to see Josh walking toward us.
"You were my boss." Elizabeth said punching him in the arm when he reached us. He feigned hurt. "I had to say that."
"That was the one and only time you ever didn't speak sass to me." he sighed dramatically. "I miss those days."
She punched him again. "I don't work for you anymore."
"Thank goodness" he said before resting his eyes on me. "You survive today, Maya?"
"I did indeed, Josh."
I thought about the day. In most ways it had been disastrous with Ms. Tate's speech to me and finding out I had desk duty, but I couldn't seem to be upset about it. Aaron had a big part in that.
Speaking of Aaron. "You two know each other?" he asked, suddenly reappearing.
I panicked as I took my drink from the bartender.
Oh no. Oh god. How do I explain that I was obsessed with him as a fourteen year old girl without coming across as a stalker.
Josh beat me to the punch though. "She's my niece's best friend."
Oh... Well yeah I guess that can explain it too.
"That's awesome!" said Aaron, handing an empty bottle and some cash to the bartender. He yawned. "Well it's getting late. I better get going." It was only 8 pm and he had only been here about five minutes. Apparently he was more the sit at home with a book and read type of guy.
He turned towards Elizabeth. "Can I walk you home?" he asked, face red as a tomato.
"Sure!" she answered. Josh smiled knowingly at the exchange, tilting his drink back to try and get the ice at the bottom.
"Bye guys! Nice meeting you, Maya." said Elizabeth, Chugging the rest of her beer in one gulp, before giving Josh a high five and hugging me farewell.
Ok. Apparently Aaron was more the 'get the girl alone type of guy.
As soon as they left, Josh grabbed the empty barstool next to mine and leaned back next to me. "So today went ok, Maya?"
No. I thought. Not at all.
"It was fine" I answered instead. He gave me a look as if he knew I wasn't being completely honest. I waved it off though. "I just need to adjust, that's all."
He nodded and seemed to accept that answer. "Well I know how that goes. If you ever need any help with anything, just let me know.
"Thank you" I answered, truly grateful.
"Definitely. Training at a new job is tough, especially for lowly interns." he added with a wink.
I frowned. It seemed like more than just that, thinking back to my time in Dr. Tate's office. I shook my head to clear my thoughts. I was probably just overreacting.
I smiled and turned towards Josh "Yeah, but tomorrow is a new day. Tomorrow is another chance."
He returned my smile, then leaned over to clink his glass with mine. "Well cheers to that." he said before setting his drink down and leaning over.
Suddenly, I felt cool fingertips graze behind my ear. I shivered and jumped slightly.
"Sorry, you had something in your hair." he said holding a piece of lint in his hand. He threw it to the floor.
"Oh thanks" I said.
"No problem" he replied.
We both leaned back against the bar again after that and a contented silence fell over us.
Tomorrow will be different. Tomorrow will be great.
