Monday came all too quickly.
Any embarrassment Rose felt last week was doubled this morning. She had little memory of Friday night's events, other than going home with her brother and having one or two rum and cokes. Must have been more than that if she had a hangover. Apparently Kanaya had been over, which was the biggest source of Rose's embarrassment. How she could face her at work when she's seen Rose's drunken state? God knows what she got up to. All she could do was pray that she wasn't too unsightly.
Rose pulled into the car park and looked to the left. There was Kanaya's motorbike. Of course she was in, should she have expected any different? She grabbed her bag and slipped out the car. Her feet suddenly felt like they were sticking to the floor with every step. Rose forced them to move forward and get her inside the museum.
Seeing the locker room door was a sigh of relief, she knew she'd be pretty safe in here. She pulled her locker key from her bracelet and unlocked it. Aranea's necklace idea had been a good one and she decided to take her advice by putting her own spin on it. Rose changed into her uniform and dumped her bag and clothes inside. She sighed, hoping the day would pass pretty quickly.
"Hi!" She heard, making her jump out of her skin. The blonde looked to see what the source of the noise was. Next to her stood a smiley Jade, all dressed and ready to work.
"Hey Rose" She greeted.
"Oh, hey Jade"
"You okay? You sound down"
"Yeah I'll be fine"
"You sure? You can talk to me about it if you want, I'm all ears".
They left the locker room and Rose thought about it. Should she confide in Jade?
"Alright" She decided finally, "Have you ever done something reaaally embarrassing in front of someone you reaaaally admire?"
"Oh yeah! I did once. Back when I was in high-school there was this guy I really liked and he was such a cool kid. You could tell he was going places. One time he kept smiling at me so I tried to look cool too and ended up falling on my face and everyone saw my puppy-print underwear"
"Aww Jade"
They both laughed. "It was really embarrassing. I couldn't look him in the eye again and everyone found out about my soft spot for cute animals and stuff" Jade continued then she whispered, "I still have it if I'm perfectly honest. Mostly dogs though". "Oh really? Do you own any pets?" Rose asked. "Oh yeah, I have a big white dog named Bec. His full name is Becquerel but we call him Bec. He's old now, like my grandpa was. He helped my grandpa raise me" Jade answered, warmth in her eyes. "I see" Rose responded, then she realised what was said, "Wait...was?". "Yeah" Jade sighed, "Grandpa died a couple of years ago. He was the one who raised me till I was 19 and making my own way in life and he departed. In more than one way". "That's sad" Rose frowned, "I guess were both in the 'raised-by-a-family-member-not-a-parent' club then". Jade nodded with a soft smile, "Who were you raised by?".
"My older sister. She raised my brother and I"
"I see. Are you older than him?"
"Yeah, only by a year though".
Jade nodded again, "Right, what's his name?". "Dave" Rose smiled. "That's a nice name, one I'm fond of" Jade grinned. "Yeah, he's a great brother really. I'm glad to have him" Rose spoke, before reaching the entrance to the physics section. "Alright well, see you later Rose" Jade waved as she made her way toward the star-tunnel entrance. Rose herself walked through the rainbow drapes and was greeted by Tavros and John.
"Morning Rose" John smiled
"Hey there. Working on something?"
"Not really, just waiting for today's guests. I bet you're excited or nervous"
"Hm? Me? Why?"
"...Well I heard your first tour is today..."
"What?!"
"Hey! I may be wrong"
Rose rushed through to the light displays and saw Aranea setting up. "Aranea!" She called running over to her, "I'm not giving a tour today am I?!". "What? No, you still have work to do" Aranea answered. Rose breathed out a sigh of relief. "You're giving a talk instead" Aranea finished. Rose sucked the breath straight back up again, "WHAT?!". Aranea looked at her puzzled, "What's wrong? You're ready trust me. We went through it so many times last week and you had it practically perfect. Don't worry I'll be showing the guests around the displays so I can prompt you from a far when they arrive at your station". Rose didn't think she was ready, she felt incomplete.
Aranea saw the look on her face and patted her shoulder with a smile, "Calm Rose. You'll be fine. Once you've done one, you'll be fine doing the others". Rose took a deep breath but still felt nervous, "Thanks Aranea". The chocolate-haired girl smiled again with a nod. Then there was foot steps and a rushing Aradia came running through the light section, "The guests are coming up to the physics entrance Aranea" she informed. "Thanks Aradia, I'll go wait for them in position" Aranea waved as she went out the other end. She patted Rose's back and assured her things would be fine, "just have a mental recap of what you have to say and I'll prompt you the rest". Rose nodded and thanked her for the encouragement as she left the blonde alone in the quiet display.
It felt like forever before Rose heard Aranea's familiar voice and some murmurs of the visitors. Suddenly the nerves felt worse than before as the sound grew louder and got closer. Eventually Rose slapped her cheeks to gain focus and Aranea came in with some small children, older teens and parents. There was one or two elderly with them as well but whoever was there, had lots of cameras. Rose felt just that little more nervous. Great.
Everyone's eyes fell on her expectantly as Aranea introduced her. She felt her back stiffen. Then she stopped herself and thought, "Hang on I used to be a visitor here. I know how these types of people think. I know what they want to hear" and decided her nerves were unnecessary. With a mental deep-breath, she opened her mouth and began to speak. At first she was a little unsure, but before she knew it the words came to life of their own and everything she thought she forgot was there. Aranea didn't even need to help her out. Everyone paid close attention and observed the displays with affection.
She felt so much happier than she had done, and got a little carried away. Aranea moved them on to the time and safety physics and Rose gave a sigh of relief. Before she could enjoy it though all her friends, save Aranea, came out of the shadows clapping and quietly cheering her so the guests didn't hear. "That was great Rose! You did so well for your first talk" John winked and Rose thanked him. Everyone agreed with him and as Rose span around the circle of people surrounding her, a certain face stood out. The usual face that bewitched her on a daily basis. The green-lipped smile that matched dark-lined jade eyes. Everyone seemed to quiet down a little when Kanaya stepped forward.
"Well done Rose, you did so well" Kanaya congratulated.
"Heh, thank you" Rose blushed, suddenly feeling her embarrassment creep back.
"I'm proud of you" Kanaya spoke quietly and Rose looked up at her with slightly wide-eyes. She smiled warmly and murmured, "Thank you Kanaya. That means a lot". They chuckled for a moment and then Rose looked around them. Everyone was already gone, they'd left them alone here. "Care to spend lunch with me today?" Kanaya asked, still smiling. Rose felt, what was a cold feeling this morning, melt away and leave a warm sensation in her chest. "I'd love to" She giggled.
