Alice's alarm went off at Seven AM the next day, and she quickly hit the snooze button before rolling over and falling back to sleep. The annoying tune of the alarm began playing once again at Seven-twenty, and she begrudgingly shut it off and crawled out of bed. She sat herself in front of her mirror to do a quick but impeccable makeup job. Smiling at the results, she skipped over to her closet to slip on the dress and sandals she'd picked out the night before. She took a moment to admire herself in the mirror before checking the time. It was now seven-forty five, she took a steadying breath and made her way out of the house.
She tried to pep herself up to bite down the nerves as she made the seemingly shorter than usual trek to the corner shop. Upon opening the door, she froze. Rosalie was nowhere in sight, rather in her place was a tall, gorgeous, blonde man. Jasper. Alice didn't know his last name; she didn't know anything about him. What she did know was he'd worked there for the past five months, and despite having hardly spoken in that time, she'd begun to develop something of a crush on the man.
Alice tentatively approached the counter, "Hey, is Rosalie here?" she asked, hoping her voice wasn't shaking. She'd been so caught up in the prospect of a new opportunity that she hadn't considered the fact that this would make Jasper her co-worker.
"No, I'm supposed to tell you she's running late and will be here shortly." He didn't look up from his phone the entire time he'd been speaking to her. "Word of advice, if Rose tells you she'll meet you at a certain time, show up like thirty minutes later than that. She's got this idea in her head that other people's time doesn't matter, and the rest of the world will wait on her." He finally looked up at her, clearly annoyed. "Just take a free soda and find something to do on your phone." Alice looked back at him, confused, "You work here now, fountain pops free."
Alice obliged and took a moment to figure out just what to do with herself. Jasper hadn't said a word to her in the past few minutes, and she was beginning to feel awkward and uncomfortable. She finally decided to lean up against a sandwich cooler near the counter. Thankfully she didn't have to wait very long as Rosalie soon walked in with an air of confidence as though her being late wasn't an issue in the slightest.
The noise Jasper made as he quickly clocked out and grabbed his keys indicated otherwise. He looked at her coldly and snapped, "Next time you want to be an hour late, I'm locking the doors and leaving."
"Whatever, just go home." She barely looked at him as she spoke, setting her bag behind the counter; his words didn't seem to affect her in the slightest. He glared at her before turning on his heel and leaving. Rosalie turned to look at Alice, "Thank's for waiting, did you get those forms filled out?"
"Forms?" Alice questioned. "I didn't get any forms."
"Jesus fucking christ, Jasper was supposed to have you fill all that shit out while you were waiting." She glared in the direction of the door before squatting down and began rifling through some papers under the counter. Once she found what she'd been looking for, she thrust a small stack of papers in Alice's direction. "Get these filled in." She then turned to count the drawer of the register.
Alice quickly filled out the new hire paperwork. She had worked enough jobs in the past six years that it was almost second nature. Mr. and Mrs. Brandon didn't make much, and Alice hated the idea of asking for any from them, so she'd picked up a job at a retail store as soon as her father would allow.
Picking up the completed paperwork, she turned to Rosalie, "I've finished."
Rosalie took the packet from Alice and tucked into a folder laid out on the counter. "Awesome, now we can do the interview."
"Shouldn't you interview me before having me fill out all the official stuff?" Alice questioned.
Rosalie rolled her eyes. "You're hired, I just have to interview you, so I don't get a call from district." She took the seat Alice had been occupying on the stool. "So, why do you want this job."
Deciding to answer honestly, Alice spoke, "I applied after an argument with my boss at Dock Foods. I don't like how much control they have over appearance. Like, it feels like having any ounce of individuality stripped away."
Rosalie perked up, "Oh! I used to work there; I know exactly what you mean. It feels like having your soul slowly sucked away every day you're there."
"Yes!" Alice gleamed elated that there was finally someone else who understood, "Anyway, I've seen that it's a bit more lax here and thought I'd take a chance. Besides, as my friends like to joke, I'm here so much I might as well get paid for it."
"Ok," Rosalie laughed, "So what are your pay expectations?"
"Oh," Alice suddenly felt uncomfortable; this was that part she always hated. She was tired of minimum wage but always felt sheepish asking for money. Sure, her father had told her to take what's offered to get her foot in the door, and eventually, the raises would come. But she'd worked at her first job for three years and never seen an extra penny, just one item off the long list of reasons she'd left. "Well, I'd like at least $7.75." She finally spoke, finding the confidence to ask for an entire fifty cents more than she'd ever seen.
Rosalie's face turned shocked as she tried to hold in a laugh. "Starting wage here is $9.25, $9.75 if you're game for the night shift." This information gave Alice pause, that was life-changing, more than she'd ever dared hope for. "Think that'll be Ok?" Rosalie asked, leaning forward slightly.
"Yeah," Alice nodded fervently, "Yeah, that'll be perfect!"
"Ok, so let's talk hours. When are you available."
"Oh, I'm usually at Dock in the mornings from seven until one in the afternoon. So I can come in anytime after that." Alice answered it would be hard on her, but it was far from the first time she'd worked multiple jobs, and she knew she'd be able to handle it.
"Ok, I can put you down for the three to eleven shift." Rosalie pulled out a schedule and started penciling in some shifts. "Ok," She finished and handed the paper to Alice, who looked it over carefully. "I need you trained on every shift; you'll do the morning tomorrow with me, some afternoons with Angela next week, and an overnight with Edward next Thursday."
The schedule looked great for the most part, but the overnight with Edward didn't sit well with her. They hadn't gotten along in school, and after he'd broken her best friend's heart, causing her to move across the country, things had gotten tense. They still hung around in the same circles, but she had never forgiven him, doing her absolute best to avoid the guy at all costs. She scanned over the schedule and spotted an opening. "Actually, could I train Wednesday with Jasper instead?" She asked, hopefully taking a chance.
"Yeah, I don't care as long as you get it done." Came Rosalie's uninterested reply. "That's all I need from you today, so I'll see you in the morning."
"Alright, I'll see you then," Alice called, headed out the door smiling; it wasn't until she was halfway home that she realized her mistake. On the one hand, she'd avoided spending eight hours alone with someone she hated. On the other, now she'd had to endure those same hours with the cute guy she had a crush on.
She stopped in her tracks, panicking over if she had made the right decision, over which option was worse.
She took a moment to process this realization, picking up her pace, needing to get home to talk to someone about this.
Bella was out, talking to her about anything involving Edward was absolutely out of the question. Jake was an option; he loved bashing on Edward more than she did. However, it was hard talking to him about crushes. She made her decision as she reached the front steps, rushing inside and heading straight for her room. She took a seat on the floor in front of her bed, and hurriedly dialed Leah's number.
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Wow guys, sorry it took me so long to get this out. My only excuse it the holidays are a busy time for me.
Thank you to everyone who's followed this, please review if you have the time. It means the world to me 3