"Oh, so this is a violin?" Chloé said and did not hide how surprised she was by finding it out.
She was holding a violin in her hands and inspecting it like it was the most precious thing she had ever seen.
"I cant believe you mixed up a violin with a harp." Luka said and seemed too amused over it.
"I did tell you that I didn't know much about music or instruments." Chloé said.
"I honestly thought you were joking." Luka told her.
"You did?" she looked up from the violin and noticed that Luka was looking at her with a joyful gaze.
"No." he said and smiled.
She put away the violin as carefully as she could and looked around in the store. She had gotten there an hour ago and since then Luka had showed her around and showed her how to use the cash register. When she finally thought that she got it, he decided to show her some instruments and tell her a little about each. It wasn't enough that she would remember everything, but it was fun to learn.
"They do sound amazing together, though." Luka said before they moved away to the next instrument.
Chloé followed him, and she noticed that they stopped by the keyboard she had been playing at when she had been at the music store the last time.
"You must know what this is." Luka asked.
"A keyboard." Chloé said and smiled at Luke when he looked at her.
She walked up to it and pressed down a few keys. It didn't sound horrible, but it didn't sound as good as it had the last time she had played on it. Or at least that's how she remembered it.
"Look." Luka said and stepped forward.
He pressed down a few keys, and the sound that was made by it sounded a hundred times better than any of the sound Chloé had created moments earlier. When he removed his hands Chloé pressed down the same keys and almost screamed of joy when it sounded just as good when she herself did it.
"This is so amazing." she said and pressed the keys down again.
"Yeah." Luka agreed.
When Chloé was done with it, she stood up and turned towards Luka.
"Is there anything else I need to know?" she wondered.
"I think I have told you everything." Luka said after a few seconds of thoughts.
"That's good. When do you open the store?"
"In twenty minutes. The other worker will arrive a few minutes before. So you just relax and make yourself ready for your first day."
"Okay." Chloé nodded.
Luka turned around and left her alone in the store. He went into a door that led to the room behind the store to do who knows what.
Instead of standing by the keyboard Chloé decided to walk around in the store to look around and see if she could find something that Luka hadn't already showed her before. Her thoughts were slowly drifting to everything that happened last week while she was walking around.
She had started that week in New York, then quit her work at Style Queen when she found out about Zoé's disease and went back to Paris. She had been given her Miraculous back and fallen from a building. She had been almost robbed and also attacked by the very same man in a dark alley. She had found an apartment and gotten a new job.
It had really been a long week and it had left her feeling more exhausted than ever. She was just glad it was over and so far this week seemed to be going much better.
"Hello!"
The sound of a voice brought Chloé out from her thoughts and she turned around to face whoever it was the voice belonged to.
"Who are you?" the same voice wondered.
In front of Chloé stood a young woman that seemed to be her own age. The woman had black hair and a long face with dark eyes. She looked at Chloé as if she wasn't supposed to be there and for a moment Chloé felt the same.
"I'm Chloé Bourgeois." Chloé said.
"What are you doing here?" she wondered.
"Working."
"Are you new?" the woman asked.
Before Chloé had a chance to answer Luka returned and walked up to them.
"Emma, this is Chloé. She is new." Luka explained when he reached them.
The woman, Emma, turned to Luka with a questioning gaze.
"I needed someone to work Mondays to Thursdays." Luka said to Emma.
"So that you can practice?" Emma wondered.
"Yes." Luka answered.
"Practice for what?" Chloé wondered.
"Practice with my band. We have a few gigs coming up in June, so we need to practice more than we have done earlier." Luka said.
"Have you told her everything she needs to know?" Emma wondered.
"Yes and I have also showed her how to use the cash register. But I guess you are there to help her if she needs some assistance?"
"Of course." Emma said and smiled at Chloé.
Chloé had thought for a moment that Emma was going to be rude and a pain to work with. But from the little she had seen it made it feel like Emma was a kind person and even if she wasn't, Chloé knew how to handle people that wanted to cause her trouble.
"Good." Luka said and looked at the clock that was hanging on the wall. "The store opens in five minutes. I have to leave, but I will come back and take over after lunch."
Emma nodded before she left to go to the room behind the store, probably to leave her things before the store opened.
Luka turned to Chloé.
"Are you ready to work?" he wondered.
"Yes." Chloé answered.
Chloé was ready and hoped that she wouldn't have to ask Emma of to much help. She wanted to do things and do them right the first try. But she knew she wasn't a failure if she asked for help if she failed.
"And remember. You don't have to stay and work another day if you don't like it."
"I know." Chloé said.
She hoped she would like it. Because for now she wasn't sure what else she could do. Working at the hotel was still an option if this job failed. But she already knew that the hotel was her future, a future she didn't want today.
"Okay. I'm leaving now. Good luck both of you." Luka said when Emma returned.
"Thanks." the two of them replied.
When Luka left Emma turned to Chloé and smiled at her.
"Are you ready for your first day?" she wondered.
"Yes." Chloé said.
Emma nodded before she went to the entrance and opened it. There were already a few customers out there waiting for the store to open and when they walked inside Chloé greeted them before she went to stand behind the cash register.
It had gone a few hours and so far her first day at work had gone by smoothly. She didn't have any trouble using the cash register and was a bit grateful that she had some past knowledge about how to use one.
She hadn't had to call after Emma, but her new coworker checked in on her a couple of times to see if she needed some help. Because nothing was to difficult for Chloé, she had been honest about it and the two of them had had some short chats when no customer needed any assitance.
Chloé had to admit that she liked being there more than she thought she would. It wasn't like her old job at the hotel, or even as her work at Style Queen. This was a whole new experience for her and some of the customers had also started conversations with her that she had happily taken a part of.
An old woman had told Chloé that she bought a guitarr so that she could finally learn to play. Another woman had wanted to get her son a violin for some time and could finally afford to do so. A couple had told her that they were going to play a song at their son's upcoming wedding and had bought a piano to place in their house to practice at.
Chloé was fascinated over how many different reasons people bought instruments. She had mostly thought it was for their own sakes, but that didn't seem to be entirely true. She was happy to listen to all of their stories, and she almost felt a little sad watching them leave knowing that she would probably never find out how it all went for any of them.
When she returned to work after her half an hour lunchbreak and went back into the store she noticed a customer standing in one corner, talking with Emma about something, possible something work related. Instead of paying the two of them any more attention she walked up to the cash register and stood there for a few minutes before another customer entered the store.
When Chloé looked up to greet the person who had just entered the store she stopped herself in the last moment. The first thing she noticed on the person was the evil, but somewhat sweet, smile that was flashed directly at Chloé. This wasn't a person Chloé wanted to meet, but she had known it was only a matter of when she would show up.
Lila walked up to Chloé and stopped in front of the cash register.
"I had the most interesting conversation with Sabrina earlier today." Lila said and gave Chloé a look that made it seem as if Lila wanted Chloé to speak next.
"Hello to you too." Chloé said annoyed.
"She mentioned something that I'm doing?" Lila wondered in that sweet, clueless and innocent voice she usually used, a voice that almost succeded in hiding her true intentions.
"How am I supposed to know what you are talking about when you are being so cryptic?" Chloé wondered.
Lila blinked and looked more surprised than what she actually had to be in this situation. She wasn't a good actress and that's something Chloé would tell her if she actually wanted to speak with Lila.
"Am I messing with you?" Lila wondered.
"How should I know what you are doing?" Chloé wondered.
"You told that to Sabrina, didn't you? So you must think I'm doing something to you even if I haven't seen you in like two years?"
"Didn't we see each other in New York two months ago?" Chloé said even if she'd rather not speak about it.
"Oh. I had totally forgotten about that." Lila said and forced a smile.
"Sabrina must have misunderstood what I said to her." Chloé said and hoped that would be a acceptable answer for Lila.
"Yes, she must have done that." Lila agreed.
Chloé nodded and noticed that the customer that had been speaking with Emma earlier were heading over to the cash register. She knew Lila would leave, or at least hoped she would, if that customer came up to them.
"Glad we are on the same page then." Lila said when she noticed the customer walking towards them.
"Yes." Chloé said.
"Just for the record. If I truly wanted to mess with you I would do much more damage than one hit in the face in an alley." Lila said and winked at Chloé before she left.
Chloé stood there in a shocked silence for a moment before the customer showed up. Chloé knew Lila had something to do with it all as she didn't believe in coincidences. But that Lila would admit it? That's something Chloé never thought would happen.
She greeted the customer and helped them with their order. When the customer left the store, Luka returned and walked up to Chloé with a happy look that almost faded when he noticed that she didn't look that happy herself.
"Something wrong?" he wondered.
"No." Chloé answered and forced a smile.
Luka didn't seem to believe her, but didn't want to question her about it either.
"How's the first day going?" he wondered.
"It has been good so far." Chloé answered.
At least it had been good until Lila showed up. How did she even know where to find her? It's not like Chloé had told anyone other than her father about this work. But then again, both Zoé and Luka had known and they had been at that get together at Zoé's apartment yesterday. Maybe it had been mentioned there and then the news traveled to someone Lila knew?
"So, is this going to be your first and last day or do you want to work some more here?" Luka wondered.
"I think I want to stay." Chloé said without hesitation.
