Avalon Bates had stood in front of a small building in Rhode Island. She was feeling very nervous. Intimidated by the large letters adhered to the window that spelled out TAPS.
What if they don't want to hire me?
She took a deep breath and walked slowly up to the door.
Well... Here goes.
She raised her hand and knocked on the glass panel door. A dark haired woman with a friendly smile walked up and opened the door.
"Hello." Avalon smiled, "I'm here to apply for a job."
"Hi!" the woman said cheerfully and stepped back a little, "Please come in."
"Thank you." she stepped inside.
"Right this way." the woman started walking, "I'm Kris Williams by the way."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Avalon Bates."
"Avalon? That's an interesting name."
"Yeah. It's Welsh. Means apple tree. Which is funny because I love apples."
Kris laughed slightly, "Talk about ironic."
"I know right."
They arrived at a door and Kris knocked on it, "Guys, I have a young lady here that wants to join the team."
"Send her in." a male voice answered.
Once the door was open and Avalon had stepped into the office, she observed the two men that had been working in there. One was tall with a shaved head and reddish brown beard, his gray blue eyes were calculating but friendly. The other man was a little shorter, more of average height, with short dark brown hair and twinkling brown eyes.
"Good luck." Kris whispered before leaving.
"I'm Jason Hawes." the taller man reached his hand out.
Avalon shook it, "I'm Avalon Bates."
"Grant Wilson." the shorter man held out his hand.
Avalon shook his hand after releasing Jason's, "It's an honor to meet you both."
The guys sat back down in their chairs and their guest sat down in one as well.
"So you want to be part of TAPS?" Jason looked serious.
"Yes." Avalon nodded, "I've had experience as a paranormal investigator. I actually had my own group in my hometown."
"Really?" Grant looked kind of impressed.
"Yep. I started it with a few of my friends when I was seventeen and we continued it for a little over two years."
"Then what happened?"
"We all kind of wanted to go our separate ways, but I was still interested in the field, so I decided to try and join you guys." Avalon felt kind of like a dork, but she tried to look confident.
"Where are you from?" Jason asked.
"Oregon."
"Cool." Grant nodded.
Jason leaned back a little, "Now I know this isn't a woman's favorite question, but... How old are you?"
Avalon chuckled, "Twenty."
They both smiled and Grant spoke up again, "Would you mind leaving your number with us?"
"Not at all." she quickly wrote out her cell number on a slip of paper.
They all stood up and the guys shook her hands again.
"We'll let you know our decision within a couple of days." Jason informed the young woman.
"Thank you." she smiled and let herself out of their office.
When she walked past a smaller office, Kris's voice floated out, "How'd it go?"
Avalon stopped and looked in, "Pretty good I'd say."
Kris grinned, "I hope you get hired!"
"Me too." the younger woman smiled.
She walked out to her car and got in.
"And even if I don't get accepted into the team, I can at least say I've been in their office and met three of the members." she grinned to herself.
But I have a pretty good feeling that I'll be hired.
Besides paranormal investigating, one of Avalon's passions was writing. After moving to Rhode Island, she had immediately tried to get a job as a journalist for a newspaper, but was told she would have to start off working at the loading dock. But a job is a job, and Avalon was glad to have one. She knew that eventually she could work her way up and become a journalist like she really wanted. Two days after her interview with the TAPS leaders, she was relaxing on the couch watching TV when her cellphone began ringing.
She pressed the answer button, "Hello?"
"Avalon Bates?" a male voice inquired.
"Speaking."
"This is Grant Wilson from TAPS."
Avalon nearly dropped the phone. She was about to find out if her dreams would come true or not.
"Jason and I have made our decision." Grant paused and Avalon almost died, "Welcome to the team."
Avalon bit her knuckles trying not to scream, her excitement level was boiling over.
I can't believe it! I'm actually a member of TAPS!
"Hello?"
"Sorry. I was just trying to calm down so I didn't blow your eardrums out when I said thank you."
He chuckled, "I hope you enjoy working with us."
"I know I will!" she grinned, even though he couldn't see her.
"Well, you can meet your co workers tomorrow morning at nine."
"I'll be there."
"Okay. See you then."
"Bye." she hung up and leaped out of her chair screaming, "Yes! I made it! Ha ha!"
She then proceeded to dance around the apartment, earning her weird looks from her cat.
The next morning, Avalon's brown eyes snapped open when the sunlight finally hit them. She turned and looked at the clock. It read eight thirty.
"Dang it! Why didn't my alarm go off!?"
Leaping out of bed, she nearly ran face first into the door. Then after setting the world record for getting dressed, she raced into the kitchen and measured out her cat's breakfast before grabbing a muffin from the refrigerator. Her tabby walked in and meowed a thank you to his owner before bending over his food.
"See ya later, Jack! Be a good boy!" Avalon called over her shoulder as she hurried out the front door.