Bae's first day of work didn't quite fly as quickly as the seagulls soaring over Halifax Harbor. Rather, it moved at the slow and steady pace of the Halifax-Dartmouth ferry plying the placid, sun-kissed waters.
For a lively and eccentric company with a lively and eccentric CEO, Bae thought, Bread Dog Insurance Limited still had the trappings of a typical corporate office.
After the thunderous, literally cannon-like welcome, the rat-girl and her estranged Nephilim colleague went through a more traditional gauntlet of corporate onboarding. There was a by-the-numbers orientation presentation led by Mumei and Fauna, followed by a quick spiel about the 'house rules' of the office from Kaela. Paperwork trickled in for Irys and Bae to read and sign too while Ina quietly served refreshments for them all.
Most of their onboarding that day, however, came from the extensive lecture series about insurance and insurance sales from Sana and Gura. The two colorful comedians did their best to spice up the lecture, but it was a cut and dry affair all in all.
Then, Sana and Gura started bringing out folders of papers - ones as thick as hardbound textbooks.
Chills ran up Bae's spine.
No number of Nova Scotia flags, little red maple leaves or images of the bread dog mascot could dull the impact of the memory. They brought her back to the days of getting course material for her classes at university in Australia. She remembered the roller coaster of emotions from the sleepless nights, the marathon study sessions.
Oh man… it's all coming back to me.
Bae's eyes wandered over to the other student seated beside her. She watched Irys calmly read through the material, tucking her locks of long, maroon hair behind her sharp elf-like ears with a mindful, gentle motion.
The rat-girl blushed, remembering the other reason for her sleepless nights in university.
Damn it. She's still pretty.
Irys noticed Bae sheepishly stealing glances at her. The Nephilim got self-conscious and scooted away from the rat-girl.
Suddenly, a teacher's pointer stick whacked Bae's table.
"Whoa!" Bae nearly jumped out from her seat.
Bae then saw Gura, now wearing reading glasses, wielding the teacher's stick with a frown painted on her lips.
"Oy, oy, oy, stinky. I know this is your first day, but you gotta focus." Gura warned with surprising sternness, waving her stick around in an attempt to make herself seem taller, "How are you gonna pass the Insurance Licensing Exam if you're gonna space off!"
"I'm sorry…" Bae apologized meekly. Then, her eyes shot wide open ,"Licensing Exam!?"
Gura's expression soured even more, "You really weren't listening, huh?"
"It's alright, Gura." Sana intervened with a warm smile, "I remember you brushing off the exam yourself on the first day here. Even if it was on the employee contract."
"Urk~!" The shark-girl gasped and recoiled like a fish out of water.
Sana chuckled.
"Don't worry, I did too!" Sana reassured Gura as well as her now frightened new-hire rat-girl. The CEO cleared her throat and explained calmly, "Right now, you and Miss Irys aren't licensed to sell insurance on your own in Canada. As junior execs, you'll be helping Gura on her sales calls while you study for the licensing exam." Sana's smile grew warmer, "Learn the ropes with Gura, go through the course material and pass the exam in August. That'll be your duties for the next three months!"
"Is that so…?" Bae deflated like a leaky balloon.
"Yup!" Gura chimed in now, regaining her boldness, "You two are gonna come here bright and early tomorrow. Wait for me outside the main building on Purdy's Wharf. I'll take you along on a sales call. Something nice and easy." She pointed her pointer stick at Bae, "Don't be late now, y'hear?"
"Y-yes chef!" Bae answered.
Then, she panicked. All of a sudden, she regretted watching all those Gordon Ramsay videos on the plane to Halifax.
Oh shit!
Sana started chuckling. Bae wanted to dig a hole through Purdy's Wharf, bury herself under Halifax Harbor and disappear.
"Chef, huh?" Gura folded her arms thoughtfully, "I like that. Call me chef from now on, Bae."
Bae's face went pale. Then, she nodded in defeat.
"Yes… chef." Bae muttered.
"I can't heaaaar you~" Gura spurred.
"Yes chef!" Bae put her back into it this time.
Even Sana joined in, calling Gura 'chef' too.
Then, Bae's ears caught something unexpected. It was slight and muffled, but she heard a chuckle coming from her seatmate.
Did she laugh just now? Even a little bit?
Before Bae could put two and two together, Gura whacked Bae's desk once more with her pointer stick and beamed. Her chubby shark's tail wagged happily behind her.
"Good, good. Your Gura-senpai will show you how it's done! Follow my lead and we'll make great insurance saleswomen out of you yet!"
Bae watched the excited shark-girl with amusement. Her mental image of Gura couldn't be farther from that of a 'senpai', but Bae could tell how good Gura was at breaking the ice.
With that, Gura's and Sana's lecture continued. Bae picked up her stack of new course material and thumbed through them with a bit more vigor.
…
By the time the clock struck five in the afternoon, Gura and Sana brought the first onboarding lecture session to a close. Bae glanced out the conference room's windows and saw the sun still shining brightly over Halifax Harbor. She could have sworn it was much earlier than it was, but the flocks of employees leaving the Bread Dog offices told Bae that she wasn't hallucinating.
Gura and Sana bid the two new hires farewell. Irys and Bae gathered up their things and proceeded to join the river of employees on the way out.
Only Kaela, the stalwart office manager, stayed behind and saw everyone off from behind the receptionist's desk.
" Selamat jelan! " Kaela greeted Bae in Bahasa, waving and smiling happily at her.
She did the same for Irys.
Bae didn't know what she just said, but she and Irys smiled at Kaela and nodded in appreciation.
After that, the two new-hires took a crowded elevator down to the ground floor. Neither of them said a word to each other, but they were forced to stand shoulder to shoulder with their colleagues and the other tenants of the Purdy's Wharf office tower.
They reached the ground floor, appreciated the fresh air from Halifax Harbor and parted ways. Irys had to go to the parking lot to fetch her Vespa scooter but Bae had to go to the ferry terminal to catch the next boat.
The silence between them persisted, but Bae clenched her fists and dared to act.
"S-see ya tomorrow." Bae broke the silence.
Irys stopped in her tracks. The Nephilim turned around to face Bae.
"Yeah." Irys said simply.
Then, she carried on to the parking lot.
It's something.
Bae tightened her grip on her briefcase and buried her free hand in her pocket. Then, she carried on down the boardwalk towards the ferry terminal.
As day slowly turned to night, Bae saw tourists and locals alike trotting down the wooden steps - some hurrying, some taking their time. She saw large groups of Filipino tourists taking selfies, Lebanese immigrants playing volleyball on the man made beach and young children marking the boardwalk and the pavement with multicolored chalk.
The clinking of wine glasses from the waterfront's many high-end restaurants, the hustle and bustle of a peculiar ice cream kiosk and the twangs of street performers' guitars reached her ears - all stuff that Bae probably glossed over on her first night of drunken revelry.
These sights and sounds of Halifax spurred Bae to glance back at the distant Nephilim.
However, Irys was already long gone.
Bae heaved a sigh. Her only companion that night was going to be her mountain of still-packed moving boxes and her course material for the Insurance Licensing Exam.
I'm getting a bad case of deja vu here.
Left without a choice, she quickened her pace through the lively boardwalk and hurried on to the ferry home.
…
The next morning, Bae began her morning commute earlier than before - early enough for her to consider stopping by the Tim Hortons coffee kiosk at the Alderney Landing terminal. Tempted as Bae was, she didn't want to take her chances. Her cell phone was even fully charged this time around!
I won't be making any mistakes this time!
Eager to seize the day, Bae took the next ferry she could catch and then marched on to her office building at Purdy's Wharf. Bae imagined what sort of client call Gura would take her and Irys on. She wondered what sort of Nova Scotia sights she would see along the way.
However, when Bae arrived outside the Purdy's Wharf office tower, Gura and Irys were already waiting for her.
"Good morning!" Bae greeted them, overflowing with enthusiasm.
Irys nodded casually, as expected. Gura, on the other hand, reflected Bae's cheer.
"Alright, now that's what I'm talking about!" Gura nodded with delight, "Top of the mornin' to ya! Let's get going, shall we?"
Bae nodded, eager to go on her first sales call - and her first Nova Scotia road trip.
Gura said this, but the petite shark-girl led them into their office building. Then, she let the two new-hires over to the ground floor cafeteria - Tako Eats. Bae's heart sank.
My road trip! Gone! Reduced to atoms!
Bae lamented in silence. She could sense Irys' eyes peering over her. Irys was suppressing a chuckle.
She knows me too well…
"Don't say a damn word…" Bae growled at the Nephilim.
Irys obliged at Bae's expense. This time, the Nephilim was the more cheerful of the two.
"Alright ladies." Gura grinned. She pulled up chairs for her two wards and sat down with them there. "This here's your first sales call with me - the first and best (in my opinion) client of Bread Dog. Tako Eats!"
Moments later, the hardworking proprietress of the cafeteria, Ina'nis Ninomae emerged.
"Welcome to Tako Eats!" Ina greeted happily, smiling as brightly as the morning sun, "Wah can I get you?"
…
Nowhere With You
Home Court
…
To Be Continued