CH 2

I forgot to mention that this story takes place in around 2013. And in my mind the campus of NYU is closer to the museum. So that Avery could walk to it quicker and it not be like an hour and a half away. (I google mapped to see how far it was)

The next day was Wednesday which meant a full day of classes. They all went the same as a first day could be; getting the syllabus and course calendar, going over what was expected of students, etc. It was mundane but she would take mundane classes over dealing with McPhee. Though she knew she was being unfair toward him. He was her boss, and she was a new intern. They needed to be able to communicate with each other if this internship was to go anywhere. Speak of the Devil…

Avery opened her phone to find 3 missed calls, 2 angry voicemails, and at least 10 emails detailing what needed to be done. Since she had about an hour and a half til her next class she got to work tackling the agenda of responding to all the emails. The rest of her classes ended early as it was the first day with no real assignments or projects. Before she knew it, she was walking to the museum. Up the stairs she went. She once again was greeted by Rebeca at the front desk. She told her that Dr McPhee was in a meeting and would be back with her shortly but that Rebecca was to help her with her tasks.

"So Avery, how did your first day go yesterday?"

"Oh yeah, it was okay. It was fine." Avery avoided eye contact and started fidgeting with her clothes.

"I get it, McPhee can be quite… well difficult. But you didn't hear it from me!" Rebecca joked, hoping to ease some of the tension and awkwardness. And it worked. Avery gave her a small smile in return.

Rebecca had brought Avery downstairs towards the archives room. It was right on the same floor as the staff lounge she stumbled upon yesterday. It seemed like McPhee had purposefully stuck her far enough away from himself so he wouldn't have to deal with her. And here she thought today would have been better. Rebecca had given little instruction to Avery on what needed to be done. Not because she couldn't give her more, she was just relaying the information she was given to begin with. She pitied Avery if only for a moment. She saw how fragile and curious she was but she also saw a determination in Avery that reminded her of herself with her dissertation on Sacagawea.

"If you need anything Avery, please let me know. I'll be back to check on you after some of my tours to see how you're doing." And with that she left.

Avery stood in the center of the room and looked around at all the boxes of paper and artifacts.

Well this just got more frustrating. She looked around at all the boxes stacked upon each other and papers sticking out and groaned to herself.

I wish he had given me more directions on how to catalog everything. Maybe this is a sort of hazing test to see if I'm cut out for the real thing. Well best get started but first, a little music never hurts to help pass the time.

She opened her phone to the Spotify app and hit "play" on one of her playlists. And of course the first one to pop up was Stronger by Kelly Clarkson.

Well played Ms Clarkson. Well played universe!

McPhee had surprisingly come to check on her progress sometime later before she had to leave. He daresay was a little impressed by how much work she was able to get done in just under a day.

"Well it seems like you aren't as incompetent as I had thought."

That was as close to a compliment as Avery would get. But hey it's still a compliment, so she would take it. She smiled to herself as she began to pack up her belongings.

Maybe his demeanor is changing.

This was her routine the next couple of weeks; show up, organize the archives, document artifacts, file some paperwork, ask McPhee if there was anything else he needed, then leave to attend her classes or have some downtime in her dorm. She wasn't a partier like her converted roommate. She felt uncomfortable in large crowds which is why she preferred to stay on the quiet side of things, like sitting in her dorm or the common area with a book or playing Candy Crush on her phone. That didn't stop her roommate Bethany from trying to drag her to various parties and college events.

"C'mon you promised you would try to be more engaged. It's our senior year! You cannot spend it all in our dorm! I will not allow it! My best friend needs to be pushed out of her comfort zone and I'm the one to do it. Now c'mon and get dressed. We're gonna be late for the Fall Fest Mixer!"

Beth was excited, she was an extravert at heart and loved to go to these kinds of events. It also helped her mood when her boyfriend Josh was coming. She had raided their shared closet for outfits, before finding one and throwing it at Avery. Thankfully they were about the same size so that they could share clothing and shoes. It was a pair of ankle boots, black shorts, a t-shirt of their school's logo, and a baggy jean jacket.

The perfect fall look!

The girls had arrived at the mixer which was held in an open auditorium, with music blaring and red solo cups all around. Of course since this was an all student event, there was no alcohol served. But that didn't stop some wayward seniors from sneaking it in. Josh had somehow found his way through the crowd to them. Beth had greeted him with a kiss and gladly accepted one of the cups he had in his hands. Avery could smell the alcohol from where she stood. She began to feel uneasy, and took a few steps back. But try as she might, Beth had wrapped an arm around her dragging her closer.

A senior class representative said an introduction, but after that the music and mingling resumed. Freshmen were trying their best to fit into the various cliques on campus, while the upperclassmen were trying to get a buzz off of the smuggled in alcohol. They were just there to have a good time. Avery had started to get a headache from the loud music. But she had made Beth a promise to stay for a little while. Beth had dragged her roomie and boyfriend to talk to members of her own social circles. But even surrounded by these smiling faces made Avery feel left out. This wasn't her social circle, so she was an outsider looking in. Sure she had a few classmate friends but nothing more than that. Beth was the exception of course. She was Avery's first real friend on campus. Nodding and smiling to this circle of people was exhausting. She didn't really care about who did what this past summer or what their plans were for after graduation. She barely knew these people!

"So Avery, I hear you started your internship a few weeks ago. How has it been?" One of them had asked. She didn't remember their name unfortunately but it did feel nice to be included.

"Yeah, it's been alright. Just doing some organizing and filing of paperwork. Really riveting stuff, ya know." Way to make it sound even more boring than it is, Avery.

After that, there was an awkward pause, people were unsure of what to really say next. Thankfully a song came on that everyone seemed to vibe with and they were off dancing with one another. Avery hung back a little bit. She had tried but she just didn't fit in with this crowd. She was already exhausted having to pretend to be someone she wasn't for the night. She tugged on Beth's shirt and whispered that she was going to head back to their dorm. Beth had understood that Avery had tried to step out of her comfort zone a little, so she didn't put up a fuss when she wanted to retreat back into her bubble.

A quick shower and a change of clothes were all it took for Avery to feel comfortable again. That and snuggling under her blankets. But just because her physical self was comfortable, doesn't mean that her internal self was comfortable. She wondered how, in almost four years of her studies, she only made one life long friend. She wondered if she was ever going to fit in and find her own group of people.