what? an update that isn't 6 months later? shocking

Chapter 21 – The Interview

The reminder of the interview had come down on Astrid like a landslide. She'd forgot about it very briefly, blaming last night's events entirely. Now, she was stood in front of her wardrobe, with the new blouse she'd got a few weeks ago, the silk feeling off and foreign on her skin as she slipped it over her head. Astrid turned to her mirror and gave herself a long, hard look. She'd tried to curl her hair but they hadn't lasted long, so she'd put it up in a neat ponytail. Her cheeks were tinted, a treacherous giveaway of her nervousness. Her hands were shaking slightly as she reached up to tighten her ponytail. This was when she caught Hiccup entering her bedroom behind her, and she didn't even try to fight the relieved smile blossoming on her face as he came up to her and hugged her from behind, pressing a kiss into the crook of her neck.

"You're amazing," he whispered and rested his chin on her shoulder, smiling at her reflection. "And you've got this."

She didn't quite know if she believed him just yet but she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and let him take her by the hand and lead her back into her kitchen, where the smell of coffee greeted her.

"I made you a cup," he said as she sat down. "The smell was disgusting but … the things you do for love."

She snorted and took the mug from him. "Truly – thanks."

"You're welcome." He plopped down on the chair next to her and watched her as she took her first sip. Her posture was tense and only slightly relaxed as she sat and drank her coffee, and he didn't really know what else to do. He had the feeling he could tell her over and over again that she was amazing and she would not believe him until she saw it for herself. And this probably meant achieving perfection in his own, and simple mediocrity in her eyes. She looked up and smiled at him and Hiccup decided he might not succeed in getting her to see how amazing she already was, but he might as well keep trying.

"Do you think we should talk about what happens if I don't get the job?" Astrid asked him as they were walking down the street on their way to the school, her face ridden with hidden nervousness. Hiccup shrugged.

"We can, if you want. But to be honest, I don't really think it's something you have to think about right now, you know?"

"Sure," she said, elusively, and started gnawing on her lower lip. "But just hypothetically," she added, maybe a bit too quickly and Hiccup chuckled.

"Alright, what's your plan B?"

"I'm so glad you asked."

He laughed, his heart fluttering at the sight of her eyes lighting up.

"So, if I fail – and I'm saying if – it's back to the drawing board. Keep on studying, keep everything fresh. Depends on what they criticise, but I'm probably going to need more experience. Maybe I could try and teach online? Or give tutorials? Anyways, I'll find a way based on what the recommend as well. Maybe I'll expand my radius, look for jobs in other cities as well-"

"You'd move away?"

Hiccup slowed down, forcing himself not to stop completely and stared at her. Astrid looked as if she'd just now realised what she'd said.

"It's not like I'd want to," she hastily explained. "It's just, I mean, if – I'll see. Best case scenario I stay here."

Hiccup stopped and nodded after a while. "Right."

They walked in silence after that. Astrid kept gnawing on her lip, her heart and mind racing. She needed to fix this. But she was going to have to do that later. After the interview. She couldn't really afford to worry about this, not right now. Did that make her a bad person? She could tell he was hurt or at least taken aback, but she couldn't really focus on dealing with this right now. This was important but the interview was more important … right? Hiccup made her so happy and she would never deliberately hurt him, but was she doing exactly that by prioritising her possible career over him? And what if she got this job and hated it? What teaching really wasn't for her, even after all the studying and occasional tutorials she'd given?

She didn't really have any more time to think about this now, she realised as they came to a halt in front of the school.

"Good luck," Hiccup mumbled and squeezed her hand. She turned around and looked at him, as if for the first time, and she thought about how all the times she'd called the fire station, it had always been him to respond to the scene even after she'd called them three nights in a row.

"I love you," she blurted out and pulled his hand back into hers. "I'll find something here. I'm sorry for considering moving to a different place without thinking about you at all. It's just … this job is really important to me and I need to do what's right."

"I know," he said and squeezed her hand. "Let's speak about this later, okay? Don't worry about this now. You've got a job interview to ace, remember?" he shot her a lopsided grin and Astrid took a deep breath.

"Okay. I'll see you later."

He leaned down and gave her a soft kiss. "Good luck," he whispered. "I love you."

"Hi, Astrid Blevins, I'm here for the interview?"

The woman sitting at the front-desk looked up and gave her a big smile.

"Ah, Astrid! Camilla Bog, very nice to meet you!"

She got up and shook Astrid's hand. "Thanks for meeting with me on such short notice, I really appreciate it."

"Of course, no problem," Astrid replied and smiled, albeit a bit shakily. "I wouldn't have even considered turning down your offer."

"Brilliant," Camilla Bog said and gestured to a door on Astrid's right. "Shall we then?"

Astrid nodded and smoothed down her trousers as she followed the other woman into the interview room.

"Right," Mrs Bog started and opened Astrid's resume which was lying on the table and leaned forward, crossing her hands. "I have to say, I was very intrigued by your resume and was wondering where that giant gap in your curriculum vitae came from. Sudden change of heart? Any doubts about becoming a teacher after all?"

"Oh no, never," Astrid blurted but quickly pulled herself together and continued, "I've been very sure about becoming a teacher ever since I started giving presentations and offering tutoring at school. I was living with my uncle at the time I'd finished university and had started looking for teaching assistant opportunities. Now, my uncle made the very sudden decision to marry and – for lack of better expression, he basically threw me out of the house and so I had to move very quickly and had to put my plans on hold for the time being as a means of survival, if you will. Please know I didn't mean to make this into a sob-story at all, which is why I did not disclose this in my resume. On second thought, I probably should have done that and I apologise."

Camilla Bog stayed silent for a while, going back and forth between looking at Astrid and her resume.

"Okay," she finally said, quite cheerily, and closed the folder. "Trial shift tomorrow, and then you start on Monday."

Astrid just sat there and blinked, and just so managing to bite back a 'Wait, what?' but her expression probably told Camilla Bog everything she needed to know.

"Well," she said, smiling. "I was and am still very impressed by your resume, and you seem very passionate and motivated. Do keep in mind this is an assistant teaching opportunity, but we can discuss any further steps once you've completed your trial shift and have assisted for six months at our school if you'd like."

Astrid nodded and the only thing her mouth would form was, "Amazing, thank you."

"Not at all," Camilla grinned and reached out to shake her hand again. "I look forward to seeing you tomorrow."

"You too," Astrid replied and got herself to smile and shake her hand properly. "Thank you again."

"See you tomorrow, Astrid."

"See you tomorrow."

And with that, Astrid turned around and walked out of the office, her legs wobbly underneath her.

Thanks for reading! I know this was a pretty short one, but the next one is gonna be a bit longer! Hope you all get into the new year okay, take care!