First Day Nerves

You know, the origin of the word 'professional' actually comes from an old Latin word meaning 'to vow.' The idea was that the person was vowing to do their job well, to give the customer quality. Oddly, it has similar origins to marriage, and yet, the word makes so much less sense now. Everyone's got a different idea of what a professional is, but it never really matters, does it? To be professional you don't have to be what you think a professional is, you have to be what your boss thinks a professional is. This makes things complicated when what little you know of your boss is that she's eclectic, insanely smart, and dresses like she walked out of a disco.

How on Earth am I meant to know what to wear? I stand in my room in only a towel staring at the various clothes laid out on my bed, it's impossible to know what to pick. Do I stick with the formalwear? Go super casual? Try and dress eighties like her? She hated the first one, the second makes it look like I'm not trying, and the third would probably just seem creepy.

Fuck it. If I'm doomed either way, I might as well be comfortable. I put on my bra and knickers before reaching for some loose fitting jeans, a black t-shirt, and a red cardigan which I button half way up. There, I look like me, guess it's up to them if they like it.

"It's missing something." Elise voice decides. I turn to face her, she's stood in the doorway, a wide smile on her face. Sometimes I still get caught off guard by her, like... There's no way she's real, right? No human being could actually look like that, it's unreasonable. Then I realise she's stood in front of me. It's a warm feeling. She steps forwards, hiding her hands behind her back. "Close your eyes."

There's clearly something behind her back... Eh, I'll play along, can't hurt... Probably. I shut my eyes and wait a few seconds, before I feel her lips press against mine briefly. She pulls away and a few seconds later she announces I can open my eyes. In front of me is... The sun. Oh no, wait, it's just as bright as the sun. The gold chain of a necklace enunciated the small shimmering stone at the centre. It's a diamond! A little diamond, but still a diamond. She got this for me? It's way too much, I can't-

"Before you even try, you're not allowed to refuse." Elise cuts short my train of thought. "It turns out the birthstone for April is a diamond, so I thought this might help with your first day, remind you that I'm there with you."

I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you.

My brain is cooked. I barely notice as she walks behind me to put it around my neck. I pull my hair up before finally managing words. "How on Earth did you afford it?" I blurt out. Shit, that's rude isn't it?

"I still have some wages from my work at the Free Ride, plus what I had saved before, don't worry, I've still got enough to help with the new place." She reassures me, sealing the clasp and returning to my front and wrapping her arms loosely around my neck as she stares into my eyes. "Tomorrow I'll start looking around for somewhere, okay?" She smiles.

Tomorrow... Because today she's... That's right. She's going to see William today. "My phone's on if you need anything." I reply. "Have you told your Mum where you're going?" I add, honestly, I'm more worried for her at the moment than me... Which is odd, since, as I've established, Elise can do anything and everything.

She looks a tad regretful as she listens to my question. "I decided not to... I don't want to get in the middle of their drama, this is about me and him." She responds. Something tells me she's not convinced that's the right decision, but it's her decision. "Don't worry, just knock 'em dead at work, William's a cake walk by comparison." She orders me, switching back to her cheerful demeanour, we both know that she's scared, but she needs this to manage it, so I'm not gonna question it.

I don't have time to check on Rouge's progress, I'll have to catch up with her tonight, besides, I have to make a sharp exit before Ruby chases me down and sheds all over me. Elise and I leave together, and hop on the bus, but we're getting off at different stops. Still, it's nice to have a bit of time to relax before the storm. Eventually, she kisses me goodbye and I await my arrival on my own, left with only my thoughts.

I feel a lot of anxiety, some fear, but I place my hand to my chest, where my necklace now hangs, and one thought cuts through all of the others. I have to thank Elise. If a thank you should be equal to the quality of the gift then... Well... What's a bit of jaw ache compared to this?

*

Evolution Marketing Solutions. The name sounds so sleek. It brings to mind high-energy executives, modern architecture, the cutting edge of business. As I arrive, I realise none of that is even slightly the case.

I enter a dingy-looking lift and select the option for "EMS" written on a name tag and stuck next to one of the buttons. Okay, this place is definitely not what I'd call the forefront of professional presentation... What have I got myself into? Hey, if it's a pyramid scheme I can just leave... That option isn't really helpful if they plan on selling my organs... Okay, I'm overreacting, but wouldn't that be crazy?

Finally the door opens again and I step out into a wide open room... Which appears to cover the entire floor. The only divides between people are the desks, and even those appear to be scattered around at random. Some grouped together, some on their own. some people are even sat on the floor, even though there's clearly spare desks... What on Earth is this layout?

"Scarlet?" An unknown voice calls to me, I turn to see a girl sat at one of the desks, next to what appears to be one of only a few cubicles in the place, with translucent glass stretching from the floor to the roof. Must be one of the executive offices, I guess? I approach the girl who called me and she looks... Young. Like, too young, maybe fourteen, fifteen? Why is she here? "Lauren's on her way in, grab a seat, she'll be with you in a couple of minutes." I look to a sofa nearby and then back to the girl who has returned to her laptop, and doesn't even look back at me before clarifying. "Work experience."

Huh. Makes sense, I guess, good for her, she's a lot more proactive than I was... But then here I am getting paid to be here anyway, so who's the real winner? I'm getting competitive with a child, this does not reflect well on me.

I take a seat on the sofa, but the lift doors immediately open again, with Lauren bursting out and staggering over to the receptionist. "Morning Sunny, new kid here yet?" She asks, removing her sunglasses.

"Late night?" The girl asks, but doesn't wait for an answer. "She's over there." She points in my direction, leading to Lauren turning to face me. I awkwardly raise my hand for a wave, as she makes her way over to me and flops down on the sofa next to me.

"Urgh... Mondays, right?" She groans. I don't know, it's my first day, maybe I like Mondays, I don't know yet. "So, here's the sitch, IT's getting your laptop ready, they got delayed because of a power outage, which, you think wouldn't matter for a portable device, but they assured me it put a halt to all of their work... Slackers..." She explains, resting her head on the back of the sofa and closing her eyes. "So, until then, I'm just going to give you some orientation... This is the office, pick any desk, if there's not a desk where you want to sit, put one there. Bathrooms are toward the far corner, the glass box there is Moira's office, my office is... I dunno, I think we invested in a water cooler instead."

Well, I feel confident I've figured this place out... Except... How does this actually work? Like this is the most slapdash thing in the world, the boss is literally nursing a hangover and falling asleep in her seat. What's their secret?

"You're shocked, yeah, I get it, we're weird." Lauren observes, stretching out. "Here's all you need to know, we're the best. Like, actually the best. For a multinational we'd be killing it, for a start-up? We're off the charts baby doll. It comes down to three rules. First, get your work done, on time, every time. Second, who cares, if you're following the first rule it doesn't matter. Wear what you want, talk how you want, do what you want, as long as the work's up to snuff." She continues.

This orientation is definitely unusual, but that's par for the course this morning... "I kinda get it. Freedom to do what you need to do, and if you want something done efficiently, give it to the laziest person, they'll make it as easy as possible to do." I think aloud. It's something Jasper told me once. Lauren simply points a single finger gun at me as confirmation. "What's the third rule?" I ask.

Lauren looks at me, holding back laughter. "Repeat Rule Two."

I don't know what I expected.