A new first day of work (Part 1).

Just a couple of days after that was Friday. I was in my bedroom, having just finished putting on my red vest and was working on fixing my red tie. My mom, bless her heart, ironed my black pants and a white shirt and I had already put them on.

My tie didn’t really need fixing. The pressure in my throat had less to do with it being tight and more to do with that night being my first time working at Hotel Pleasure Lake’s bar.

My hands were freezing despite it being fairly warm outside. I tried to warm them up by breathing hot air into them, but it didn’t work. I felt stiff and clumsy, the worst way to feel in a job that requires caution and precision. But all my nerves wouldn’t stop time. It was 5:15 pm and I needed to be at work at 6:00 pm.

I put on a jacket, grabbed my backpack and went downstairs. I stepped into the living room, where Isabelle, mom, Cake and the dogs were watching TV.

“I’m going now,” I told them.

“Oh boy…” Isabelle muttered when she saw me.

“W-What?”

“You’re white as a sheet, brother.”

Shit. Shit!

Mom paused the movie they were watching, stood up from the couch and walked up to me, putting her hands on my cheeks.

“Listen, Oliver. Normally I wouldn’t say this.” She looked into my eyes with a small, warm smile. “Normally I would tell you and your sister to work hard, to overcome your obstacles no matter how many times you have to fall. However… I know you’re walking into an area far, far out of your comfort zone. This will be more difficult than working at a coffee shop, and you’re nervous because you know this. That’s why, if you believe this isn’t right for you, don’t be afraid to walk away. I’ll support you no matter your choice.”

I tensed up and the knot in my throat tightened. “I won’t quit, I promise.”

Mom shook her head. “You’re young. Give this a try, give it your best shot, learn everything you can, but don’t push yourself to a breaking point because you feel you have to. You don’t. I’m not telling you to quit at the first sign of trouble. I’m saying you don’t need to feel like you have something to prove.”

“...”

“Want me to drive you?” Isabelle offered, standing up as well. “You’re distracted and you may be dead tired by the end of the night. I’ll go pick you up, too.”

I shook my head, but smiled at her. “No, I’ll be fine. Really. Besides, you’ll probably fall asleep and forget to go pick me up.”

Isabelle chortled and shook her head. “It’ll be fine, brother. Diana will be with you, right?”

…

Right. Diana would be with me. Only that added even more pressure to everything. She was the last person I wanted to burden, trouble and disappoint.

“I’ll be going now,” I told them. “I should be back around 3:00 am.”

“Hey. I meant what I said. We’re with you, no matter what,” mom said.

I managed a smile. “Thank you. I’ll be fine.”

I left the house, got in the van and drove off with the pain in my chest and knot in my throat still present. I was aware most of the pressure was in my own head. Technically speaking, this job was pretty much just a cover up. A way to be formally employed by Luke so that he could pay me through official channels while my real job with him was working on the potions. But even so, I didn’t want to mess up. I didn’t want to disappoint Diana, I didn’t want to trouble customers, I didn’t want other employees to see me as an incompetent dude that somehow wasn’t being fired. On top of that, while I had gotten more used to dealing with customers, that was inside the atmosphere of the coffee shop. I had no idea of what to expect at a bar, especially since customers would more than likely be a lot older and with very high standards.

…

I had this exact conversation with Fernanda not too long ago, didn’t I? And I was being so confident in my advice, coming from a place of comfort.

I chuckled, took a deep breath… Okay, three deep breaths, and drove to the Hotel. When I was getting close, though, I noticed something… odd. Heard it, too. A helicopter leaving from the roof of the hotel.

Um…

Diana had already shown me where the employee parking spaces were, so I found mine and got out of the van. I texted her, telling her I was in the parking lot and she told me to go directly to the lobby, so I did.

I saw her there, wearing an outfit very similar to mine, only her vest was black and her tie was red. She smiled at me and looked over towards the counter.

“Mason, this is Oliver,” she said, looking at the man behind the counter. He was about Diana’s age, if not slightly younger. Black pants, white shirt, black bowtie, no vest. Very short face and a square-ish face. “He’ll be working with us at the bar on Fridays and Saturdays.”

“Ah, so he’s the new guy.” Mason raised his head from his computer to look at me, then walked around the front desk to shake my hand. “Mason. A pleasure, Oliver. Good luck on your first day.”

I smiled and shook his hand firmly. “Same here. Thank you.”

“Don’t work him too hard, Diana,” the man said, going back to his seat.

“...Yeah.”

I sensed the unease in Diana’s voice immediately, but didn’t pry. Not while we were in front of others.

We went to the bar, still not officially open. That would be in 30 more minutes.

“Did Luke text you?” Diana asked me as I followed her behind the counter.

“No, why?” I asked.

“He was planning to properly introduce you to all the staff, but he had a small emergency and had to leave in a hurry.”

I blinked. “Was that the helicopter I saw?”

“Yes. He uses it when he has to travel far. He’s going to the airport.”

“What happened?”

“All he told me was that someone made a big mistake in one of his businesses and he’s going to apologize and reassure the customer.”

“I see.”

As if on cue, I heard my phone buzz. It was a text from Luke, practically saying the very same thing Diana just told me. To that, however, he added that I was free to take it easy today and learn as much as possible.

Then, when I turned from my phone to Diana, I saw her with her back to me, and I could tell I wasn’t the only one whose nerves were getting to them.

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