First Kiss - Kit & Tully Book 1

Chapter 1 - Tully's First Day on the Job!

The door cracks open and a girl peeps out, eyes sweeping the vicinity. Flanked by doric pillars and capped with an ornate fanlight, it's the kind of door that's never open to me. This is the nice part of town. A flight of granite steps leads up to the door and the traditional red paint is fresh and bright against the greyness of the day and the imposing stone facade. How does it feel to be wealthy enough to live behind a door like that? Do all your worries disappear when you've that kind of solidity to protect you from the outside world?

I wait for her to emerge under a large umbrella, in one of those expensive trench coats rich girls wear. Instead a flurry of booted, swirling black eases through the door, closing it soundlessly behind her. She has a small, collapsible umbrella. She struggles for a moment to open it, then with a final furtive glance, offering a glimpse of a white heart-shaped face and red lipstick, she darts down the steps and disappears around a corner.

Just then, the church bell tolls, its loud clang making me jump. It's a big church, almost a cathedral, and its soaring spire is the main landmark of the town. The sound vibrates into the air, reminding me I need to hurry. I can't be late for my first day in the new job.

In the grey drizzle, everything blends together. Like most Irish towns, the main street of Drimshanra is long and lined with bumper to bumper traffic. June is almost over but the weather has been so cold and unrelenting that summer still feels so far off. In fact, I'm beginning to wonder if it somehow bypasses the town completely.

A short cut leads along the river past empty stretches of derelict warehouses, but I don't like going into town that way. Covered in graffiti, the boarded up buildings remind me of where I've come from. Walking down Main Street takes longer but feels safer.

As soon as I pass through the automatic doors, the comforting warmth of the town shopping centre welcomes me inside and I make my way to More Video 4U with a smile on my face. My watch and the big clock over the centrally located café both tell me I'm ten minutes early, which is exactly what I've aimed for. It's important to make a good first impression, especially since jobs are so hard to find in Drimshanra and I'm on a trial period.

More Video 4U is a large unit down one of the side aisles. A bell chimes as I push the door open and Andy, the manager, looks up.

"Tully Cabe, right?" he smiles when he sees me, "Here, I'll show you what to do."

I follow him through the racks of video files as he explains how they are arranged. The sleeves are empty, for display purposes only.

"We put all the sleeves back on the shelves when they come in," he explains, "that way our customers know what we have in stock. If there's no sleeve on the shelf, it means all the copies are out. Of course, most of the time we only have one copy, unless it's a big hit."

I nod. It's all familiar to me because I've grown up going to various branches of More Video 4U and they all look the same – large and brightly lit, aisles arranged by genre. Thrillers, classics, romcom, noir, whatever mood you're in, whatever kind of film you like, the promise of escape is always there, waiting for you.

"And remember," Andy's voice turns urgent, "if somebody hasn't got their membership card, no matter what excuse they give you, you can't let them have a video."

"Right!" I nod, but he must catch a trace of doubt in my voice because the smile leaves his face.

"I'm serious, kid. People will tell you anything, and some of the excuses will break your heart, but they're only scamming. It's more than your job's worth to listen to them."

Then he takes me behind the counter to show me the drawers where the videos are stored and explain how to use the cash register and the computer with the customer database.