3rd Shift

Chapter 5 - The Interview

The store was immaculate.

As Finley was taking it all in, almost looking like a kid in a candy store, a familiar voice called to him from afar.

"Fin! Yo, Finley!" Gray exclaimed as they caught sight of their friend, "Over here, buddy!"

The vampire instinctively turned in the direction his name was being called from, lifting a hand to wave at Gray as he simultaneously began walking to them.

"Why didn't you tell me how amazing this place looks?" Finley immediately blurted the question out as soon as he was in reach of his friend.

"I tried to! Multiple times! It's not my fault your big dense head wouldn't listen to me!" Gray jokingly accused him as they reached out to pat his arm, "But, anyway, you look really good."

"Thanks," Finley responded with his smile still present on his sharp features.

As Gray looked up into the vampire's eyes, the slightest smirk tugged at the corner of their lips. "The brown suits you. It matches your hair color," they pointed out as they motioned for the vampire to follow them.

"If that's the case, I'm glad those are the ones I chose. It was either the brown ones or the blue ones. But if you think these ones do look good, I'm glad they'll be what I'll have to wear for the remainder of my days!" Finley exaggerated as he instantly followed them.

"Right, sure, until the end of all days!" Gray added on as they shook their head, "Alright, you ready to see the hiring manager, Rhonda? That's who you're interviewing with, right?"

"Yeah, I'm supposed to see her."

"Are you nervous?" Gray asked in a sarcastic tone, leading them down the stretch of the fourteen registers to get to the manager's office.

"Nervous? No. Absolutely not! Why would I be nervous?" Finley defended himself with his own question, knowing his friend was just playing around to get him loosened up for the interview.

As they reached the end of the registers, Gray took an immediate turn to walk down the last one and knock on the closed door along the wall where the customer service desk was located.

"Come in!" A sweet voice called from behind the closed door.

"Hey, Rhonda!" Gray smiled at the manager as they opened the door to the office, "Finley's here for his interview. I was coming up here to check on sales when I happened to see him come in. I didn't even realize how late it was getting!"

"Oh, I know it! It's getting dark so early now that daylight savings time is over," Rhonda agreed with them as she got up from behind the desk she was sitting at, immediately stepping out of the office to meet the interviewee. "You must be Finley? I'm Rhonda, it's nice to meet you."

"Yes, that is me. It's nice to meet you too," the vampire extended his hand towards the manager for a handshake, offering a polite greeting to get a first impression set in stone.

"Alright, well," Gray quickly intervened to dismiss themself, "I'm gonna go check on those sales now. Good luck, Fin, come find me when you're done!" Without hesitation, they practically darted off in the opposite direction to let the two do what they had to do.

"So, shall we get started?" Rhonda asked with a smile, motioning for the interviewee to follow her into the office.

Instinctively, Finley nodded and stepped into the office. He pulled the swivel chair out just a bit to give him some space to sit down, watching as she quietly shut the door and sat down behind the desk. As soon as she had rolled up to her spot, she pulled a piece of paper out from a stack hiding within a mini organizational cabinet sitting on top of the desk.