3rd Shift

Chapter 5 - The Interview

"Okay, so, Finley," the manager began, looking over the application she had printed off in preparation for the interview, "You're here for the scanning coordinator position, not the stocker one. Right? That's what I've got written down on here, at least."

"Yes, that is correct," Finley answered quickly and honestly.

"Alright, excellent," she smiled at him briefly before continuing to look through the application and resume, "I believe my first question for you would pertain as to why you left More For Less?"

"Well, it's actually quite simple," the vampire began, his leg starting to bounce from a rise of anxiousness in the situation. "They got rid of third shift. Company-wide."

"That's literally all that it took to make you quit?"

"Honestly speaking, yes. I've been working third shift for my entire work life so far. There comes a point where working nights just becomes your lifestyle," he explained as matter-of-factly as he could, "I had been going back and forth with the store manager about not wanting to switch to second shift or splitting the work up to get it all done during odd hours, and it eventually became evident that continuing my career with that company simply wasn't an option."

"Well, I can see your point there," Rhonda admitted, "The employees we have here who work third shift are also extremely adamant about not working at any other time."

"It's amazing how your sleep schedule can affect your entire outlook on life. That's one of the hardest things for people to change," Finley added on, knowing how true it was for humans to have to adjust to working at all hours of the day and night.

"You are absolutely right on that one! I've tried working overnight before. It doesn't work for me. But, I am glad there are people like you who seek it out!"

"What can I say, I just prefer it!" Finley attempted to laugh it off, awkwardly dodging why he truly needed to work nights.

"So, here at Buggies & Baskets, we hold a fairly high standard for our entire grocery department. Especially our receiving and scanning department, though."

Finley nodded as he listened to her speak, intertwining his fingers as he held his hands down in his lap.

"As I'm sure you could already see, our stores are easily twice the size of any More For Less stores," Rhonda couldn't help but point out the obvious difference in the companies, "On average, there's usually between 9,000 and 10,000 tags to hand every week."

"Wow," Finley blurted out in surprise, "The average at my last store was around 6,000."

"Exactly! So, you can already see where I'm going with this."

"I do, and I am confident that I could handle that many," Finley easily admitted.

"Well, I'm really glad to hear that. Now, I did see where you put in your resume where you dealt with some of the technical aspects of the grocery department - keeping up with the computer program that keeps track of each item, where it goes, and when it needs to be ordered."

"Yes, that was part of my duties at that store."

"I mention that since you wouldn't have to be dealing with that here," Rhonda explained to him.

"Oh, is that so? What all would I be in charge of then?"

"All we expect of our scanning coordinator position is literally with just hanging the tags and switching the sale signs out in all the displays around the store!"

"Wait, that's it?" Finley questioned her, tilting his head slightly as if he had misheard what she had said, "It's just tags and signs? I wouldn't be doing computer work or ordering or stocking?"

"Well, of course not. That's what the grocery department is for!" Rhonda reassured him with a smile before continuing, "That's also one of the perks of working in a big store like this. Everyone has their own job to do. And nobody is expected to do anyone else's."

Finley thought about it for a moment as he slowly nodded, letting all the information process in his head.

"That honestly sounds great," the vampire mentioned in a genuinely intrigued tone.

"When would you be able to start?" Rhonda asked with hope laced through her voice.

"I'm free to start as soon as you need me to."

"How about we get some paperwork started then?" Rhonda asked with a smile, reaching over the desk for another handshake from him, "I think you'd make a great addition to our team."

"Absolutely, let's get this going!" Finley grinned as he immediately grasped her hand in his, eagerly agreeing to the decision to work for the store.

Once the interview was officially over and they had started getting the 'new hire' paperwork going, Finley immediately went to find Gray like they had requested before he had even begun. Knowing they were probably down one of the aisles and stocking the shelves, the vampire hastily walked the store to find them. Finally, as he rounded the corner to the aisle with the pet food, he noticed his friend hoisting a giant pile of puppy kibble up onto the shelf.

"Gray!" Finley immediately called out, grinning as he approached them.

"Oh hey, Fin! How'd it go?" They asked with genuine curiosity, leaning up against the full float of product they were stocking from.

"I'm in!" The vampire stuck both thumbs up in the air to emphasize his point.

"That's awesome! Welcome aboard!" Gray threw their hands up in the air dramatically to match his energy, "When shall we celebrate then?"

"You know when I'm free," Finley retorted, shoving his hands back down his pockets, "Well, to be more specific, I'm technically free for another week or so. Rhonda said the drug test and background check would take about a week to process and then I can get in here and get started."

Gray listened to him and nodded along, eventually agreeing with the vampire to figure out when they would celebrate the newly hired employee. And with the peace of mind of finally finding another job that he knew he would enjoy, Finley was able to head back home and truly enjoy his last week or so of fun and freedom.