Ms. Miller, the office clerk, gave another exasperated sigh before typing away on her keyboard. She had been doing this ever since I walked into the office five minutes ago after she'd called me in.
"Too much paperwork," Ms. Miller muttered.
From my seat in the waiting area, I chose to look at the dull painting adorning one of the grey walls. An email from my parents with digital signatures wasn't enough to let me leave school early.
Sighing, I placed my backpack on the ground, took my phone out of my pocket, and looked at the time. The driver would be here in less than ten minutes and we had less than twenty minutes to get to the café. I didn't want to be late. That would be rude since I had requested the meeting in the first place.
"Here you go, Miss Borek," Ms. Miller finally said. She placed a slip of paper on the desk in front of her.
Hiding my smile, I walked up and grabbed the slip from her.
"Make sure your parents fill out the permission slip online. We don't want a repeat of this again, do we?"
"No," I said. "Thank you."
On the way out, I grabbed my backpack and slung it over my shoulder.
Once outside the school, I checked my phone. No messages. The parking lot was quiet. My phone buzzed. It was from an unknown number I didn't recognize.
'Arriving,' it said.
At that moment, a black, sleek car rounded into the parking lot and came to the front of the school. A tall and round man stepped out of the driver's seat.
"Sorry 'bout the lateness," he said quickly. "First day on the job and all that."
"No worries.'' I said." Nice to meet you. I'm Rin."
"Joseph," he said. "O-r Mr. Daniel-but you can call me Joseph. Only if you want of course."
"Joseph," I said. "Okay, let's go with that."
"I'm your driver," he said. "Anything you want. Or anywhere too since I'll drive you. You know, I'm your driver."
I smiled. "Great," I said, "Let's get going.''
I opened the door and got in.
Joseph returned to his seat.
After a few minutes on the road, it was clear that Joseph was more relaxed. This was his first job after a year of being laid off. Never said what the job he had before was.
"Never thought I would get the job," he confessed. "Never thought I'd be working for vampires."
"You must have been qualified," I said.
"Seems like it."
We took the toll roads in the city And didn't encounter much traffic. A few minutes later, Joseph dropped me off at 'Juice on the Move!' This time, when the car stopped, Joseph opened the door for me. I moved around my backpack and got out.
"Thanks so much," I said. "Sorry about this."
"No need for that," he said. "I'm your driver."
At my frown, he continued. "Only driving you," he explained. "So, I'm your driver."
I blinked several times. "Oh."
"You'll be late," he said motioning to the café. "Just text me when you're ready to leave. I'll be in the garage."
"Yes."
I turned on my heels and walked away. To think I had a chauffeur now. It felt strange and weird. I was only getting this treatment because I was dating Alexander. Maybe I should refuse but I didn't want Joseph to get fired. Or maybe he wouldn't and I was overthinking this.
Having a chauffeur would make things easier. I shook my head. First things first, I needed to talk to Violet. She was inside the café and I immediately saw her upon entering. Other patrons occupied the booths and tables and a line had formed by the register. Navigated through them, I headed to the back.
As I approached, a man in a suit stepped in front of me. He glanced at me briefly before stepping aside. Violet motioned for me to sit. She had a drink in front of her. It was in a dark plastic cup with a straw and I couldn't make out the contents of it.
"How are you doing? "she asked. She took a sip of her drink.
"Good," I said. "I hope I'm not interrupting your lunch."
"No. no," she said. "You're practically family. It's not a bother at all."
"Well, I don't want to take too much of your time," I began.
"I'm on my lunch break and I could use the company."
One of the employees placed a chicken salad wrap and a drink in front of me.
"Thanks," I muttered.
I took a bite out of the wrap unsure how to bring up what I wanted to say.
"So, Mr. Daniel," I began.
"You need to get around," she explained. "Plus, it'll be helpful."
"Thanks," I said.
We sat in silence for a bit before I finally picked found the courage to finally say what I wanted to say.
"I wanted to discuss the announcement ceremony," I began. "I was also thinking about my parents' titles and the new responsibilities but mostly the ceremony. At least for now."
"Yes, I suppose you do. I'm all ears."
After going around in circles, it all came down to the date.
The housing project had all the attention so competing with it was not a good idea. Plus, Violet said all their vendors were on contract so the same companies worked on all their projects. At the moment, it wouldn't be wise to take the manpower away from it. Plus, everyone needed time to set everything up.
"Next summer, probably works best," Violet said. "You would have graduated and can focus better. Plus, you'll have time to talk to vendors."
"Yeah, okay," I said. "That seems reasonable."
It was a little less than a year away. Alexander did need to have a say in this too. Maybe he would have time today. He hadn't texted me all day other than the morning.
"After the ceremony," Violet began. "You'll be a public figure. Many will expect you to lead projects and become an active member in the community."
I looked away feeling incredibly small. When she put it that way, was I qualified to do that? I didn't know anything about vampire politics. My thoughts must have shown on my face because Violet placed her hand on mine.
"Don't worry," she said. "When I married King Rothchester I didn't know what to expect but I learned. You will too."
I smiled at her. Right. I could learn. Plus this would be after high school. In the time between now and the ceremony, I could study up on things. This was something I agreed on when I decided to stay at Alexander's side.
She sat back and took a sip of her drink.
"I also want to extend an invitation to work with us," Violet continued. "Call it an internship, if you will. You'll be an assistant. I'll be your mentor. We need all the help we can get right now."
"Oh," I managed to say.
I wasn't expecting that. Wasn't it too convenient? I did need an internship and the experience to not mess anything up.
"Talk with your parents about it, "she said. "Once they've approved, I'll send the documentation to your school."
"I'll talk to them," I said.
If they did let me, I'll have a lot more on my plate but I also needed an internship. It would be better to have one during the fall instead of next semester. Plus, maybe with this, I could be of some help to Alexander.