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Edgar's eyes opened, blinding rays of sunlight entering his eyes. First day of work, Edgar groaned and thought to himself bitterly as he squinted his eyes. He tossed and turned on his bed for a few moments, covering his face with his blanket, before reluctantly getting up. His mood seemed to be even worse than usual, and he knew it was going to be a tough day. Harrowing and pessimistic thoughts began to flood in his brain.
Once he finished his regular morning routine, he took a look at himself in the mirror again, then put on his scarf, covering part of his face. His mom had already left the house for work and left a note for him on the fridge written with a black marker, wishing him good luck, and she even drew a little smiley face next to it. His mom was a cheerful and caring person, but for some reason, Edgar turned out to be almost the complete opposite. He was always so gloomy and seemingly depressed 24/7, and didn't socialize much.
He sighed, carelessly scrunching it up and tossing it into the bin.
His workplace, fortunately, wasn't too far away from his home, so he simply walked there. The gift shop did not look like your ordinary shop. It was rather new and nicely decorated, and grand. Well, for a gift shop, it was pretty grand.
Upon his arrival, Edgar was greeted by his boss, Griff, though the man skipped most of the pleasantries and urged Edgar to quickly start working after giving a few brief instructions.
"Ah, Edgar, is it?" Gosh, his voice sounded kind of obnoxious and annoying. Griff was known for his stinginess and greed when it came to money and dealing with business, hence, he was not the most ideal business partner. At first glance, Edgar could already tell he should avoid his boss as much as possible.
Edgar nodded and pretended to cough to cover up a scoff, trying his best not to appear rude. "Uhm, yes. That's me-"
"Great! It's a pleasure meeting you! You know what to do, right? Just stocking up the shelves, waiting on customers—easy stuff! Alright! Good luck, boy!"
And after Griff said that last sentence, he hurriedly walked out of the gift shop. As Griff left, Edgar rolled his eyes and watched as his boss's silhouette gradually disappeared in the distance. Not even a warm welcome? How kind of Griff.
The young man scanned the gift shop. There was nothing special about it in particular. On the shelves, there were rows of Brawl Stars merchandise: Spike plushies, a plastic version of Jacky's helmet, a regular parasol that looks like Piper's gunbrella, everything! Edgar leaned on the counter, already overwhelmed, despite the fact that he hadn't even begun working yet. No one was currently in the shop. It was still quite early. He sighed to himself, thinking he could have some peace and silence before his shift began. Just then, he heard a soft rustle along with a feminine whisper coming from his back, "Hello?" Startled, he turned around and saw a pair of gorgeous, crimson-red eyes staring at him behind the staff room door.
He raised an eyebrow in curiosity, giving the mysterious girl an awkward wave before turning away and looking out the window as dozens of cars drove past, but because of how long her sleeves were, he could only see her fingers and not her whole hand.
The girl opened the door wider and revealed herself. Her hair was a light shade of silver, and she had a fair complexion. She was wearing a red vest and a light blue shirt with very long sleeves, as well as violet pants and dark purple boots. Judging from her attire, Edgar could already guess she was more of the "eccentric" type.
"Are you the new worker? Edgar, right? Nice to meet you! I'm Colette and I'm gonna be your colleague! Oh, and you're a brawler too, if I remember correctly! I've seen you on BrawlTube! Ahhh! You're so amazing!" She gushed in a cheerful, enthusiastic manner. Edgar gave her a curt nod, showing that he at least acknowledged her existence. Colette giggled and continued to speak in the same tone, "Can you give me an autograph? Pretty please?" She whipped out a magenta scrapbook to Edgar's surprise.
Did it just... appear out of nowhere? Wow. This girl was... weird, to say the least.
He nodded in agreement and took the pen she was holding, then signed in her book. He had a puzzled frown on his face, but since he covered practically half of his face, Colette didn't notice it. He handed her the scrapbook and her pen back cautiously.
Letting out a delighted squeal, she took the scrapbook from him when he was done. "Thank you," she said gratefully, her tone now more sincere. "Eh... no problem," Edgar replied, turning away once again. He checked a clock hanging on the wall of the shop, realizing the shop was about to open, which meant his first shift was about to begin.
"We're gonna have to work in a few more minutes," he grumbled, pulling on his fingerless gloves. Colette let out a gentle chuckle. "It's going to be fine. It's a pretty relaxing job. Not too much stress, honestly," she reassured him, "There aren't any special events happening right now, so we won't get crazy amounts of customers."
Edgar nodded, uttering a quiet "okay." So what if there WERE special events? Edgar thought to himself and frowned, Must be an absolute nightmare. Colette gave him a friendly smile, which for some reason managed to calm Edgar down for now. Something about her presence and aura made him feel comfortable.
"Good. The store is now... open!~" She turned away then faced him after a brief second, "I hope we'll get along splendidly, Edgar! Don't stress out too much. After all, it's only your first day! I'm gonna fix the sign outside."
Huh, at least my coworker is okay. Better than my boss, that's for sure.
If Edgar had to be honest, working at the gift shop wasn't as bad as he thought. He initially assumed working in this sort of establishment would make his anxiety levels rise and cause him to be more sleep-deprived than a college student, but after working there for about a week or two, he had to admit that he was completely wrong. It wasn't as taxing and stressful as he thought it'd be. Plus, now that he knew that his colleague was one of the sweetest and warmest people he had ever met, he did not feel as uneasy before whenever he had to go to work.
Most of the time, Colette was at the front, serving customers and collecting autographs from brawlers for her scrapbook, while Edgar worked at the back and occasionally went to the front of the store to restock the shelves.
That afternoon, unexpectedly, a huge number of customers came to the store, so Colette forced Edgar to give her a hand. "Come on, don't slack off~ I'm not the only worker here," she said with a pout of fake petulance, dragging him out to the front forcefully while grabbing onto his vest.
~
"Hm~" Colette hummed to herself softly, her fingers tapping on the counter as she looked around the store. She was bored out of her mind and had a strong urge to do something to entertain herself. There were barely any customers remaining in the shop. Most of them were looking around the shop, but not actually buying anything. She let out a sigh. She really couldn't stand this boredom any longer. Edgar stood next to her with his usual blank expression on his face. Oh! This is the perfect opportunity to start a conversation! Colette thought to herself gleefully.
"Hey, Edgar?" She squeaked shyly.
"Wha- Yes?" Edgar asked, not as grumpy as before. Despite his temperament, he was beginning to develop a soft side for the young lady due to her somewhat childish yet kind nature. Her bubbly personality and innocence was what made her so special and attractive. He found her pretty amusing and more tolerable than most. Besides, she was probably the only person who could yap about stuff to him and he wouldn't complain. That was a first.
Oh, he doesn't seem to be in such a grouchy mood today! Colette thought. She had observed his recent behaviors and he wasn't so bad. Whenever she spoke to him, he'd always talk to her politely. Sometimes she felt as if he respected her more than their own customers.
She blinked at him slowly before she spoke.
"I'm going to Sakura Spike's for lunch today. It's nearby and... I was wondering if you'd like to join me?" She offered, her eyes sparkling expectantly. Edgar's ears immediately pricked up when he heard her invitation, and he nodded. "Sure, I guess..." But why would she want to... have lunch with me? That's... is she trying to butter me up or something?
"Yay!~" Colette smiled happily, putting her hands together. "Well, it's settled then! It's a date!"
Edgar remained silent and nodded, trying not to smile. Then, his scarf began acting up and hit him gently on the head, which made Colette burst out laughing. Her laugh and voice, unlike Griff's, were more genuine and adorable. Even he couldn't help but chuckle with her.
~
A few more customers entered the shop either to browse or buy items, but other than that, the two of them didn't have much to do. When it was lunch time, Colette remembered to hang out the "Will Be Back Soon :D" outside on the shop's door. they both rushed out of the store and headed to Sakura Spike's.
As they walked out the door, Colette stayed close to Edgar the whole time while he tried to remain inconspicuous to avoid drawing any unnecessary attention. He could practically feel several stares from random strangers on the street and they were looking at the two of them, some with curious faces and others with disgusted looks, which made sense since he had a reputation for apparently being one of the weirdest human brawlers and so was Colette, but people loved her anyway. Fortunately for Edgar, this uneasiness wouldn't last for too long.
At the front door, there stood a statue of the restaurant's mascot. Edgar opened the door and waited for Colette to go in first. She gave him a thankful nod and went in, dragging him in as well.
"A table for two, please."
"Oh, all the tables there are available. Please have a seat."
The atmosphere in the restaurant was rather lively and full of happy chatter. There were strong aromas of grilled fish and the subtle smell of fresh rice around the room. Edgar looked around the room and noticed a familiar girl sitting by herself, with nothing but a baseball bat next to her.
"Bibi?!" Colette whisper-shouted, her red eyes sparkling brighter than ever. It was obvious she was trying to resist the urge to yell and jump in excitement.
"Wait, you know Bibi?" Edgar asked in surprise, "That's... unexpected." Bibi had been a friend of his for quite some time now. They had a lot in common and the only reason why they weren't exactly close was because of their personalities. Bibi was had a fiery temper like Edgar did, and she was a bit of a nerd too, though, of course, she refused to reveal that side to anyone due to her reputation.
Colette giggled, nodding eagerly, "Yeah! She's pretty nice, and chill! I'm gonna go talk to her!"
Before Edgar could even protest, she had already approached Bibi.
Just great.