Alice's POV
Getting up this morning was nothing short of exciting, the buzz of beginning this new job was intoxicating me with adrenaline. The thought of this being the beginning of the rest of my career sending nervous butterflies fluttering in my stomach. It was a big step, one that I hadn't thought I would ever make after deciding to leave university. I thought about the phone call I had with Edward last night, he wasn't good at comforting people I had concluded but my options were limited and he was sweet enough to at least listen to my predicament.
He seemed excited to be working with me, I hoped that he wouldn't change his opinion after seeing me work today. I was determined to impress him with my intelligence because unbeknownst to him I had been doing some studying on my own to try and gain some extra knowledge on everything I would need to know. Of course Edward had covered almost everything but there were certain topics that he had explained so many times I was far too embarrassed to admit I hadn't grasped so I spent hours revising them at home.
I got changed into the most professional outfit I owned, hoping to make a great first impression to those who didn't know me previously as the barista next door. I was going to make a name for myself in the GCPD even though I was going to be an assistant I looked at it as an important stepping stone to one day becoming a fully qualified forensic scientist myself.
Gathering my keys, phone and all other necessary items I would need I was headed out the door ten minutes earlier than I had planned for, just enough time to see Cass before I started. I locked the door of my apartment and found my way to my car, driving the familiar route to the GCPD. Cass said I could keep my car spot at the cafe because they had yet to find my replacement which left me right in front of the GCPD, closer than most other workers.
Closing the door of my car I headed into the cafe I had worked in for months but this time as a customer. Cass greeted me in her usual, bubbly manner, making me a tea before her vision veered behind me, a look of displeasure etched on her features. I turned around, curious as to what she had been staring at when I realized it was Edward. His smile was brighter today, a wide toothy grin that radiated excitement, he looked more excited than I did.
"Hey Edward!" I greeted him.
"Hello Alice." He replied. "I saw you in here and figured I would walk into work with you." The offer seemed odd but not out of the ordinary for him. "To show you around and such." He tried to explain but after spending enough time with him I had grown to understand his often misinterpreted offers.
"That sounds lovely." I responded, smiling back to him. I turned around and accepted the coffee from Cass who wished me luck but this time with a false smile. I bushed it off as I walked with Edward the very short distance between Cup at Joe's and the GCPD. "I'm so nervous." I exclaimed, everything rushing back to me.
"Being nervous is a mental reaction to a potentially harming situation which I can assure you, nothing will cause you any sort of harm." I assumed this was his way of making me feel better, it hadn't worked until I looked back up at him, his eyes held such authenticity, and I found myself feeling slightly better.
"I suppose you're right, thanks." A small smile painted my lips as I took a deep breath, he pushed the door opened for me and I walked through.
The GCPD was just as chaotic as it had been when I delivered Harvey his coffee. People were buzzing about, all looking extremely busy and in no mood to be interrupted, it was intimidating to say the least. I glanced toward him, our eyes meeting as he gave me a bright smile as a means of reassurance but it only replaced the nervous butterflies with bashful ones.
Harvey was the first to come over to me, a surprised smile on his face and his arms spread in a welcoming hug that I accepted. Edward stiffened at the contact and coughed awkwardly before we pulled away.
"Alice! I didn't think you were starting so soon." He exclaimed but before I could reply Ed had beat me to it.
"I put in a request." He stated and the two of them stared each other, in a silent competition to determine who was more excited to have me here. It was flattering really, but I could cut the tension between them with a knife.
"Boys, boys." I sighed dramatically. "I know that the two of you are delighted to see me but there is enough of me for both of you." The two glared at one another before turning their attention back to me, Harvey gave me the basic run down and sent me on my way with Ed so he could show me the ropes in more detail.
"If he creeps you out too much you know where to find me!" Harvey called and I rolled my eyes at him playfully.
"Be careful Harvey, your ignorance is showing." I winked at him with a laugh, following Ed to where I assumed we would be working. He chuckled at my joke, struggling to hide his smile when I looked at him.
He lead me further into the GCPD, I hadn't seen this far into the building and my eyes sparkled with excitement at the new area. It was significantly dimmer here, there seemed to only be half the amount of lights in here and it was mildly unsettling but I was in no position to complain. I'll take what I can get.
Edward gave me a tour of the forensic lab, it all looked so interesting. He was as bubbly as always, going on and on about how much I was going to learn through being here. It was adorable honestly, I could see that working here would be one of the best things I have done.
He showed me everything I would need to know, which I found that I was basically there to give a second opinion and sort out the paper work before handing it to this girl Kristen. We were on our way to see her now, as we got closer he got progressively more excited.
"Here is Miss Kringle's office, she's the person you will be handing all of our paper work to." He explained, knocking on the door. A petite, intelligent looking woman opened the door, her face scrunching in disgust as she saw him...
"Mr Nygma." She nodded in acknowledgement her lips in a tight smile, her gaze shifted back to me. "You must be Alice, I'm glad to have another girl around here. Your arrival has been highly anticipated." Her smile reeked of false excitement and I returned it with my own.
"It's nice to meet you." I replied, trying my hardest to be friendly.
"Sorry Miss Kringle but Alice and I must be going, she has a lot to learn today." Edward said goodbye in his usual bubbly attitude, his cheeks tinting pink and a big smile adorning his face. He turned around and lead me back down the hall and I followed close behind, turning around to glance back at Miss Kringle only to be met with her obnoxiously mouthing 'good luck' with a concerned glance.
"She seemed lovely." I commented, the smile on Edward's hadn't left yet.
"Miss Kringle is a wonderful woman, very intelligent." He sounded quite smitten and I couldn't help the slight sinking feeling I felt in my stomach. I could. Understand his appeal though, she sounded really smart, not nearly as smart as him but she is probably a better match for his intellect.
"Well, I look forward to getting to know her then." I tried my best to look happy about it.
"I'm sure the two of you would enjoy each other's company." He still looked giddy from our encounter with her, I wondered if they were a thing. Was I unknowingly having lunch dates with someone's boyfriend? The thought made me sound horrible, what if she wanted to have lunch with him? What if he stopped having lunch with me because she offered?
"I'm sure we would." I hummed in response, hoping he wouldn't pick up on my sour tone.
"Let's get started on the newest case shall we?" He offered and I immediately felt excitement bubble in my chest.
"We shall." The excitement became evident in my voice, it was a little embarrassing. He pulled out a thick file and opened it in front of us, he had obviously been working on this case for sometime on his own. I pulled my glasses out of the bag I'd brought with me and put them on.
"That's a new pair of glasses." He stated, inspecting them. "I haven't seen them on you before." He added in clarification.
"Oh yeah." I laughed, adjusting them slightly. "Lex sent them to me, said that I needed a new pair. He's obsessed with the idea of having one pair for work and one pair for home but he has more money than he knows what to do with so he loves trivial things." I explained humorously.
"Lex?" He questioned curiously.
"Yeah, he's a friend of mine from Metropolis, would you look at that our glasses almost match!" I quickly changed subjects as it just so happened that the two of us now had matching glasses. He seemed to drop the subject of Lex as we continued to joke about our glasses.
Hello! How are we this fine day?
I honestly love writing this book so well, I'm in love with the plot I have coming up and just ugh writing this makes me so happy! Are you enjoying it so far? I can't wait for Lex to join the plot eeeek!
Also this book just reached 1k yayyyyyyy! We are on our way guys, and I really hope you all continue to read and comment along Xx
~Mikayla