《That Small Library by Dover Street》3. Job

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"Hey."

"Hey to yourself." He replies back, eyes still glued onto the book that he was currently reading, feet up on the counter as if there weren't other people in the library. A second passes before he stops, gaze flicking up from his book... before they blink in surprise. "No insults this time?"

"Still thinking of one. Sadly, I don't think that's gonna fly right now." She sighs, shaking her head and taking a stool in front of the counter. "... So, how's your day going?"

He carefully closes the book and sets it on the counter, an odd expression on his face.

"... Alright, this is weird." He ekes out, a suspicious expression on his face as he leans away from her. "What do you want?"

She pauses, brows scrunching for a few seconds before she lets out an aggrieved sigh and takes a deep breath. "... I need a job."

He blinks. Then does it a few more times, before putting his legs off the counter and adjusting his seat.

"... Alright, so I wasn't just hearing things then." He breathes, adjusting his glasses and squaring his shoulders. "So, first things first. I'll be frank: You could get a better job basically anywhere else."

"You keep this place running every month."

"The library's not that big." He grumbles, waving a hand around, "And I work other jobs in the meantime to keep this place afloat. Not like I'll just throw all these books out just because my family doesn't see any use for them anymore, you know what I'm saying?"

"No."

"Point is, I don't know what to pay you." He admits, scratching the side of his head, "Don't know what exactly brought this on, but all I can assure you is that you'll probably be receiving around... well, we'll probably discuss what you're getting once you're on the job, but uh... are you actually qualified for this?"

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She pauses for a second, but it was more than enough to tell him everything that he should know. "I'm still studying."

"Marking that as a... no, then." He sighs, reaching for his clipboard and flipping through the papers. Not that he really needed to do so, but writing it down certainly helped him remember. And it certainly got him playing the part of the stern person on the other side of a job interview. "Uh, got any experience in stacking shelves? Know how archiving works? Got uh, people skills or something like that?"

She blankly stares at him for a few seconds, before she lets out a soft sigh, "You're taking the piss out of me, aren't you?"

"... A bit." He replies after a bout of silence, nodding in her direction before carefully setting the clipboard down. "Look, if you feel like you're being forced to do this for whatever reason, the least you could do is tell me what's causing this. A job's not exactly something that you could just drop in and out of without sufficient notice."

"I'll..." She bites her lip, answering a few seconds later. "... I'll send in a resume or something sometime within the week. I just need to know if you're hiring."

"... Right now?" He asks, shaking his head in response to her question, "No, I'm not looking for new hires. I'm barely keeping the book in the black, so I'm not sure if I can hire someone else. No offense."

"Ah... Alright."

She made to stand up from her stool, only for him to grab her sleeve and motion for her to seat back down. A short moment passes, before she sits back down with a cross look on her face.

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"Look." He mutters quietly, "If you really need a job, then I can try my best to help you find one. Can I get a 'why', though?"

"That's..." She trails off, before her brows draw into a frown. "... I don't think that's any of your business, is it?"

"It is, if you're going to keep on coming here while looking like you'll snap at anyone close to you." He replies, quickly raising his hands in a measure of surrender when she begins glaring at him, "Look, I'll try and ask around the area, see if they're willing to hire someone like you. If I get a word back, you go there with resume and try to get the job, alright?"

"What's the catch?"

"None." She narrows her eyes, and he quickly stammers out a reply. "... Or well, if you could stop trying to pick a bone with me all the time, I'll take it as a good deal."

She snorts. He scowls at her reaction, and she quickly leans away from him and raises her hands in surrender, a perfect mirror of what he did just moments before.

"... Not my fault that you suck." She replies with a little hint of a smile on her face, causing him to scowl in her direction.

"Piss off." He scowls, "Good riddance if you're out tormenting someone else other than me."

He huffs, turning his chair around even as she lets out a chuckle, "I– Look, I'll probably get an answer from some of the local establishments by the week, so make sure you've got that resume of yours ready to go by that time. Got that?"

"Got it." She smiles, not that he could really see it given how he was turned away from her. A second passes before she takes a deep breath, glancing up towards the ceiling. "... Thanks, by the way."

"You're welcome." Came the curt reply, quickly followed by a sigh. "... So."

"So?"

"Are you borrowing something, or are you just gonna stand there like an idiot?"

Her eye twitches a second later.

"... On second thought, you can go to hell."

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