Richard and Fawn followed the directions to the store the clerk mentioned yesterday. The ghost spotted a tall work building from across the street. The traffic was awful today, so they had to cross over via the stoplight to reach the building and inspect.

“Here’s an idea. Why not apply for a job?” She suggested. “It’s a simple way to earn money, and blend in society better while working on our mission.”

“Oh yeah, it’d be just like when I applied to...” Richard’s voice trailed off. He let out a heavy sigh. “Never mind, let’s go give this a try.”

.-.-.-.

Richard stepped into the main lobby. Encased with a polished floor, lamps lighting up, attached to the walls with fancy wallpaper. A crystal-clear fountain stood on the side, along with a fireplace and tv set for people waiting for their appointments to start.

Fawn rested on a bench as Richard walked toward the counter where a young woman with wavy blonde hair worked on the computer. She didn’t notice him approaching her until he rang the bell on the desk.

“Oh, hey, welcome to B.E.E.S.” She greeted him. “How can we be of service?”

“Bees?” Richard tilted his head in confusion.

“It’s an acronym. Short for ‘Beneficial Educational and Economic Services’. Did you not read the plaque outside?”

“No. Sounds on the nose, don’t you think?”

“Look, I didn’t come up with that.” She pointed out, dropping the friendly attitude. “So, anyway, what do you want? If you want an appointment, you’ll have to wait with the rest of—”

“I’ll get to the point. I’m looking for a job and want to apply here,” Richard said.

The female raised her eyebrows. “Are you serious? You must be joking.”

Richard shook his head. “Why would you think that?”

The employer sighed. “Look, our boss is in an important meeting right now. And even if she is available, I doubt she’d want to interview someone like you.”

“What?”

“Lower your voice in the building. Now, as I was saying, there’s no way you’re qualified. For starters, you’re not wearing anything suitable for work. Second, you don’t look like you have much experience in the first place. You probably don’t even know what our wage is, do you?”

Richard’s blood boiled as the person continued to weigh him down and talk smack. “Anything else?”

“Nope, not really, except you’re not good-looking either if you want me to continue.” The woman replied with a smirk. “Anything else you want to say before I kindly escort you out?”

“Yeah, I do. How about you wipe that stupid smile off your face?” Her smile faded in no time at all. “And if I were a hunk, I wouldn’t want to talk to you either!”

“E—Excuse me?”

Ignoring her remark, Richard stormed out of the lobby, with Fawn following suit.

.-.-.-.

Fawn had no idea what happened. Being of a young age with an adolescent mind, the business talk went over her head. Even when listening to her parents talk about their projects, she didn’t understand what went on, but was still happy for them, nonetheless.

Something about that felt off to her. The two were talking like civilized people earlier, so what made Richard ticked off in a matter of seconds? It didn’t seem like a big deal, unless the woman behind the counter tried to provoke him, but she had nothing to gain from doing so. It didn’t help that the retort wasn’t handled gracefully either, from both sides. The silence was awkward as it piled up, but Fawn didn’t know what to say to break the tension.

“Sorry about that,” Fawn muttered, feeling responsible for suggesting to come to that place.

“Don’t worry about it, let’s just go already,” Richard muttered without looking at her.

He knew it wasn’t her fault he blew up. She didn’t know that would happen. But Richard wasn’t in the mood to talk and wanted to get through the day with no more hassles. Of course, knowing what he signed up for, didn’t seem like it was going to be easy. Still, he wanted to try and make this less stressful on himself while doing so.

The two had stayed silent on the way there until they came across a small shop called ‘The Whistling Watch’ and stepped inside. Wallpaper and textures appeared to be wooden and gave a natural aesthetic. The variety of clothes compared to the previous store had smaller price tags but looked simpler in design.

The worker behind the desk looked familiar to the one from The Winking Bull. Unlike the other woman, her hairstyle was in pigtails and had hairpins on the side of her head. She read a small book in a relaxed position when she noticed Richard entering the store. She put a bookmark in, then closed the book to approach the customer.

“Hi, welcome to my shop.” She greeted him with a smile. “What can I do for you?”

“Hello. I heard you got some marvelous stuff here.” Richard showed the owner the note from the other store.

“Ah, so you’re a friend of my sister’s. What would you like to purchase? Whatever you get, you’ll have a discount.”

“Well, I’m looking for some decent clothes. Can you show me some recommendations?”

“Of course.”

After escorting him to an aisle filled with clothing, Richard scrutinized each of them to find one suitable for his style and size.

“Is this all the selection you got here?” Richard asked.

“Wooden, you like to know?” The owner joked.

Oh no, please don’t let that be a recurring thing. Richard wore a big smile and tried to keep it from changing.

“Hey, look over here,” Fawn called out to him. She pointed to some work attire. “How about these?”

Richard peeked at them. “Well, it’s nice, but I’m not sure about the color palette.”

“What’s the matter?” The store owner asked. “Clothes minded? Feeling a bit—”

“Alright, I’ll take this one!” Please stop with the puns!

“Splendid.” She went to the cashier. “Anything else before I give you the discount?”

“No thanks, I’m good,” Richard replied.

He went to the dressing room to try on the outfit. To his surprise, it had fit him well. He got out and showed off the white shirt, blue tie, and dark blue jeans to Fawn.

“So, how do I look?” He asked.

Fawn shrugged. “Passable, I guess?”

“Oh, by the way,” The store owner brought up. “If you’re interested, we—”

Richard looked down at his wrist and pretended to mark a watch with his finger. “Oh, would you look at the time, I gotta get going.”

“Goodbye, and be sure to visit again.”

They waved goodbye as Richard speed-walked out of doors at a breakneck pace.

.-.-.-.

Richard and Fawn left the store as the former felt ready to take on the job. Fawn asked if he wanted to try that B.E.E.S. place again. He shook his head, feeling it wouldn’t make an excellent place to work, anyway. Across from there, he spotted another work building standing there, which also had a help wanted sign.

Richard looked both ways before crossing the street and checked the plaque near the entrance.

“W.A.S.P. AKA: Work Academic Social Plaza. Is it like a workplace and a school, or something?”

“Well, what do you think?” Fawn asked.

“Alright, I suppose we can give this place a shot.”