Pov y/n

I look outside the window while I'm on my way to the aquarium, this will be my first day there and I'm more than excited but also a little nervous.

Over the weekend, I read the information sheets Mr. Jackson sent me about the fish they have there to be fully prepared.

This morning when I was working my shift at the coffeeshop, I wasn't nervous at all but now it all rises up.

I'm not nervous because I think I will do any huge mistakes, more because it's one step further into my life in New York.

The break between my shift at the coffeeshop and at the aquarium is just enough for me to get to the next location. I can take the subway but it still takes a while.

The time I spend on the subway is used for a small lunch break and some nervous thoughts.

Before my shift starts, I will sign my working contract today and with that it's settled that I have another income. That makes me calmer for Wednesday, when I have my apartment visit, knowing that I can actually afford that place.

After a few more minutes, I arrive at my station and get out to walk the rest of the way.

I try to avoid the sun because it's pretty hot today and I don't need to arrive there all sweaty.

When the conditioned air of the aquarium surrounds me, I sigh happily and approach Mr. Jackson who is waiting for me. We greet each other and then he leads me into his office again.

I skim the contract before I sign it and Mr. Jackson welcomes me into the team.

He shows me to the staff room and tells me which locker I can use.

I will also find a shirt in there that I am supposed to wear so people know I'm working for the aquarium.

He leaves me alone and I go to one of the changing rooms to put on the shirt. It fits and I stuff my bag in the locker before going outside again.

"One of your colleges is going to give a tour in about five minutes. How about you join them, so you get to know the facilities and the different aquariums?" Mr. Jackson suggests and I nod in agreement.

"Alright, I will do that." I say and he nods, telling me to meet him back at the entrance after that.

I walk back out and orientate myself for a few seconds before I see one of my co-workers, a few people already standing close to her. She smiles at me when I approach her.

"Hey, I'm y/n, I'm new here and am supposed to watch you give a tour." I introduce myself with a smile. She holds out her hand for me.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Stephanie but you can call me Steph." She says and we shake hands.

"It's your first day here?" She asks and I nod.

"Yeah, signed the contract today and now I need to get to know the building a little so I don't get lost." I explain and Steph chuckles a little.

"Yeah, it's quite big. I got a little lost on my first day here as well. Luckily the signs helped me." Steph recalls the memory and I grin at her, she seems really nice.

Before I can say anything else, she is asked a question by a visitor and I respectfully step back, not wanting to listen in on their conversation.

Around two minutes later, Steph starts the tour and I follow the little crowd.

Within seconds I'm caught by the atmosphere of this place and marvel at the huge tanks with fish in them.

It takes me right back to my few times diving and my college courses and reminds me how much I missed this.

I only listen partly to what Steph says since I know all of that myself but take notice where she stops and try to remember it.

After we move away from the first spot, I see a big dot on the ground, that says 'first view point'.

Alright, so I don't have to remember the spots and just stop at the dots.

The tour is fun and I use the time that Steph talks, to orientate myself, looking out for signs and arrows that show the way. I can do this, once I know where everything is, I won't have a problem to guide people through here.

Around an hour later, we are done with the tour and I return back to the point where Mr. Jackson said we would meet.

Honestly, I feel very optimistic about this, I can do this. I just have to remember not to get lost in watching the fish when giving a tour.

Mr. Jackson smiles at me.

"How did it go?" He asks friendly.

"Pretty good. I feel confident to be able to do this." I say, almost with a proud smile.

"That's great. Here are the feeding schedules. The red ones are the ones that are for the people to watch, you can inform them about the feedings at the end of your tour. The black ones are the ones people aren't able to see. There's a plan in the staff room, please put your name into it, so the others know which feeding you will do. There are little preparation rooms when you enter the 'staff only' area, you can prepare the food there. What and how much the fish need is written on signs. Tours are given every hour. There's also a plan for that in the staff room. Just put your name into it. When you're not currently giving a tour or feeding the animals, you can walk around and see if everything is alright or if a visitor needs help or has questions." Mr. Jackson advises me and I nod.

"Alright, then I will write my name into the lists now and see what I can do." I say, earning a smile and nod from Mr. Jackson before he walks off.

I do as said and go back to the staff room to look at the lists.

There are two kind of tours and I smile when I write my name into the free gap for tomorrow's shark tour.

I love sharks, they are just majestic, amazing and fascinating. The tour will also contain other animals but it's supposed to contain more information about sharks and has a few extra spots around the shark tank. I also write my name into the free feeding spots and look at my work satisfied, this seems good.

Back out of the staff room, I decide to walk around a little and see if I can help someone and to admire the fish.

I stroll through the building and when I hear a little boy asking his mother something that she doesn't know, I walk up to them and offer to answer his questions.

His mother nods for him to ask me and he does. I start explaining to him what he wants to know and when I finish, he continues to ask more and more questions.

His eyes light up when I answer his questions and point out the fish I'm talking about.

Time flies by and when I answered all his questions, he waves goodbye and I continue my walk.

Today I don't have a tour since the schedule is already full, so I just help visitors, answer their questions and watch the animals swim around.

I could spend an endless amount of time here and not get bored. But it also makes me want to go diving again, only this time I want to dive in the ocean, maybe even go a little deeper and just enjoy the beauty of nature. Maybe someday I will get the chance to do that again.

The shift goes by fast and at the end of the day, I meet my other co-worker and we exchange a few words.

He's nice and I think I will get along great with him and Steph.

I grab my bag out of my locker and leave the aquarium. The sun is already low and luckily not so warm anymore. I decide to take a walk along the beach and just enjoy listening to the waves and watching people splash in the water.

My thoughts start to wander, thinking about random stuff. I can feel my body relax while I walk and realize how tense I was today because of my nervousness. But I don't regret taking that job, it seems very fitting for me and even though it will be stressful to get from the coffeeshop to the aquarium every day, I'm looking forward to working at the aquarium.

When a frisbee lands in front of me I look up and see two girls waving at me, so I pick it up and throw it back to them. They give me a thumbs up in thanks and I continue my walk.

I think about me and Scarlett and if we will ever be able to freely play with a frisbee without having to worry about paparazzi. I would love to have a beach day with her, just relaxing, reading, goofing around and swimming a bit.

A smile spreads on my lips as I think about this image, it would be really nice.

But again, with all the paparazzi probably close to impossible, at least if we don't want to cause any more gossip.

I sigh and look out onto the sea, just as my phone vibrates in my back pocket. After a few more seconds of watching the sea, I pull it out and check who messaged me.

I automatically smile when I see that it's Scarlett, asking me how my first day at work went.

Before I answer her, I find a bench and sit down. With a smile on my lips, I answer her and when I see she replies right away, my heart jumps a little.

We text for a little while, just chatting about our days and she tells me that she had a meeting today while Rose was in school and her manager will take care of the whole situation for now.

It's nice to text with her and with every message I send, I start to overthink them less, which feels nice.

We end our conversation at some point and only then I notice that I've been grinning at my phone like a crazy person during our conversation. But who cares? It makes me happy and my heart warm, so I might as well show that on my face.

For a few more minutes, I watch the waves before I get up and stroll back, slowly making my way back to the hotel.

The sun gets lower and lower but isn't quite setting yet. I would love to watch it because it reminds me of Saturday where I watched the sunset with Scarlett, her eyes almost shining golden in the light of the setting sun. But I have to get up early tomorrow and the way to the hotel will take a little while.

Down in the subway station, it's cooler than at the beach but my body is still warmed up by the sun, so I don't mind. The subway comes soon and takes me back to where I want to be.

During the ride, I think about my week. Tomorrow will be a normal day, apart from the fact that I will have my first tour through the aquarium and my first feeding but I can do that.

On Wednesday I have my coffee shift off because I'm gonna look at the apartment. Sadly, the other two owners didn't reply yet but one is better than none.

After that I will probably have some spare time until I need to be at the aquarium. Depending on how much, I maybe can go to the swimming pool again.

The rest of the week will be normal, first my shift at the coffeeshop, then my shift at the aquarium. Who knows, maybe I will spontaneously have an idea to do something after work but I will see that then.

I get out at my stop and walk the rest of the way back to my hotel. I spend the evening going to the small bar of the hotel to eat some dinner and watch some shows when I get back to my room.

Lastly, before I go to sleep, I read over the info sheets again that Mr. Jackson gave me to be prepared for tomorrows tour.

Tuesday goes by mainly without any events, apart from me being a tour guide for the first time but everyone seems to enjoy it, so I get calmer with each lookout-point and smile when I end the tour. This is fun, I really could get used to this.

The feeding also goes well.

As Mr. Jackson said, everything I need to know is noted down and I prepare the food before I leave the preparations room and open the door that leads to the aquariums.

I walk up the stairs until I'm on a platform on top of the aquarium and check the food the last time before I spread it around the water.

It slowly sinks down and the first fishes start to approach it and only a few minutes I see a bunch of different fish catching the food to eat it.

I get lost in the sight and just look down into the aquarium. But I remember that I have another tour soon and walk back down the stairs and put the bucket back into the preparations room.

The second tour goes well too and at the end of my shift, I have a content smile on my face.

On Wednesday I can sleep in a little longer, which feels really good. I stretch in bed before I get up, take a shower and get ready to meet the owner of the apartment.

It takes me a little while until I find the apartment and I almost get lost but I'm still in time and feel excitement rising up when I shake the owner's hand. He gestures for me to enter the apartment and I do so.

Luckily it's already furnished so I don't have to buy anything big.

As I enter, there's a door to my right and I open it, to reveal a small bathroom. It contains everything I need and looks clean.

Walking further into the apartment, or some would maybe call it a loft, I enter the living room and kitchen area.

The kitchen looks modern and is small but has a little aisle with three barstools. The living room is also small but big enough for one person. It contains a grey couch that is facing a TV table with no TV.

Well, I guess I have to buy one if I need to.

Next to the TV table, there's a book shelf with no books, so space for my personal things.

The wall on the right side of the couch, opposite of the kitchen, has two big windows that look down onto the small street that this house is on.

I turn around and tilt my head back to look at the platform above the kitchen. From here I can only see a desk.

I take the staircase upwards and let my hand run over the railing of the platform. There is a small walk-in closet up here and a little desk with a chair that looks over the apartment.

The owner stayed downstairs and watches me as I walk back down. The place is small but perfect for one person and all I need.

"I love it." I admit and the owner smiles.

"I'm glad you like it. In the cupboards in the kitchen are dishes and cutlery. It should contain at least a set of four. In one of them is also a coffee machine. The fridge is empty and not plugged in yet. The people who rented this place left the furniture here, it's all clean. They took the TV with them, so if you want one, you'd have to buy one. Towels and sheets are not included, obviously. Any other questions?" He asks after telling me everything I need to know. I think about it but shake my head.

"No, thank you." I say with a friendly smile.

"Okay, good. You can look around a little more and I will come back in fifteen minutes. If you want to rent this place, I will get a contract. The price is the same as it says in the internet. Rent needs to be paid every month in time. You are allowed to forget it two times, of course paying it back the next month. If you can't pay a third time, I will have to ask you to move out. Alright?" He makes clear and I nod, agreeing with his terms.

He nods as well and leaves me alone in the apartment to give me time to think about it.

I like this place and it's not too expensive and the location is good but can I imagine to live here?

Again, I look around the apartment, trying to get a feeling for it. I do like it but a tiny part of me is still skeptical, or afraid?

Am I afraid to move in here because it would mean that I really live in New York now?

It is a scary thought but if I'm being honest, I enjoy my life here so far and that's what I wanted, to start a new life here and that also includes renting a place to live in.

I sit down on the couch, it's very comfortable, and pull out my phone, checking if I got a reply from the other two apartments I emailed to but no.

I can still take time to think about my decision but with every day that goes by, there's a chance, someone else will rent this place and I will end up staying at the hotel.

I take a deep breath and look around the apartment from where I'm from. There's nothing that bothers me about this place, so why not?

I quickly do the math and calculate how much money I will have each month after paying for rent. It's not a huge amount but should be enough.

The owner walks back in and I just now realize that I've spent fifteen minutes thinking about my decision but I have made one.

"I want to rent this place." I state and get up, looking at the owner. He nods and disappears again, this time only for a few minutes and hands me the contract.

I sit down at the counter and read over the contract, not wanting to sign anything I'm not okay with. He lets me read it in peace and when I skimmed over everything, I nod and he gives me a pen.

My hand slightly shakes when I turn to the different pages I have to sign but my signature is clean.

I write the last one and look up at the owner who holds out his hand to me and I take it to shake it.

"Welcome to this apartment, it is now officially yours. You can move in here this weekend, since it's the first weekend of the month. I will get everything ready." He says and excitement washes over me.

I just rented my first apartment in New York! I have to contain myself to not jump up and down and cheer out loud.

"Thank you, I will come back on Saturday then with my things and move in." I say with a happy grin.

"Alright, email me the exact time and I will be here to give you your key." The owner says and takes the contract.

"I will, thank you." I say and follow him outside, leaving MY apartment.

We say goodbye before I step out onto the street and start to do a little victory dance.

I don't care if people can see me right now, I am way too happy and I have to get it out somehow.

Without thinking much about it, I get my phone out and text Scarlett before making my way back to the hotel.

My nights there are counted!

A/n: It's all coming together now. :D

Thanks for reading and love to you all