at month end. I love music and I love to dance, and I put both of those into practice in front of a room of new recruits, and they smiled and laughed a little, and slowly their voices grew louder, their expressions more open as they joined in with the tune. A roomful of people bellowed out the Rocky theme, and some of them found their groove and even did a little fist pump, and that one guy at the back stepped up to the plate and became that one guy who always throws himself right in, and he jogged on the spot and punched the air in front of him, and I liked him. I really liked him. He’d be one to watch.
I stepped between the chairs, listening to every single person, making sure all of them were singing strong, and then finally I stepped over to Verity on the end of the front row. Her face was deadpan, not even a hint of a note. I chivvied her along, a hand on the shoulder, my voice in her ear, but she did nothing, just stared at me like I was some idiotic piece of shit. My expression turned, grew stern, my gestures becoming more urgent until she rolled her eyes at me.
I stopped singing.
“Come on,” I said. “Give it a go.”
“No way,” she said. “It’s stupid.”
People around her quietened, their ears pricked.
“It’s not stupid, Verity. Stupid is trying to form relationships on the phone with a stick up your ass and inflexibility of communication.”
“It’s stupid,” she repeated. “I’m not going to make an absolute tit out of myself, not for you.”
“You’re already making an absolute tit out of yourself, Miss Faverley, I’m just asking you to sing.”
Her eyes widened and turned sour. “Fuck you, Carl. I’m not singing. No way.”
I tipped my head to the side. “Then get out.”
She folded her arms. “Sorry?”
“I said, get out.” I returned to the front and turned off the music. “You’re dismissed, Verity, you can leave.”
“But, I…”
“But nothing. You give your all, or you quit.”
“That’s ridiculous, just because I won’t sing your stupid crappy song.” Her cheeks turned pink and angry, but I didn’t back down. “We’ll see what Dad has to say about this,” she hissed.
I gestured to the door. “Be my guest, he’s in suite four-two-four.”
She scanned the crowd, and everyone dropped their eyes. “You’ll be sorry,” she snapped, and then she was gone, a whirlwind of self-entitlement stomping her way down the corridor, heels clacking like pistol shots.
I smiled at the rest of the candidates. “Equal footing, as I said. No exceptions.”
I took my phone from its dock, noting the message icon before I slipped it into my pocket. The room felt lighter somehow, barriers coming down. There was more eye contact, brighter smiles. Good.
All good.
“Right,” I said, changing the slide. “Let’s get started.”
Tourist season turned Much Arlock into a hiker’s haven. The cafe was rammed for the lunchtime special, people nipping in for a sandwich after a morning’s walk along the Malvern Hills. I grabbed table four’s orders from the hatch and flashed Benny a smile as he wiped his brow with a dishcloth.
My resignation letter was in my pocket, but there was a sadness to the idea of handing it in. I’d been working here since I was old enough to carry a tray without spilling it. Saturdays at first, just around school, then holidays, and now four afternoons a week. The money was crap, but the job was alright. And Benny was so bloody nice.
Slowly the lunchtime rush eased off, and I wiped down tables and waited. Eventually, Benny stuck his head around the door. “You wanted to speak?”
My stomach lurched, the letter burning me. “When you get a second.”
He beckoned me over, and my legs felt stiff as I moved. I wanted to hand in my notice, and yet I didn’t. I wanted the time, and not the safety net, not the safe little wage packet this place offered me. It would make it far too easy to bail on Carl and Rick, and I didn’t want to bail, I wanted to chase the rainbow.
I handed over the envelope and Benny’s eyes fixed on me. “You have a new job?”
I nodded. “Sorry, Benny.”
“No need for sorry,” he said. “You have a degree, all grown up. It’s time.”
His smile brought a lump to my throat. “I’ve really loved it here.”
“And here’s really loved you.” He put a hand on my arm. “You must come, for toasted