Page 19 of The Spellreader and the Phoenix

Red rubbed against his neck again, and Max reached up to give them a little pat with two fingers. Was this his possible-familiar giving him support? Or was this just a bird who liked humans liking humans?

Max cleared his throat. “So, seriously, if you come in and deal with people, then I don’t have to deal with them, and I’m all for that.”

“Your customer service skills are truly legendary,” Alex told him dryly.

Max rolled his eyes. “Yeah, whatever, they can go somewhere else if they don’t like it here.” But he should probably be imparting more usable wisdom to his new employee. “I mean, don’t be too rude, don’t yell at people unless they yell at you first and you’re really provoked, and remember what I said about telling them off if they’re assholes. And try to tell them about books if they ask.”

Alex’s lips were pressed together, and it looked like they were trying really hard not to laugh. “Got it.”

Max cleared his throat and just kept going. He was on a roll now, right? “Like I said, you’re welcome any time after school gets out. You can’t work past 7pm during the school year, so you’ll finish an hour before closing if you’re in on Thursdays and Fridays. I think you should have Sundays off, and since you can work up to 18 hours during the week, let’s put it at a 4-hour shift on Saturdays, maybe noon to four or so, since that’s usually when we’re busier. Does that make sense?”

Alex nodded.

Max continued. “If you need off for studying or clubs or friends or whatever, just let me know. Try to give me notice if you’re sick—please don’t share your germs.”

“Got it,” Alex said, still looking amused. “You want my number?”

Right, yes, that made it easier to contact one another.

Max added, “Monday’s usually a quieter day, so if you come in for 3:30, I’ll show you the computer and payment machine. There’s sometimes work stocking the shelves or sorting boxes that came in, and there’s a bit of cleaning, though I take care of most of that.” With cleaning charms, because who wanted to fight with dust? “And helping the customers, of course, by being friendly and approachable and informative.”

There, that sounded like something Evie would say.

Alex was nodding their head. “Uh huh.”

“Any questions?” Max asked. “I’m sure I’ve forgotten tons of stuff.”

“I think that’s it for now.” Alex fidgeted for a second and then said, “Thanks for this. This was, uh, one of the first shops I saw with a pride flag. And I like books. It felt like a safe space.”

Max nodded, throat getting a little thick for no reason at all. “I’m glad.”

The next morning, Max woke to multiple texts from Alex.

Alex

I’m really sorry, but my mom wants to meet you.

I guess to make sure you’re not a creepy predator?

Like, she wasn’t asking all these questions before, but suddenly it’s weird now.

I know you don’t open until 11, but she’s gotta go in for a shift and wants to know if she can stop by at 9am.

I had to tell her like twelve times that I’ve never been to your apartment and I just hang out in the bookstore.

I told her to stop being weird, but it didn’t help.

Max huffed a laugh.

“Honestly,” he told Red and Nōwē, “while it’s a bit embarrassing, I’m glad Alex’s mom is looking out for them. For all she knows, I could be creepy.”

He texted Alex back to confirm that it was fine to meet, then he showered and dressed in jeans and a t-shirt that wasn’t too punny. He made sure that Nōwē and Red had food, then left Nōwē in the apartment as he headed downstairs to the shop. You could get to his apartment from the shop, but he wouldn’t be emphasizing that with Alex’s mom. He always locked the apartment, even when he was just downstairs. (He had wards, too, but it wasn’t like he could explain that to a normal person.)

Reminding himself that he needed to be totally normal probably wasn’t going to help the situation… but Max reminded himself that he needed to be totally normal anyway. Red rubbed against his neck, like they knew he needed some encouragement. He petted them—and then reminded himself that he shouldn’t do that while Alex’s mom was there.

Yeah, this was going to be great.

At five minutes to nine, a petite brunette who couldn’t have looked less like Alex showed up with their child in tow. Alex looked entirely sheepish and resigned the way that only a fifteen-year-old could.