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“It’s my first year of school,” I say with a shrug. “I didn’t really have time for this sort of thing until now. It’s my first time away from home.”

“Shit, really?”

“Mhmm.” Realizing it’s rude not to ask, I add, “How old are you, Simon?”

“Eighteen,” he says proudly. “This is my first time out on my own too! It was just me and my mom growing up. Well, sorta? I was really close to her mom and dad so really it was just me, my grandma, my grandpa, and my mom. They lived across the street so I was over at their house whenever my mom was at work. I was kind of sheltered. Mostly I think people thought I was too much. I tend to talk a lot. I don’t know if you noticed that or not.”

I do everything in my power not to laugh. Once the urge passes, I nod my head and hum softly.

“Anyway,” he continues on and I find myself smiling as I listen to Simon ramble on about his life back home.

Simon doesn’t know his father because he’s the product of a one night stand and his mother never got his name. Apparently, fairies are born via egg which I find incredibly fascinating. It must have been such a shock to people who work in the medical field. One moment, you have to know everything you can about the human body and the next moment, there’s a variety of species scattered across the world.

They must have been scrambling to learn as much as they could as quickly as they could.

Fuck, that sounds stressful.

It doesn’t take long before we’re walking into WraithMart. We make our way towards the back where the pharmacy is. I hang back, allowing Simon to take care of that.

I see a little ‘help wanted’ sign. Catching Simon’s attention, I wave over at the customer service desk towards the front of the store, letting him know that’s where I’ll be. After getting a thumbs up, I make my way over.

Thankfully, there isn’t a line or people needing help right now. The woman behind the desk gives me a smile as I step up to the counter.

“Hi,” she says in greeting. “How can I help you today?”

I do my best to stand up straight and exude just a little bit of confidence even though that’s not really my strong suit. “I saw your help wanted sign,” I say in explanation. “I was wondering if I could apply for a job. I’m a student at Creelin U and could really use a job nearby.”

“Oh, that’s perfect,” she says brightly. “I’m Brandi, by the way. I’m one of the managers who work here. We love hiring students during the school year and don’t worry, we’re super flexible about what hours you work. Right now we need some overnight workers who can stock shelves, some cashiers, and some bagboys.”

“That’s amazing,” I tell her seriously. “Can I submit an application?”

“Here,” Brandi says, pulling out a piece of paper and a pen. “Fill this out. We’ll have to run the standard background check and all that jazz, but once that’s done, we’ll give you a call.”

“Really? How soon can I start?”

“Does next weekend work okay? I can be here to train you and then we’ll get you on the schedule.”

I can’t help but grin as I take the pen and scoot out of the way so Brandi can help people while I fill everything out. My chest fills with something weird, something warm and exciting. This feels easy. Almost too easy. I’m not going to overthink it though.

Tess and I need to find jobs as soon as possible. Because we’re ‘later in life’ students, we managed to get awarded a few grants that help pay for everything but even so, we have a lot of things we need to pay for. It was cheaper to live in the dorms than share an apartment, but groceries, school supplies, and our textbooks still cost money. Plus, that’s without thinking about the accounts we have set up for Blaire and Bax back home. We put money into them so they have funds for things they need.

Once it’s all filled out, I hand it back to Brandi. She looks everything over before nodding her head.

“Amazing. I’m so glad you stopped by today, Thane. It’s really nice to meet you. Once we do the background check, I’ll give you a call.”

“Thank you, Brandi. It was super nice meeting you too.”

Just then, Simon finds me, holding up a little white paper bag with his medicine inside.

“Perfect timing,” I say as we leave the store.

“Oh yeah?” Simon wiggles his brows at me. “You flirting with the cutie behind the desk?”

“I’m sorry, what?” I blurt out with a stutter. “What? No! I filled out an application to work here. I’m not interested in Brandi.”

“Brandi,” he says with a grin. “You even know her name already!”

“Because she’s the manager. By the monster gods, Simon.”