Work Text:
Mel sat twiddling her thumbs as the clock provided the room with some background noise to her beating heart. Today was the day, the day that she’d be judged for her resume and which college she went to, the gap between Sophomore and Junior year of college, when she had to drop out temporarily to look after her sister, but she prayed that the people doing the interviews were nice enough to let her get away with explaining.
Her hair was pulled back, and when she left her apartment, it was perfect, but by the time she reached the street, the Pittsburgh wind had made it too loose. She didn’t have time (or the mental capacity) to redo it, plus, how would it look to the employers? Her eyes roamed the room, bright and painted white with little pamphlets on every table and posters warning against cancer or diabetes, and it seemed fitting for the environment she was interviewing in. She wishes it had given her last-minute advice on nerves and how to ace her interview.
Her phone was tucked away in her bag, but she could feel the vibrations of the group chat she shared with her friends going off every two seconds, the girls going wild by the radio silence and demanding answers to how it had gone, as if she had been in already when she strictly told them that it was at 2 pm
There was a sudden breeze which made her look towards the door, to where a man was shaking out his hair and dusting off his coat. “Am I too late?”
The receptionist just smiled and waved him over, curiously watching him under the thin frames of her Jimmy Choo glasses and her thin, bony fingers typing against the keyboard. “Name?”
“Uh- I’m here for the interviews with Dr Robby?”
The woman presses her lips together and silently types and clicks a few buttons on the screen before gesturing for him to take a seat
Who was Dr Robby? Did he mean Robinavitch? Did he have someone else to interview with? She should’ve prepared more with Samira
“You’re looking troubled,”
It took a couple of seconds for her to realise he was talking to her, now sat a couple of seats down, and his leg hung over the other, and he was mindlessly scrolling on his phone
Was the man careless in making a good impression?
“You’re just furrowing your brow, and your hands look like they’re five minutes away from breaking with how much you’ve clenched them.”
She quickly unclenches her hands, shifting on the plastic seat and nodding. “I’m fine, just nervous.”
“You’ll be fine,” he waves off. “Management wants to hire anyone who breathes, so you’ll get the job, you’ll just have to get approved by Robby first.”
“Dr Robinavitch?”
“That’s his Sunday name, yeah. I’ve been here countless times before, and it’s been fine every time. They’ll ask questions, ask where you’ve worked before and all that bullshit, and soon you’ll be on your merry way with a new job and a start date.” He continues, “This is my fifth- wait, hold on.” He lifts his phone from where it had been left, abandoned on his lap, and groans. “I swear she just wants to annoy me,” he lifts it to his ear and mutters a couple of words- ones that she couldn’t make out despite the quietness of the room, but she gave privacy, checking the clock again on the wall
1:56 pm
Four minutes before she’s in their face-to-face with professionals and on the verge of a panic attack with every question
“As I was saying, this is my fifth time, and it’s a breeze now. I don’t even really need to say anything. They say a couple of things, ask if I'm good to go and give me a start date.”
“Fifth? Why fifth?”
He chuckles, running a hand through his hair. “That’s to be unlocked with level five friendship, but we can unlock level one if you tell me your name, future coworker.”
Was he seriously that cocky?
“Yes, I am because you look brainy enough to be a doctor,”
Did she say that out loud?
Mel clears her throat and pushes up her glasses, hoping her voice wouldn’t shake as she spoke. “Only if you tell me yours first,”
“Nice, you’re going to be fine.” He laughs, but before he could say anything, the door opened
“Frank,” the man doesn’t look impressed and doesn’t say anything more as he steps to the side and waits for him to move
“Duty calls, I guess I'll see you later.” He shows a mock salute, grabs his bag and stands up, walking towards the door where the man was waiting, and it’s abruptly shut afterwards
Well, it’ll certainly be interesting if she does get the job
(Spoiler alert, she does and passes with flying colours according to Robby, but she’s still nervous about the first day with this Frank.)