Kieran

"So, Drystan, tell me about yourself."

"How did you come to learn about us?"

"What would you say your greatest strengths are?"

Those were just a few of the questions I'd been given during yesterday's job interview, questions I'd prepared myself to have to answer but that I'd been nervous about, nonetheless. Bits and pieces of the interview played themselves over in my mind like a series of audio clips, and as they did so I couldn't help but feel twinges of self-consciousness in remembrance of the answers I gave. Had they been what the interviewer was looking for? Were they good enough to land me the job? Had they been too thorough, or too brief?

It wasn't normal for me to be this worried about something like an interview or, indeed, anything that involved making a good impression to achieve a goal. I had always excelled at that kind of thing and was often told I had great 'people skills'. It also wasn't like me to fixate on something so much, but I simply chalked that up to the knowledge of how important it was that I find some form of employment. The last place I'd worked had, for reasons unknown to me, been forced to close. As far as I knew, none of my former co-workers had any clue why, either - the only ones who knew anything seemed to be the owners.

Questions continued to invade my mind even as I shook them away. That very first question, 'tell me about yourself', was one that a lot of people tended to mess up on, from what I gathered. I hoped I hadn't done the same, that I'd at least partially hit the mark when giving my response. At least I could take pride in having answered some of the other questions with a level of certainty, such as how I learned about the place. And I knew what my greatest strengths were, especially the ones useful to this field. But I had also been asked about my weaknesses and I really hoped the ones I gave didn't hurt my chances.

Why would they? You've done interviews like this before, it's not like this is your first.

Realizing that continuing this train of thought would only serve to stress me out, I did my best to halt the incessant string of questions in its tracks as I allowed myself a moment to breathe. Relax, Drystan. It's done now anyway, and you did just fine. Picking the whole thing apart in your mind like this will do no one any favours.

Not thinking about it at all proved difficult, however, and I recalled my interviewer clearly, a pale woman with long dark hair and abnormal-looking eyes - though I couldn't really say much about the last part considering my own eye colour. She'd had a rather mysterious air about her, like she was withholding a deep secret from the rest of the world. It was off-putting, that aura, but I kept having to remind myself that I could have just been imagining it, that it was likely just my nervousness about the interview getting to me.

Still...

A knock on my front door startled me into looking up from my computer - I was searching for other jobs I could apply for in case I didn't get this one, and I'd just happened to stumble across a listing that looked as though it could be an option when that knock sounded. When I got up to answer the door, I found that it was my best friends Willow and Sheldon who were on the other side. "Hey, stranger," the former gave a friendly grin as I stepped aside to let the two of them in. "How've you been?"

"Hey yourself," I smiled back, "I'm doing alright, for the most part. Still nervous about yesterday but trying to stay optimistic."

"And it's working?"

"So far." Not entirely true, but not entirely false, either.

"Good," Willow said, "because we wanted to see if you felt like doing something soon."

"Like what?" I asked.

"Well, Anita Femur and Alannah Nova are going to be performing together this weekend," Sheldon spoke up, "and me and Willow here thought the three of us could go and see them. She and I bought the tickets last night in case you were interested."

"I'd love to go," I answered, and Willow handed me one of the tickets.

"Great! They'll be performing at around 7:45 on Saturday, so we should start heading over at 7:00. I think Cheryl and Jackson are going, too, so I'm hoping we'll meet up with them there."

I didn't know Cheryl that well to be honest; she was friends with Willow and her twin sister Gigi. And I didn't know Jackson at all, despite hearing about him sometimes from Willow and Sheldon, the latter of which had been friends with the guy for the last few years or so. I had to say, I was looking forward to meeting him.

"I can tell you right now, you guys'll hit it off for sure," said Sheldon when I told him so, "He's a pretty cool guy, and call me crazy but I'm thinking he'd be your type," he added with a not-so-subtle wink. I had to chuckle at that. He just couldn't resist trying to play matchmaker, could he?

Willow laughed, too, and I could tell by her expression that she agreed with Sheldon's words. Instead of commenting on that, though, she asked, "So, aside from job stuff, what have you been up to?"

I shrugged. "Mostly reading. I started a book recently that I think you'd really like, Willow. It's about...here, actually, I'll read you the synopsis."

The book in question, as I explained to Willow, was about a young woman with OCPD who finds out she and her mother are both Djinni, with her mother's lantern hidden away so no one can summon her. The only reason they're both able to live outside lanterns is because the woman's father is the Finder of her mother's lantern and has chosen not to make his wishes, and the protagonist has not been confined to a lantern yet. That last part didn't make a whole lot of sense to me yet, but I figured there was probably an explanation further along in the story. Anyway, it was also a love story, the protagonist's love interest being awoman she met through her part-time job. Personally, I thought the whole thing was written very well, and I had a strong feeling Willow would agree.

"What's OCPD?" Sheldon asked, tilting his head slightly.

"Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder," supplied Willow, "It has a similar name to OCD, but they're not the same thing."

Willow had quite the passion for books. In fact, she was the one who first brought Sheldon and I to what quickly became our favourite indie bookstore in New Salem. So, it was only natural that whenever Sheldon or I found an interesting read, we recommended it to her right away.

"And that story sounds awesome, you'll have to text me the title so I can look into it later! To be honest with you guys, I've been seriously wanting to start reviewing books on YouTube for awhile now," said Willow, "I have some of the details figured out, like a logo and even some of the books I want to talk about, but I'm still trying to bring my ideas for channel art and stuff like that to life. I also haven't been able to come up with a name that hasn't already been used." She paused for a moment. "You guys wouldn't happen to have experience with graphic design, would you?"

"Not really, no," I admitted, "but I know there are lots of people in town who do, so I could probably help you get in touch with someone. I mean, the popularity of the college's graphic design program speaks for itself, doesn't it?"

"You're not wrong. And hey, I bet I could ask Jackson. I know he likes to draw," added Sheldon. "I could give him a call later if you want. He should get done work soon."

Willow beamed. "Thank you so much! You guys are the best."

"It's no problem."

"Also, I may not be great at graphic design, but I'd be happy to help with filming if you ever need me to," I offered.

"Same here," said Sheldon, then he checked his watch. "Hate to ditch you guys, but I've got to get going, there's something important I've been working on lately and I think I should get back to it. I'll text you once I get in touch with Jackson, okay, Willow?"

"Sounds good. And I should probably head out, too. Looking forward to the concert, Drystan!" Willow gave me a friendly hug before the two departed. Now that they'd left, I decided to go on Facebook and check out Jackson's profile. I was able to get to it easily by searching Cheryl's friends list, and when I saw his profile picture, I immediately got a sense of familiarity from it, as though I had met him before despite the opposite being true.

There were two people on his friends list that I noticed right away, who also seemed familiar, named Clair and Chad. And it wasn't just them, either - most of the people on his friends list gave me that feeling. It was odd, because I knew for a fact that I'd never met any of them before.

In the end, though, I figured it was possible I was remembering them from high school or something and dismissed the issue in favour of returning to my job search from earlier. Although I had to admit, even as I submitted applications here and there, I was very much hoping to get the job yesterday's interview was for. I'd applied for a full-time position, even knowing I'd be more likely get part-time. Though if that was the case, I figured I could work my way up to full-time no problem. Usually that was how it went in retail anyway – and luckily for me, that was both the field I was most experienced in and the field this job was part of.

But even with my experience increasing the chances a bit, uneasiness about the interview itself still plagued the back of my mind. So, bookmarking the site and exiting the browser, I decided that was enough job searching for now. My mother Rose and her husband Lucas would be visiting for dinner tomorrow night, so I directed my focus toward making sure I had everything I needed for that.

Thankfully, no ingredients had been forgotten.

I was looking forward to having Lucas and my mom over. It had, after all, been awhile since I'd last seen them, so this would be the perfect opportunity for us all to catch up. If I remembered correctly, the last time we'd had dinner together was on New Year's Eve, which was also when the newest season of one of our favourite Netflix shows came out and we spent the evening watching several episodes together. Since Serena and Lucas's sister Erika were there that night, too, the five of us had also enjoyed a hilarious game of Cards Against Humanity and - to no one's surprise - Lucas had been the winner.

"Next time we get together, I propose we play Mario Party 8," Erika had cheerfully suggested, earning enthusiastic agreement from the rest of us. Although since she wouldn't be joining us this time, that game wasn't happening quite yet.

The rest of my evening was mainly spent reading the book I'd mentioned to Willow, though I also made sure to reach out to some people on her behalf like I'd promised. And speaking of which, I also promised myself to try and get outside a bit tomorrow during the day if I could. I knew full well that sometimes I was too 'indoorsy' for my own good, which was something Willow, Sheldon and Erika had all voiced on separate occasions. So, with that promise in mind, I decided to turn in a little earlier than normal so I wouldn't wind up sleeping the day away.

What I didn't expect was to run into Van Hellscream, the recently elected mayor of New Salem, on my way to the park the next morning.

As he strode toward me, the expression in the man's eyes, for just the briefest of flickers, was one of apprehension. He was quick to conceal it, but not quick enough for me to miss it. I had to wonder, what was it that he could possibly be so fearful of?

"Ah, good morning, Drystan. I trust you are well?"

The fact that he knew my name and that he'd clearly sought a conversation with me on purpose was enough to take me by surprise, since I really wasn't that acquainted with him, but I was able to recover quickly and responded with, "I am, sir, yes. Thanks for asking. And yourself?"

Van Hellscream smiled, but it looked more like he was attempting to conceal a smirk. "That is good to hear. As for me, things have been a tad...stressful as of late, but now it seems they are working out just fine."

I nodded. I could relate to the first half of his words, at least, even if his behaviour seemed off. Granted, I couldn't truly judge since I didn't know what he was normally like. Maybe it was normal behaviour for him.

"Well, in any case," he continued, "I must get going. I have business to attend to elsewhere. Have a good day, Drystan."

"You, too, sir."

I pondered this exchange as I continued walking to the park. I still had no idea why Van Hellscream would choose to seek me out simply to ask how I was doing, when we didn't even know each other much. Perhaps he was just being friendly?

No. There had to be more to it. I could always somehow tell when someone was hiding something, and Van Hellscream had clearly not taken enough lessons in subtlety for me not to recognize that he was doing just that. 

On the other hand, even if he was, it was probably nothing of major concern to me, so there wasn't much point in dwelling on it further.

When I finally arrived at the park, I wasn't shocked in the slightest to see a good number of people already there. Parents and their kids enjoying the spring weather, people walking their dogs along the paths, and what appeared to be a group of teens dancing to Beyonce's 'Single ladies'.

Finally, not too far from the group were Sheldon and Willow, who were sitting together on a wooden bench under a tree, seeming to be in deep conversation as they pored over Willow's phone. It didn't take long for Sheldon to look up and spot me, and when he did, he waved me over at once. "Hey, Drystan, good to see you. Willow and I were just looking over some stuff she was thinking about for her channel. Want to join us?"

I nodded. "Yeah, sure. What have you got so far?"

Sheldon gestured for me to sit, which I did, and replied, "Here, I'll let Willow show you. She's pretty proud of what she's got so far – rightly so, I think."

Since Willow's phone was already in her hand, and since she made no move to put it down, I figured she'd been jotting everything down in a note-taking app. When she handed me the phone, not only was I proven right, but there were lots of great ideas compiled in the note. She'd clearly been putting a lot of time and effort into planning this out, which I had to admire. "I really like your idea for a logo, Willow," I voiced.

"What is it?" asked Sheldon, leaning in closer so he could see the description for himself. "Oh, wow – nice!"

According to what she'd written, Willow's desired logo would consist of a lunar eclipse posed against a purple and black background, the colours mixed in such a way that would create a mystical, smoky effect. Not only that, but inside the moon would be an open book drawn in white – or at least, the outline of one, and several little runes would dot the background of the logo like stars. Just the mental image of such a logo was brilliant in my eyes.

"'Nice'? That's something of an understatement, wouldn't you say?" a new voice called out, and we all turned just in time to see three old friends of mine approaching us. The one who had spoken, Ali, had a bright smile on her face, and I suddenly realized why Jackson's friend Clair had looked so familiar. She was Ali's older sister. How had I forgotten her?

"I prefer to call it 'fantastic'," she continued.

"A little birdie told us you were looking for someone to help you with designing the art for your channel, Willow," added Loralei, one of the two women that accompanied Ali. The other was Persephone, and I was mildly surprised not to see her twin sister Melody anywhere. "We're only too happy to help."

Willow raised an eyebrow. "You're not up to anything, are you? I remember the kind of tricks you used to pull on people back in high school, Loralei – how do I know I can trust you?"

Loralei laughed. "Like you were such an angel. But no, you can trust me. I like to think I've grown out of that by now."

"Hm..." Willow thought for a moment. "Alright, I'll accept your offer. But I'll be keeping an eye on you, cliched as that sounds."

"Whatever you say. Let's see what you've got here, shall we?" 

With some hesitation, Willow handed her phone to Loralei, who made sure to read the contents of the note thoroughly - and show Persephone - before giving it back. "I have to say, Willow, Ali's not wrong. We can totally work with these ideas." She turned to Persephone. "Can't we?"

"Absolutely. Text us those details so we can get started, won't you?" requested Persephone, looking just as impressed as the other two.

Willow nodded. "For sure."

After that, they walked away, and when I glanced back at Willow, I saw that her eyes were gleaming with happiness. "Drystan, I owe you big time! It was you who reached out to them, right?"

I smiled. "Guilty."

"Well, I meant what I said – I owe you. Both of you," she added, making sure to give Sheldon a hug as well. "So, Drystan, you said you're having your mom and Lucas over for dinner, right? That sounds like it'll be nice."

I nodded. Then something occurred to me. "Would you guys want to join us?"

"I'd love to," said Sheldon, "Will your folks be okay with it, though? I wouldn't want to impose or anything."

"Don't worry about it, it should be fine. I'll ask, though, just to make sure. Willow, what about you?"

"Yeah, count me in. Thanks!"

It was at that moment that I realized I needed to head home to begin cooking, and they both elected to come along, so the afternoon found the three of us engaging in casual, friendly banter as I got everything ready.

The doorbell rang at 4:45 on the dot. Thankfully I had already finished all the major steps involved in the meal I was preparing, so Sheldon, Willow and I had already moved to the living room by then. Mom, of course, was the first to greet me, pulling me into an immediate hug. "it's good to see you, son."

I gestured for them to come in. "It's good to see you, too, Mom. How've you been?"

Mom took the opportunity to join my friends in the living room as he responded, "Busy, but otherwise fine."

"Hey, thanks again for having us over, Drystan," added Lucas, settling onto the couch beside her, "The food smells amazing, by the way. Venison roast, right?"

"That's right. I remembered you saying you wanted to try it one day, and I know Mom and I love it, so I figured it was the perfect choice. Oh, hey – you don't mind if Willow and Sheldon here join us, do you?"

"Of course not!" Mom exclaimed, "Besides, it is your home, is it not?"

"And speaking of food," Lucas chimed back in, reaching down to grab Mom's purse from where she'd placed it by her feet, "I grabbed something for you on the way over here."

"Thief," joked Mom, playfully swatting his arm.

Lucas didn't miss a beat as he cheerfully replied, "Yep, and it's all thanks to Brynjolf!"

Mom rolled her eyes. "Lucas, you are far too obsessed with that game, you do realize that, right?"

"Aw, c'mon, can you blame me?"

"I suppose not, the Elder Scrolls games do seem to have some intriguing storylines. I still wish you wouldn't reference them every five minutes, though."

"Anyway," Lucas continued, digging through Mom's purse until he found what he was searching for, "We stopped at the store on the way here and I noticed they had a new kind of Lindor." He held up the bag. "Knowing how much you love chocolate – Lindor especially - I went ahead and grabbed some for you."

I took the bag of chocolates from his outstretched hand, my expression grateful. Lindor really was one of my favourite kinds of chocolate, and I was always happy to try any new flavours they came out with. "Thanks, Lucas, I appreciate it. Remind me to return the favour next time there's a new kind of Pringles available."

"Aw, you don't have to do that, but thanks for the offer. And man, the chip flavours they come out with these days, I'm telling you," Lucas shook his head in amusement.

"These days? They've been coming out with crazy flavours for how many years now?" Sheldon pointed out, settling into a nearby armchair.

"Fair point," Lucas replied brightly.

Soon after that, the food was ready to be taken out of the oven, but since the sauce still needed to be prepared, I couldn't return to the conversation just yet. The recipe called for garlic to be used in the sauce, but because my mother, Lucas and I all despised the stuff, I didn't include it.

"Food's ready," I called out to the others a few moments later, setting the food on the table and retrieving a bottle of red wine from the kitchen. I wasn't going to lie; I was proud of myself for how well the food had turned out considering I didn't make it very often. And based on the others' reactions when they tried it themselves, they agreed with my assessment.

It was about halfway through the meal when my iPhone began to ring. Normally I would have let it go to voicemail, but something told me it would be better to answer it at once.

And it was a feeling that could not have been more correct.

"Hi, Drystan, it's Cecelia Hildegard calling, from Hildegard Books. Congratulations – we'd like to offer you a position with us!"