↠Sunday, December 1, Evening

Spencer Rhodes

Trying to balance what could potentially be a new job, family life, and the fragile beginnings of a social life was never a fun thing. What should I be the most worried about? Beckett? My family? 

It turned out that at the current moment, it should be my job interview.

It was less than a week after my interview that I got a call. From the library. I remember that I saved the number after seeing it on the "Now Hiring" sign that had been on the door.

Taking several deep breaths and telling myself more-than-several times that it was "only a phone call", I answered.

"Hello, this is Ms. Nash, the receptionist from the library. Am I speaking with Spencer Rhodes?"

"U-Uh, yes...! This is Spencer."

In a desperate attempt to battle my nerves, I pulled the curtains away from my window. I blinked, realizing almost instantly that it was snowing. It was technically December now, so I really should've been expecting it. But my window was cold to the touch, white snowflakes drifting to the ground outside.

I realized I hadn't been listen to what Ms. Nash was saying at all.

"--Mrs. Veretti has reviewed all of the applicants for the position of her assistant. Your application has been accepted. You got the job, yay for you."

Something about her tone sounded very sarcastic, but I tried to brush it off. I got the job...! That was more important to me at the moment. I had a fresh start at a new job.

"Your first shift is... Monday, December 9th at precisely 4:30 PM. Don't be late."

"S-Sure thing! Thanks."

She didn't respond, hanging up the phone instead.

She seemed to have been in a bad mood, and I guessed she probably wasn't looking forward to having an awkward teenager around all the time...

But, that was nothing I could do to fix. So, with that issue off my mind, I decided I could probably see how my sisters were doing. That was #2 on my list of things to worry about, wasn't it?

I was pretty certain they would both be in their room--the singular one that they shared. Poking my head into the doorway, I spotted the two girls.

One of them had the same blonde hair as me, tucked back into a loose ponytail that barely reached her shoulders. She was seated on her bed. Her dark brown eyes were locked onto the phone she had in her hands, her thumbs rapidly tapping away at the screen.

The second of the twins had chosen to sit on the floor. Her legs were crossed, a book placed directly into her lap. Her perfectly straight, ink black hair fell gently around her face as she tilted her head down to read. Her eyes--amber in color--were equally focused on what she was doing.

I decided, instead of interrupting the obviously very important things they were doing, to wait and see how long it took for them to notice I was leaning in their doorway.

I was standing there for a solid 5 minutes before one of them looked up.

"Spencer!" my sister with the blonde hair cried out, "How long have you been there...?"

"I don't know, Lynn. A little while?"

My other sister slipped a scrap of paper into her book before quickly closing it and setting it carefully onto her bed. 

I walked over to Jay's bed, and grabbed the book off of it.

"Eleanor and Park?" I asked, reading the front cover. "Haven't you already read this, Jay? I think I vaguely remember a certain someone crying...?"

"You can read good books more than once," Jay said, crossing her arms. "And cry, too."

"Uh huh," Lynn responded, "I don't think anyone would ever look at you and guess that you like cheesy, romance novels."

"It that a bad thing? I think anyone could look at you and guess that you're always texting."

Lynn's mouth dropped open. She huffed, before readying to shoot into action.

"Hey, hey now," I said, "I think we can all agree we're all defying expectations in one way or another. Would anyone look at Lynn and think that she's also on the student council?"

"Vice President!" Lynn chirped excitedly.

"Then what about you, Spencer?" Jay asked, walking over and sitting next to me. Lynn quickly followed.

"Oh, I don't know..."

"Come on! You must know something...!" Lynn's eyebrows were furrowed with deep concentration. She was staring at me in such a weird way, and I knew that she was studying me.

"Well," Jay said suddenly, "No one could know how much you pay attention to detail, but I think anyone would know that you're really shy."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I said, turning to face her.

"Oh, you know what it means," Lynn said, smiling playfully.

"So now you're teaming up against me, a perfectly innocent--?"

Jay snorted, and I placed a hand over my heart.

"Ouch, okay. I see. I'll just go where I'm appreciated, not tolerated."

I promptly stood up and marched out of the room, shaking my head as I went.

"Spencer, no! Don't go!" Lynn cried out, but I didn't even turn around.

"Spencerrrrrr...!" Not even the both of them begging for me to come back could get me to walk back in there.

It wasn't like I could turn around. I couldn't let them see the huge grin that appeared on my face, after all. I returned to my room.

Worry #2 down! Last, but not least, was Beckett. I hadn't talked to him since Thanksgiving, and I still felt kind of bad for leaving in the middle of the conversation.

So I shot him a text. Just a simple "Hey, how have you been?"

But he never responded.