4 Interpersonal Exchange

Taiga slightly twitched once the bakery door's entrance bell went off upon her entry. Even with her now gained confidence, certain noises still greatly bothered the girl.

Subconsciously trying to keep her ears from moving too much from underneath her beanie, Taiga gently put away her umbrella in one of the available racks near the entrance.

The inside had a pretty cozy atmosphere, and a cute design. It made Taiga smile a bit, but she quickly remembered not to smile too wide or else her fangs would show.

'Maybe I should have worn my old mask... No, you know that doesn't even make much of a difference. Can a mask cover up your entire skin condition? People will stare regardless; look at yourself!'

Looking down at her purple skin, Taiga cringed at herself, trying to ignore the voices and refocus.

Before she could get too into her own negative thoughts again, a woman started to approach after spotting her from their kitchen's window.

She was happily finishing up talking to one of the bakers. When the woman exited, Taiga noticed she was taller than her own 4'10" self. Then again, most others were. She held back from rolling her eyes after remembering all the times people have automatically assumed she had Dwarfism.

Taiga guessed the middle-aged dirty blonde was about 5'7" at least.

This woman seemed to have a confident pep in her step, and took good care to look stylish. Her diamond earrings sparkled brightly when hitting certain angles of light. Her natural smokey eye and nude matte shade of lipstick look was also expertly done; her hair up in a fancy braided updo, but Taiga could still notice that she had set smile lines around her eyes and mouth... Taiga had to admit, she was gorgeous, and smiled again.

'You go, girl!'

Relieved even more when seeing the tag on the woman's smock, declaring she was the manager named Isolde that she had to meet with after all, Taiga was hopeful this would all go well. Especially if her interviewer was as friendly as this.

However, despite her once seemingly friendly appearance, she seemed to adopt a more serious aura once stopping in front of Taiga.

"May I help you...?"

Reality came crushing back onto Taiga like a falling piano in a cartoon after hearing Isolde's judgemental tone... And just like those cartoons she loves to watch, Taiga would keep on living despite the immense pain from that happening.

'I should know by now not to get my hopes up. Of course this would happen. I should have covered up more, or-'

"Ahem." Isolde cleared her throat while blatantly looking Taiga up and down, which snapped her out of her thoughts once again.

Taiga swallowed hard and after taking a deep breath declared: "I'm here for the interview."

She held back hard from cringing after hearing that her voice cracked at the start of her sentence.

"Oh, you're Taiga...? Huh."

Isolde pursed her lips, resting an elbow on her other now crossed arm, pondering something while she tilted her head; slightly resting her chin on the palm of her opened hand whilst observing Taiga even more.

Taiga anxiety was rising by the minute and she had the massive urge to just book it out of there... But she really needed this job. And she was desperate for it at this point.

'I don't want to be homeless again.'

So, Taiga awkwardly just stood there, fidgeting with and picking at the tips of her fingers, trying not to show exactly how uncomfortable she was at this moment, but was sure the manager noticed.

Suddenly, Isolde perked back up after having an idea and smiled wide, gesturing for Taiga to follow her to the back office.

Taiga was confused but went along with it, sitting down once they entered. The weight of the fact she was actually doing an interview again clicked, along with the office door behind her. She was absent-mindedly bouncing her legs underneath the table now, but Isolde couldn't see, or just ignored it completely.

She sat in her (much bigger) chair that was across from Taiga's, behind the desk, and was looking over a clipboard equipped with Taiga's information.

Taiga looked a bit around the office in the meantime, to try and steady her thoughts. She saw some pictures of the manager with a man who looked familiar, and then she recognized who it was after a couple of minutes. It was the owner of the bakery. Taking in more details of the office and noting how the style is more akin to the owner's, she thought it must belong to him instead. But then again, she tried not to make many assumptions.

'I wonder where he is now.'

"So, Ms. Taiga..." Isolde spoke up, and Taiga immediately directed her attention back to her. "Are you ready to begin?"

Taiga straightened up more in the chair and nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"Wonderful~!" She quickly moved on, her fake smile slightly dissipating while her eyes scanned the words on the paper.

It didn't go unnoticed by Taiga, but she didn't budge this time.

"First question: Why do you want to work in a bakery?"

Taiga takes a slight breath in and says: "I've always loved baking, I'm really good at it... I even save my favorite recipes, or try and make my own some days. Your company has always seemed very accepting and you always put out delicious treats. When I saw you were hiring, I wanted to go for it. I'd love to help out any way I can."

Isolde slightly smirked and thought: 'Oh, I'm sure you will!'

"Awesome! Thank you for choosing our company. It always means a lot to us~!" That fake smile was back once again.

"How do you imagine a typical day of work in our bakery?"

The way she stared at her after every question made a chill shoot up Taiga's back, and that unsettling feeling crept its way back up into her chest again. But she pushed through, holding back her tears and put on a fake warm smile herself this time, answering: "I'm sure it's not easy, especially on your more busy days... Since, correct me if I'm wrong, you have to keep inventory, take care of the finances and make sure everything is well for your employees as well as your customers. But also making sure teamwork and proper communication are coming from each area. The kitchen staff; the treats being made, especially from those who work late hours... Those running the cash register, your cleaning staff, waiters, and deliveries being made. It's a process that I'm sure flows more smoothly regardless, since there seems to be a set structure you all follow."

Isolde looked a bit impressed Taiga at least knew the basics. Not just for a bakery, but of running a business in general. But again, it was fleeting and she quickly moved on again, seeming almost bored with these questions already while she played with an end of her hair.

"Tell me something about your previous working experience."

Taiga could feel herself sweating more already, but still tried to ignore it.

"Well, I've done jobs such as housekeeping, event planning, web design... I'm even good with a budget... I can come in on any day, and I can work any hours you want, it's not new to me-! Just... Any area that you would see fit, I'm willing to do that for you. If I need to, I'll even learn whatever skills I need to be able to do my job successfully."

"So capable~! We've been looking for someone with that can-do attitude!"

Taiga felt ashamed of herself for panicking a bit, but Isolde seemed unperturbed by it and continued on with the interview.

"Now... How long do you want to have this job?"

"I'd like to stay here as long as I possibly can and have a full-time job, ma'am. I have no intentions of quitting anytime soon, i-if you hire me, of course..." Taiga looked down for a second thinking over her words, but then made herself look back up to keep eye contact.

There was a long pause. Taiga was trying to keep her breathing steady and not dig her nails into her palms like she's done many times before.

"It'll be ok. You're fine, you're fine, it's fine, you-"

"Well. I believe those are all the questions I have for you today... Do you have any for me at this time?"

Taiga really wanted to leave, but she remembered that she actually did have a question eating away at the back of her head.

"Just one... Um, if I'm not overstepping of course... I was just wondering, is the owner your father?"

Isolde looked taken aback a bit but realized Taiga saw the pictures and must've put two and two together.

'Heh. She has a good eye.'

"Why yes, he is... Most people don't realize that. We don't look that much alike after all."

She seemed to get lost in thought while idly toying with a pen on her desk.

"But he hasn't been able to come and oversee things lately... So, in the meantime..." Isolde truly smiled this time. "I'm in charge."

She then suddenly stood up from her chair and made her way to the door, opening it up for Taiga.

"If that is all, then..."

Taiga felt it really was time to leave and didn't question anything further, carefully getting up from the chair she was in.

"Thank you for seeing me. I'm looking forward to your response very much, ma'am."

Isolde was back to her fake smile. "I'll be sure to call and let you know."

Once Taiga stepped out, the door immediately closed behind her, making her jump.

After quickly looking around at the employees and patrons to see if they were staring at her, which they weren't, but all eyes still felt like they were on her somehow, she knew she had to get out of there and back home as soon as possible. Taiga walked over as calmly as she could to the rack from before to retrieve her umbrella then stepped outside.

It was raining even harder and the wind was blowing heavily. She opened up her umbrella and held it above herself again, knowing she'd still get soaked, and started to make her way back to her apartment. After Taiga felt like she was out of sight, she took off running, which then turned into a full-on sprint to try to get home faster.

It took her much less time, but once she made it and up the stairs, then into her room, Taiga dropped her umbrella and burst into tears.

She was trying to remember her coping skills, but it was all hitting her too much at once in this moment.

Pacing around the room and biting her nails; she hated breaking down like this. Taiga saw a glimpse of herself in the mirror and froze. She was soaked, her lipstick ruined, her snotty and teary-eyed face meshed over the bags under her eyes.

Sobbing broke through, and she sunk to the floor, her back against the wall. Ripping off her beanie and throwing it across the room.

'Why me...? She won't hire you. You're pathetic. N̶o̶,̶ ̶I̶'̶m̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶.̶ You're right. If only you were normal. No wonder no one wants you! T̶h̶a̶t̶'̶s̶ ̶N̶O̶T̶ ̶t̶r̶u̶e̶!̶ It's true.'

Taiga was hugging her knees and sniffling, but still trying to keep her breathing steady, even though it proved to be difficult as usual. All of her pent up emotions were overflowing again and she couldn't handle it. Falling over onto her side, she curled up into the fetal position, shaking heavily. Her negative thoughts were turning even darker, and Taiga was frightened hearing the voices returning that were always telling her to just go and di-

A soft and small familiar form crawling up into her arms broke her train of thought.

Taiga sniffled a lot and shakily lifted her arms up to hug him tightly, her body immediately starting to relax more. Spark was there to help her again, and softly nuzzled her pained and rain-soaked face, purring heavily, knowing it helped calm her down. He didn't need to say anything, just be there for her again, and he would as many times as needed. He licked her cheek softly and snuggled up to her chest, listening to Taiga's heartbeat while continuing to purr.

Neither of them had to speak, but those kinds of actions always reminded Taiga that at least one being in this world truly loved her.

She still let all the tears out until she couldn't anymore, but didn't harm herself mentally or physically at the moment, in Spark's company. She just felt more at peace inside, for now. But Taiga's body sure was tired after everything and she did feel slightly nauseous, and she couldn't keep her eyes open after a while... Not like she was really looking at anything fully at the moment. She wouldn't be able to see through her now blurry vision anyway.

Soon, Taiga ended up falling into a deep sleep on her apartment floor, while Spark stayed by her side, and kept watch over her.