Job Hunting

Eden felt like an idiot even telling Troy this story but it was the most casual way she could think of bringing up the Valentine's candy without making things awkward between them since she still hadn't deciphered his intentions or how she felt about it. At least he wasn't laughing at her.

"Maybe he was surprised and didn't know how to react," he said generously. "Or had to get away fast for another reason."

She sighed and shook her head. "I really doubt it but thanks for trying to make me feel better. But I was super embarrassed and the high from doing well in the interview disappeared instantly. So I ended up eating a whole pack of sour punch straws in one sitting as I watched one of my favorite movies for the twelfth time."

"Speaking of movies, I watched a couple of the ones you recommended to me yesterday. You were right; I did like them."

That perked Eden up slightly. "Oh yeah? Which ones?"

"Countdown to Nothing and The Seventeenth Hour. Both of them defied the usual tropes better than most supernatural movies do. I especially liked that one scene in the first one with the grandfather clock. The music they chose for it was perfect," Troy said enthusiastically.

"Right?! It nearly gave me a heart attack the first time I watched it! I was in the movie theater with some friends and was so freaked out I tossed my popcorn bucket and lost half of what was inside."

"A true tragedy," he replied with a laugh.

They continued discussing those two movies for the rest of the time they were cleaning, oblivious to the stares and covert winks of their fellow employees. None of them expected any flirting to happen in a place like Freddie Funnington's Fun-a-palooza.

Eden wasn't aware of what they were gossiping about her but if she had been, she wouldn't have agreed with their assessment. She was not flirting. She was simply having a rather enjoyable conversation with a mystery man in a dog suit.

When customers came and Troy had to go greet them, she was more disappointed than she had the right to be. She found herself counting down the minutes until their breaks lined up so they could continue where they left off.

The first thing she did when her break started was desperately check her email to see if the results of her interview had come in yet. The woman she talked to had said a decision would be made by Friday.

Nothing. They said a watched phone never rings but the same thing applied to email inboxes. She had been refreshing it surreptitiously all morning when there weren't any customers to no avail.

"You know a watched email inbox never gets any emails," Troy said wisely as he came into the break room.

Eden raised an eyebrow. "Are you a mind reader now?"

"No. I noticed you checking your phone on and off all morning. It was an educated guess. I've done the same thing while waiting for important emails before. Still no news?"

"Nothing. It's only been a day though and they said I would hear back by Friday." She sighed and popped a couple of Fruit Gushers into her mouth. "If I don't get this job, I'm going to lose all hope of ever leaving this black hole."

Troy laughed. "If anything in this place is a black hole, it's the ball pit."

"Ugh, don't even talk to me about the ball pit. I'm still not over the trauma of cleaning it."

His tone grew more serious. "You shouldn't talk like that though. Even if you don't get this job, you still have the qualifications to be a chemist. Worst case scenario, you have to look for a job outside of San Jose."

Eden already knew this. Part of her wondered if she should try to look for jobs closer to home. At least she would be able to hang out with Ezra and some of her friends that never left the area. But it had the downside of being closer to her nagging mother.

The main reason she even bothered trying to stay up here was Aubrey. They came to San Jose together but she wasn't going back home because she fell in love with a guy in dental school and they were getting married over the summer.

She could always see Ezra on holidays but losing the ability to see Aubrey all the time would be a real blow. They were closer than sisters.

"Yeah," Eden admitted reluctantly. "I really don't want to leave my best friend though. We see each other at least once a week."

"I can understand that. My cousin is my best friend and we're roommates. Have you tried looking in the Bay Area? It would be a bit of a commute but still close enough that you could justify seeing your friend at least a few times a month," Troy suggested.

She hadn't thought about that. The price of gas wasn't as high as it was a few months ago either. Seeing Aubrey would require a bit more planning and a bit less spontaneity but it would be doable.

That was the nice thing about being in the same city. They could make plans to meet up for something as trivial as running errands at the drop of a hat.

"True. I might have to start looking there," Eden admitted. "I'd be better off than I would back in L.A."

"Isn't your family down there?" Troy asked in confusion.

"Yes, but my mother likes to give me a hard time about everything," she said matter-of-factly. "I came up here for school to get away from all that. She's constantly comparing me to Ezra and it drives me nuts. At least he's usually on my side."

"Ah. Sorry to bring up something painful."

Eden popped a few more Gushers in her mouth before responding as casually as possible. "It's less painful than annoying. I'd rather not deal with her nagging but it's not the end of the world when it happens. Is your mom a nagger too?"

"…my mom passed away when I was a kid," Troy said quietly.