[PRP] rude awakening (alg & jordan)

[iloveyouDIE]

Whatever he was doing around mid-morning, 10 am on a Saturday, Jordan would receive a phone call from a number that seemed to have already been in his phone.

A distinctly dulcet and measured accented voice piped through the earpiece, "May I speak to Jordan Miller?"

A pause for response, and then, "This is Professor Mercer, down at Bibliophile.." a throat clearing, "Your Boss."

Another pause, "You're missing your shift of work.. as we speak."

prolixity

 

[prolixity]

Jordan picked up the phone, answering, "Hello," and "Speaking," but what came next made him freeze, eyes going wide. Oh, s**t. He scrambled across the room to his desk and flipped his planner open, discovering as he did that the version of him native to this timeline had known he was supposed to be at work today and had neatly written it down.

This was his own fault, then, for forgetting to make sure his hours were the same, and more than that, for the thought not occurring to him that his workplace might have shifted along with all the other major and minor shifts that had happened. He really, really should have checked.

Several possible excuses flew through his mind, but he squashed the impulse to lie about it, and said instead, "Sorry, Professor. I have no excuse. I'll be there as soon as I can."

Once off the phone, he hurried to change; he'd been in the bookstore before and he didn't think there was a uniform, but generally employers preferred it if you dressed tidily. Accordingly, he picked out a sweater vest over a long-sleeved shirt. Before he ran out the door, he thought to check the folder in his planner, and was grateful he had when he found a time card there.

He arrived late and somewhat out of breath, silently glad he'd already been up and had breakfast when Professor Mercer called.

iloveyouDIE

 

[iloveyouDIE]

Truth be told, Algie had no idea who Jordan Miller was. When he made the call it could have very well been a very old woman and he would have been none the wiser. When this particular young man came through the door he was strangely relieved because he recognized him from the various wordly shenanigans that had gone on.

He'd heard of him, seen him and maybe had been passingly greeted but the older man couldn't remember on account of regular world catastrophe if they'd ever directly spoken. The Professor did know immediately though, seeing him rush in, that like all his other employees he was wrapped up in the magic more than was usual and perhaps it was a good thing that they all stuck together.

"Jordan.." Alg was well dressed, mannered and exuded some sort of calm between the quiet of the store, his measured tone, and the purring white cat that always seemed to be within a yard of his person. The Professor smiled, glanced around to see there were no unwelcome customer gazes, and offered his hand for a shake because they were truly just meeting for the first time. "I think I understand your lateness.."

There was an easy wink.

prolixity

 

[prolixity]

Jordan knew who Professor Mercer was, but while he'd seen him in passing he hadn't connected who the man actually was. When he saw who his boss was, the tense set of his shoulders relaxed slightly as he connected the dots. He shook Algernon's hand, nodding. "I really should have checked whether my job was the same," he said quietly, with a sheepish smile. "My mistake."

iloveyouDIE

 

[iloveyouDIE]

"It's alright, really.." The Professor's hand was warm and with a tangible soothing quality that wasn't entirely natural but not something, at this point, that he could help. "I've found myself with a few new employees so we can do a walk round if you want to be acquainted with the store.."

Though he did motion towards the back, where the break room area was, "Time clock and things are back here."

prolixity

 

[prolixity]

"That would be nice, if you've got the time," Jordan nodded. "I'd like to learn what I need to know to do a good job." Even if he hadn't realized he was working at a bookstore, he wasn't at all averse to the experience, and now that the initial shock had passed he was finding himself looking forward to it. He had a decent knowledge of literature, and the few times he'd been in the bookstore he'd quite liked it.

iloveyouDIE

 

[iloveyouDIE]

"I do," Alg smiled pleasantly and put his hands in trouser pockets. The cat seemed to want to migrate with them so while Alg began to walk towards the back room, Violetta joined them at a lazy crawl, making a point to rub along Jordan's pantlegs and leave her white-haired mark.

The break room was the old kitchen of the house and while it didn't have the full stove anymore it did have plenty of cabinet space, a small stovetop, sink, microwave and refrigerator. Hooks were for coats and there was a small lockable cabinet for people's bags and things.

"Time clock is here. Four hour shifts get a fifteen minute break, 8 hours get a paid lunch of course.." Not that he was strict about breaks considering there was plenty of down time. "You're free to do any of your own reading or work as long as the store work is done.."

prolixity

 

[prolixity]

Jordan followed, bending down briefly to stroke his fingertips over the cat's head. He considered himself more of a dog person, but he liked animals of all sorts. In the break room, he hung up his coat and put his shoulder bag away, and took a moment to clock in, flushing a little with embarrassment.

He listened attentively, nodding to show that he was paying attention. "Thank you," he said. "What are my primary responsibilities on the job? I mean, checking people out and helping them find books are the obvious ones, and keeping things tidy."

iloveyouDIE

 

[iloveyouDIE]

"It sounds like you got it," Alg smiled, "It's not so much more than that. Mostly figuring out the quirks of the register and the stocking devices... but they are pretty point-and-click easy."

Alg gave his shoulder an easy pat, "I'm sure you'll be fine. And if you ever have any issues," there was a certain gravity to how he said it, meaning any issues, "Please let me know. I may be able to help."

Alg hand slipped back to his pocket, "Any questions?"

prolixity

 

[prolixity]

"I'm pretty decent with technology. No Luddite tendencies here. Uh, does the register have any weird quirks I should know about?" Jordan had worked enough retail jobs to be aware that most stores had at least one device that needed to be thumped or told it was pretty once in a while to continue functioning properly.

He gave Alg a thoughtful look at the tone of the comment about issues, but nodded seriously. "Thank you."

He quirked a smile. "Any questions is the magical spell that makes me forget whatever questions I may have had a second before, but if I run into something I'll ask, if that's all right."

iloveyouDIE

 

[iloveyouDIE]

"The last girl that worked here was heavy on the Enter key," Alg imitated her a moment, hands slamming wildly, before chuckling, "One of those aggressive typers so it's a bit wonky."

Alg smiled at the questions comment and nodded, "And if you have any other concerns," the implication was probably obvious, "let me know."

prolixity

 

[prolixity]

"Got it." Jordan nodded and made a mental note.

He hesitated a moment, then said in a quiet voice, "I haven't yet figured out how to make stuff happen, over there, but that's not really a work conversation." It wasn't a question, not quite.

iloveyouDIE

 

[iloveyouDIE]

Alg nodded, but was fairly confident his shop wasn't bugged.

Well unless the government did it but, really, what didn't the government bug at this point?

"Well we can meet there some time.. or travel there. I can give some minor instruction if you'd like to try some things." Alg was a teacher and while magic on the other side was very different for every person, he had helped a few get started.

prolixity

 

[prolixity]

"That would be really nice. When you have some spare time, anyway, I don't want to put you to any trouble," Jordan said, with a small smile. He'd already managed to be a little bit of trouble today, and although Professor Mercer was being very nice about it, he didn't want to make himself into an irritant.

iloveyouDIE

 

[iloveyouDIE]

"It's no trouble at all," Alg smiled as his hands sunk into his pockets, "Obviously not right now. I mean going anywhere. Though you can ask questions... " But work day, obviously.

Alg checked his watch a moment, "We can set something up. Better to be prepared than not." And he knew better than most how rudimentary magic knowledge could be beneficial in dire circumstances, as well as how often dire circumstances just happened.

prolixity

i lost this for a couple days *flail*