Can't Get The Staff...Or Can She?- Job Placements at the Comic Store (Open)

Nina sat back in her swivel chair, putting her feet up on the counter lazily as she checked her Facebook on her phone, she had recently put out a job advertisement in the newspaper and online advertising jobs for the comic store, with just her working at the store it was getting pretty difficult to keep up with the amount of customers that were visiting.

So now she needed help, just a few people to run the store while she sent for supplies and such as well as help restock the shelves and keeping the store generally tidy and looking nice.

So now all she had to do was wait...wait for someone to turn up.

With a DING the comic book store slid open and a pale, blue haired teen walked in wearing an overcoat even though it was easily ninety degrees outside. He didn't come in for comic books, it wasn't his style really, he came in for the 'hiring' sign, the only one in the area. He had tried to see if he could try and survive without a steady job but he's learned that he has one terrible fault: he likes buying things. So here he was. It seemed like it would be pretty much like working for Uncle Buck, except it was just books so...easier, right?

He casually approached the desk where the clerk was checking her phone, knelt on it on one elbow and cleared his throat. "So uh, do you get quite a bit of business around here...?"

Suddenly he felt very nervous. He'd never applied for a job before! How do you ask? Is there some kind of opening line? Are you supposed to complement the owner? Yes...yes that sounds like a good idea. "Um, you have nice hair and stuff..."

What was that!? Was he trying to get a job or a date!? Oh that was a nice touch, adding that 'and stuff' at the end was definitely necessary. He stood there, biting the bottom of his lip, still leaning over the counter but now much more awkwardly than his original state. "So I'm looking for a job." he finally said, hoping that the girl wouldn't just send him out the door laughing. Smooth one Cloud...very smoooooth....

When the door opened Nina took her feet off the counter and sat up, giving her attention to the potential customer, he asked if she got any business around here, she nodded "usually from the afternoon and onwards, sometimes its office people and college kids on their lunch break then its quiet until 3pm when all the highschoolers and such finish school" she said with a calm and friendly looking smile.

She noticed his nervousness and looked confused when he complimented her hair "uhh...thank you" she said with a chuckle, she decided to be nice with him since it seemed this was his first time doing...whatever he was trying to do, he then told her that he was looking for a job, this explained the strangeness "sure! You realize its 8am till 5pm and you get $20 per hour" she said in the most professional manner she could do, she was just happy someone had taken notice of her job advert.

Luckily the girl seemed nice enough to let his awkward angst slide by and actually offered him a job on the spot! The hours were rough, but the pay sounded incredible! It was the hours he was used to anyway and he'd learned to be somewhat of a night owl to spend his free time. "Sounds perfect!" he said with a genuine grin.

"So, how long have had this gig? You seem kind of young to own an entire store, if you don't mind me pointing out the obvious."

Money and a way to kill time and meet new people. Who could ask for more, right? Jake began to relax a bit more as it seemed the interview process was already over and done with and his flirtatious comment was hopefully all forgotten.

"Well at first I worked for the owner, advertising the store and stuff, my ears and tails making me look like a cosplayer to those who didn't know what I actually am, then I kinda became his apprentice and he taught me the tricks of the trade, then he decided to retire and give me the store, I believe he's living with his wife somewhere down south now, living the good life" explained Nina with a chuckle "and I'm 19 if you must know, old enough to buy a drink in England, you just need a good head for business I guess" she added calmly with a smile.

Jake's eyes widened for a moment as the girl explained that her costume wasn't a costume at all. "Um...if that's not a costume, then what are you?" he asked uncomfortably. What were the odds that all the meta humans he'd ever meet seemed to be in Jump City all together, yet somehow unaware of each other.

He turned to browse at the nearest comic book, skimming it and flipping through it randomly to seem like he wasn't entirely interested in the conversation, although he really was. Then, a thought occurred. "If you're hiring me, you'll probably want to know my name right?" he asked with a smile. "My name's Jake by the way. Jake Cloud." He held out a so he could deliver a strong handshake and smiled brightly.

Kris walked into the store, his hood up and his hands in his pockets. He sighed, he had to be looking for a job which significant income to rent an apartment while also feeding his younger brother and himself, yet here he was looking at comics. Then a wild thought dawned on him, rob the store. He reached for his pistol while walking up to the counter.

Guest

Axle timidly entered the store behind Kris, and walked with his head down. The small pink haired boy stayed close to his brother as he read comics. A peticular one had caught his eye however. A neo-noir comic about bank robbers. The boy buried his head in the book and read while following Kris, however he didn't pay attention and walked into a sales rack causing it to crash down oj him. Axle scrambled and began picking up comics frantically. "S- S- Sorry! I- I'm so sorry!" He let out shakily.

Nina chuckled when Jake seemed shocked "I'm a Japanese Kitsune, a fox lady if you will" she explained simply, she watched him for a few moments and nodded when he told her his name "nice to meet you Jake, I'm Nina Uchiha but call me Nina if you like, none of this "boss" stuff, I've seen that kinda thing alienate workers from employers" she said calmly.

She then looked to Kris and Axle as they walked in, keeping her eye on Kris "wow I didn't realize how fast people would want to be hired" she said with a chuckle, assuming that Kris was here for the job, she then looked to Axle when he knocked over the sales rack and smiled softly at him "don't worry about it hun I'll get my new employee here to clean it up" she said happily before she looked to Jake "show me how good you are at tidying up, that kinda stuff happens a lot here with kids and their big school bags" she explained.

So apparently he was starting right away. As a clutz and a clutz's brother walked in, Jake did start eyeing them as they both looked suspicious with their heads down and their hands in their pockets. Sure enough the accurately named clutz knocked over a whole rack, the magazines flying everywhere, littering the air and the ground. "Yeah...yeah I'll get it." he said in an indifferent tone.

He quickly picked up the rack and started stacking the periodicals in his right hand. "We don't have a 'you break you buy policy', do we Nina?" he asked, only half kidding.

Kris heard what the lady said about 'being hired' and let go of the gun, throwing on a charming smile, "Hello, I couldn't help but notice the help wanted sign, so I figured I'd try and apply." He would then smile and politely bow to the other employee, "I'm sorry if anything was damaged."

Guest

Axle picked up the comics with the employee. "I- I'm really sorry..." He said trying to apologize for his clumsiness. "I- I just didn't see it there..." He then noticed Kris was talking to the lady about a job. He eyed her curiously. "No Alex... We don't even know her yet..." He said a little louder than intended.

Nina watched Jake as he began to pick up the rack, chuckling at what he said "no but if we had that in play I'd make a fortune...but also less customers" she said smiling, she then looked to Kris who was asking for a job, she nodded smiling "if you want it then you got it, its $20 per hour, you start at 8am and you finish at 5pm and don't worry about it hun, it happens all the time" she said casually with a wave of her hand downwards as if to dismiss the worry. She then looked to Axle and dismissed her curiosity, thinking it might have just been his imaginary friend who he was talking to.

As Jake's new boss offered up a position to another prospective employee, he couldn't help but smile. "I guess I'm a senior employee now," he smirked.

He lined the books up in order of common superhero, expecting it to probably have been organized in that manner. He tried to casually examine his new coworker without drawing too much attention to himself as he just started to straighten the row of comic books. The boy seemed normal enough, black messy hair like he just rolled out of bed and was chill enough to just roll with it, exactly Jake's style. He saw something poking out briefly of his pocket but soon forgot about it as the boy seemed that he didn't need it anymore. Probably just his wallet or something, Jake decided.

He looked up at the clumsy one. "Well, if she's paying, she's probably worth getting to know, right?" he said with a smirk.

Kris smiled and nodded, "Also, do either of you two know where I could find a cheap apartment in a non-hostile environment?" Kris didn't wanna seem as though he was desperate, but also he needed to find a place for Axle and himself to stay. He then immediately mentally face-palmed, certain that this employer wasn't about to hire a stray with a 10-year-old brother.

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