“It’s been a while since I’ve done this, so I guess I’ll just focus on what’s going
on right now. I finally managed to secure a job for myself in a construction and lumber
supply warehouse. It’s not exactly the kind of job I ever pictured doing, but realistically I
never pictured anything in my life to be the way it currently is.”
Alice paused writing in her journal, keeping her purple gel pen in her hand that
had begun to shake. Maybe it was too soon to start reflecting on recent history. She
looked out the small round window above her desk and gazed into the lush verdant forest
outside on the other side of her fence. The reflection of the scenery in her green eyes just
made them appear all the brighter.
This small 2-bedroom home that her Mother was able to acquire for her was
definitely a wonderful place to start fresh. She had moved in 3 weeks ago to this small
mountain town known as Heart. Alice had grown up in a similar small-town far away
from this one, but in some ways the 2 towns felt so similar. From the mom & pop shops,
the local go-to bar, and along with the fact everybody seemed to know everybody. Which
made Alice quite the topic of gossip when she moved here. She was the mysterious 22-
year-old beauty who had seemingly appeared out of thin air and no one could find out
much about her. Not even some local creepers who tried to cyber stalk her online,
looking for any social media or online presence. But there was nothing.
Alice began to calm down after taking a few deep breaths and pushing the darker
thoughts out of the forefront of her mind. Then she sat her pen down and tucked away her
black composition notebook into her desk drawer. She stood up and put on her tan
Carhartt jacket over her black T-shirt and wore a pair of faded blue jeans that were tucked
into her brown Bates boots. Her long obsidian black hair was tied into a ponytail. During
her interview she was told to wear clothes that could be considered sturdier and that she
wouldn’t mind if they got dirty or ruined.
On the way out the door she passed by some boxes in the living room that were
packed with non-essential items that she hadn’t unpacked yet. Other than that, her modest
home was decorated with pictures on the walls, a fully stocked kitchen, and even a
sizable HDTV in the living room on top of a chestnut oak stand that sat in front of her
black leather couch. Her mother had no price limit when it came to making sure her
daughter was beyond comfortable while living on her own. Although she was against this
job that Alice had gotten, her mother found it menial and below to someone of her
background.
When she called to tell her mom about the job, she received no praise, only words
of concern about how their family had enough money so she never needed to work for the
rest of her life. Especially for a job that was going to be so physically taxing. Alice
wasn’t by any means weak physically though after years of cheerleading and being
captain of her High School’s soccer team, which took home a championship trophy every
year. But, despite her mother's protests she pursued this new path for her life.
As she approached the front door, Alice removed her black and purple backpack
from the rack next to the door. On the bag were all sorts of pins and small figures from
different popular shows and movies. She opened the door and walked through her front
yard towards her silver grey 2021 Jeep Renegade. It was only mildly chilly outside,
winter had still yet to come, though the locals had assured Alice that when winter hit, it
would hit hard. The Jeep was another gift from her Mother, though she insisted that it
was unnecessary because everything in this town was within walking distance.
As she drove through the backroads to the warehouse where she was going to be
working for the foreseeable future, she admired the forestry around her. She even passed
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a lone hiker in a dark red hoodie who was trekking along the side of the road, who
appeared to be making his way back into town. It was her first day on the job and she
could already tell that she would never get sick of this drive. The construction and lumber
supply warehouse, known as ‘Wilson Trading Co.’, was located 2 miles outside of the
small-town. As she parked in front of the steel grey building with an even darker grey
roof, Alice noticed the same vehicles that was there when she came in for her interview.
She parked her car alongside a dark blue pickup truck, then got out with her bag
in her hand and made her way over to the front door of the building. She pulled out the
keycard that she was given upon getting the job and used it to unlock the steel doors.
Upon entering she was greeted by the day manager Alex.
Alex was 30-year-old man, not married or in a relationship and it wasn’t because
of his looks. Overall, you could consider Alex to be a man’s man from his burly beard to
his ‘dad bod’ and red flannel shirt. Gossip around town is that he was a bit of a
workaholic and that’s why he never married.
Alex had conducted Alice’s interview, so introductions weren’t needed and her
impression of this man was that he seemed nice and could be a good mentor for her.
“Glad to see you still want the job!” Alex exclaimed this with a grin on his face as he put
his hand out to shake Alice’s.
Alice took his hand and returned the smile then said, “Well I have to pay the bills
somehow.”
Alex laughed and said, “Don’t we all.” He began to walk away and motioned for
her to follow him, and she did. He opened a door with a sign that read ‘Employee Rest
Stop’ in pale yellow lettering that was quite faded. When they went inside there was an
overweight ginger woman coming out of a room that read ‘Females Only’ on the door.
“That’s Meredith, she’s our best forklift operator here and is responsible for all the heavy
machinery training and most of the upkeep for them too.”
“Nice to meet you, I’m Alice.” Alice said this with a shy smile and put her hand
out for her to shake.
Meredith shook her hand and smiled, “Pleasure’s all mine and aren’t you just the
cutest thing! Be careful around all the hooligans that work here especially the one eyed
one, alright doll face?”
Alice just laughed awkwardly and said, “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind, I look
forward to working with you.”
Meredith walked away and left the room and went back out to the main floor.
Alice looked to Alex and asked, “Who was the person she was talking about, does a
pirate work here or something and should I be worried?” After recent history, Alice was
left with a healthy paranoia and nosiness in order to make sure she was safe and around
decent people.
Alex let out a chuckle and spoke to her in a comforting tone “No, it’s just this guy
on night shift and he doesn’t have one eye. He just has 2 different colored eyes; she was
just teasing you a bit. Anyway, you can put your stuff in the ladies' locker-room there.
There are some lockers inside and most of them are open, it is mostly men who work here
so feel free to even use 2 or 3 of them.”
Alice went inside and claimed a couple of lockers, writing here name on them
with a sharpie from her bag. Then she went back outside and Alex finished giving her a
tour of the employee break room. Showing her the fridge, couch, microwave, and telling
her to stay away from an unmarked door next to one of the exits because it was the men’s
locker-room, so it was easily mistaken for the exit. Apparently, every time they put a sign
up on the door, one of the guys throws it away as a ‘prank’.
After the tour, Alex led her back out to the main floor and said “Today I’ll be
training you, normally I’m doing more management type things. But we’re a little behind
on shipments and a little low on people lately so no one else can take the time to slow
down and properly train you.” Alice nodded and followed Alex to their first task.
