a student on their first day of apprenticeship

I am early, not just early, one hour early!

No one wants to be late on their first day of job, but now I am standing in front of the gate and I have to kill at least forty five minutes before entering inside the office. Killing forty five minutes in a normal day is not a big deal, I could have take a walk and check the surroundings but today is not a normal day, since yesterday night it is continuously snowing and sometimes raining and that’s another reason I head for office early. It’s freezing cold outside and if someone sees me standing outside in this weather, they will think I am a mad man. There is a high chance, I might not survive forty five minutes out side in this cold!

I tried to look around, is someone approaching towards my direction? I think yes. There is hardly any visibility with the heavy snow but now I am definite, a girl in a long fur coar, approaching towards me. Once she is in my visibility, I notice her coar is almost touching her boots and she is carrying a purple umbrella to avoid the snow?

Girl: “Do you work here?”

“Mmm.. today is my first day!”

Girl: “Me too!” She looks relief finding someone similar! “I was so nervous, I barely had any sleep last night and today morning, even after trying hard to be on time, I am fifty minutes early!”

I laugh awkwardly, “yes, same here”

Girl: “How long have you been standing here in the snow? do you want to come for a cup of coffee in the Starbucks instead or you would prefer to stand here and freeze to death ?”

“There is a Starbucks here?” I tried to glance around because I remembered looking around a few minutes before but didn’t see a single open shop.!

Girl: “Yes, just around the corner! You can’t see it from here but it’s literally in two minutes walk!”

“Okay, let’s go”

We reach the Starbucks in less than two minutes and order our coffee. I order a Americana while she orders a hot chocolate. The cafe is almost empty, we pick a seat beside the door, facing the glass wall.

Girl: “You are new in the area? by the way, I am Jane!”

“Sam! how do you know I am new here?”

Jane: “Isn’t it obvious! You didn’t know about this Starbucks!”

I soon realize I asked a dumb question , I nod and smile, “You are a local?”

Jane: “I am from London but my dad and step mom leaves nearby so I know this area”

“Where in London? I am from Bexley, outskirt of London and moved here this weekend for the job”

Jane: “I know Bexley! My aunt leaves there!”

I check my watch, it’s almost eight forty five, I think we should leave now but before I can say anything, Jane notice me and takes the last sip of her hot chocolate, “Let’s go, I am done”

We enter inside the big black gate. There is a reception at the right side of the gate.

Jane: “Let’s ask the reception lady where to go?”

I nod.

“Hi, today is our first day and ..”

She cut me in the mid sentence “department?”

She is rude! “HR”

Receptionist: “Miss Lucy?”

“Yes, Miss Lucy is the contact person”

She hand over us two temporary Id card, “wait there, someone from HR team will take you to the upstairs soon”

We seat in the waiting area. Jane in a low voice, “She is rude!”

I nod and try to smile.

Jane: “how far is your place from here?”

before I can answer her, a lady approaches us, “Are you the new joiners of HR team?”

We stand up and nod in unison.

she smiles a little, “Hi! my name is Tina. Nice to meet you guys. Please follow me”

We follow her inside the lift, once out of the lift, we follow her. One more door. Inside this door, there are many small cubical, and a small name tag hanging from the ceiling “HR Department”. She takes us to a empty meeting room, “You guys wait here, I will send someone from IT department soon”

The meeting room is a small space with an oval shape table in the middle and chairs around it. There is a big screen opposite to the door and few wires and speaker in the middle of the table. Jane is seating near the door and I take the seat opposite to Jane facing the door.

Jane: “What do you think .. what will happen today?”

“I think today they will explain the HR system to us, give accesses and then the actual work will start from tomorrow?”

Jane nod “Why Tina mentioned about IT department? is she misunderstood us with IT trainee?”

I stair at her for a moment, is she joking or she seriously doesn’t know! “I think IT department will give us access to the HR system or maybe they will give us laptops or assign computer?”

Jane raise her eyebrows and looks at me with an awe “You are right! how come this didn’t occur to me?”

before I can say anything, Jane continues without waiting for me to answer “Is this your first job?”

“not first job but first corporate job, yes”

I wanted to stop here but Jane is still looking at me with a look that says I want to know more, so I continue “my dad died when I was twelve, so to help mom, I used to work in a movie theater after school since I was fifteen”

Jane looks down at his manicured nails for a few seconds “oh am so sorry! and you are the only child?”

“Nope, I have a sister. She is fifteen now” I try to smile

Jane nods. Before she can ask me any more personal question, I ask him, “and what about you? "

Jane: “My mom and dad separated when I was five. Mom never married again but started seeing someone from her office soon after her divorce. Dad married Pamela six months after divorce and now they have two daughters of their own”

“And you will be staying with your dad’s family for next three months?”

Jane: “I don’t want to but dad is insisting”

“You are close to your dad and his new family?”

Jane: “I am close with my dad and I know he is insisting because he wants to spend more time with me but I can’t imagine staying with Pamela under the same roof for three months!”

I look at my watch while Jane continues, we are sitting here for almost thirty minutes now and no sign of IT guys. Before Jane can notice what is going on in my mind, I ask her “and how is your relation with your half sisters?”

Jane continues without noticing me, “They are still child, one is seven and one is three. They don’t yet know the complexity of relations”

I give him a I can understand smile. Jane straighten her back and looks behind at the door, “still no one! we are here for more than a hour I think!”

“Forty five minutes to be exact”

Jane raise her eye brow “oh wow! looks like this is going to be an exciting first day of job”

I laugh.

Jane: “Can I ask you something?”

I look at her in confusion. Since morning all she is doing is asking me questions and now she wants my permission!

She understands what I am thinking, “I mean, can I ask you something personal?”

I nod.

Jane: “you mentioned your dad died when you were very young. what happened? only if you want to share. no pressure at all” she clarifies.

I wanted to say I don’t want to share but if I have a control over the situation, I want those IT guys here right now, so that I don’t have to share my story with her but also I don’t have to say no to her! She looks at me expectantly with puppy eyes. Its hard to say no to her!

I try to look outside the door for a moment. Nope, no one is coming towards us or no one is even looking at us, as if we don’t exists. Looks like I don’t have a choice but to share my story with Jane!

I clear my throat “I don’t mind sharing but its a long story”

Jane looks back to check if anyone is coming then looks at me “looks like we have all the time of the world! no one cares what we are doing on first day at work”

“My mom and dad both were medical representative by profession. They met in a work meeting and started seeing each other. My mom was giving a presentation and dad happen to be in the same room attending that presentation. He immediately fell in love with her personality. My mom is very beautiful but what attracts my dad the most, was her personality and intelligence. They dated for almost a year and then dad propose her. Mom told her parents about dad only after engagement. She was leaving alone in London and working and the main reason was she never thought dad will propose her within a year of dating… so in her mind she had enough time to tell her parents but then suddenly she had no time and when she informs her parents, she was already engaged. My grandpa didn’t like how my mom handle the whole situation but she was the only child and he couldn’t stay upset with her long, but when my grandpa meet my dad, for some reason he didn’t like him and asked mom not to marry him. Grandpa never gave any reason but he was like, this boy is not good for you. You can easily find a better person than him… please don’t marry him. My mom didn’t understand why her dad is against the marriage, neither did grandma. "

I stop in the middle when I notice Tina is coming towards us. She opens the door “Hey guys! sorry the IT guys are really busy today with some security incident. I don’t think you will receive your laptops today. And seeing the weather outside, I don’t mind if you want to go home and come back tomorrow!”

We both look at her in confusion, she understands our dilemma, she laughs “I know what are you thinking. Its absolutely okay to leave, anyway this is your first day, Getting new laptop, setting up and getting access will take one week easily and till then you are free to leave little bit early if you want. No one will judge you. But once you have everything setup, we are very strict about timings and assignments”

Before I can say anything, Jane thanks her, “I will check when is my next train and will leave accordingly if that is okay?”

Tine: “Sure! enjoy the rest of the day and see you tomorrow!”

As soon Tine leaves, I ask Jane “I thought you stay nearby. You have to catch a train?”

Jane: “off course not! but I want to hear the rest of the story, hence buying some time so that Tine doesn’t feel why are we still here? if she comes back again ”

“so I don’t have a choice but to continue the story?”

Jane raise her eyebrow and smiles a little “no doubt there!”

“Mom and dad married anyway in that summer”

Jane: “and your grandpa?”

He never liked dad but he did came to the wedding!

Jane: “What happen after that?”

I was born soon after the marriage, within a year. Mom left her job just before my born and then they had my sister so mom never join the company back. She was happy being a stay home mom and dedicate her whole time in raising us. Whatever memory I have from my childhood, we were always a very happy family.

Dad used to travel a lot for work… every month two to three times? Mom was not very happy about it, because when dad was gone, mom had to handle both the kids alone for one or two nights in a row. One such night when dad was gone, we got a call from a hospital. Dad met an accident and found dead.”

Jane looks at me with a moist eyes.

“That’s not it! There was a women in his car who also died in that accident. Later when police verify everything, they found hotel tickets, phone records and dad’s company confirms, they never send dad to that work trip. In fact since dad’s promotion (when I was four years old) his job didn’t include any travel for work.”

Jane: “Oh gosh!”

“Our whole life was a lie and the worst thing is we were a happy family. My mom never doubted dad and we had no clue he is living a double life! And that women, in dad’s car, she was also happily married and mother of two! "

As soon I finish that sentence, I stand up and grab my coat, “I think I should leave now. See you tomorrow!” I didn’t wait for Jane to respond. She might think I am rude or she might understand how hard it was for me to share it with a total stranger. Either way, I was already in the lift and soon out of the building.