Lesson 34- If you want pocket money you need to do your chores.

This evening feels strange. It’s the first night I’ve spent here that I haven’t worked. I slept in late, had something to eat in the kitchen while pestering Kyle, then spent a good chunk of the evening sitting in Torin’s office. We weren’t hanging out or anything, not really. He was working and doing his own thing while I did some more online shopping, watched videos online and searched all the random questions I’ve had in the past few days. At one point I even tried researching some of the magical creatures I’ve met, but the information online all seemed pretty inaccurate. It didn’t stop me from trying to work out what kind of being Jane is. That search ended fairly quickly once I realised that searching for ‘tentacled creature’ online was going to end badly. I really didn’t think that one through well enough. I considered stopping by the bar and having a drink or something, but I’ve spent a lot of time there and I didn’t really feel like it. Plus drinking alone is boring and everyone else seemed fairly busy. So, I spend a few hours in my room. Not really DOING anything, just sort of sitting around and trying to stay out of everyone’s way. I could have continued hanging out in Torin’s office, but I have a suspicion that he doesn’t get all that much work done when I’m in there. At very least, every time I glanced up at him he was watching me. Probably keeping an eye on my internet usage to make sure I don’t contact anyone I shouldn’t. Sigh. I’ve never had restricted internet access before, not even as a kid. The only person who cared how I spent my free time was my brother, and he is only a few years older than me so he was a kid too. Why would he even think to limit my access? Not that I was doing anything I shouldn’t, it’s just weird having my actions monitored so closely.

I change into my pyjamas early, and I’m actually relieved when the bar closes. Laura knocks on my door and peeks her head in to say goodbye. I wander down the hall in my pyjamas to say bye to Torin before he heads off. I missed Kyle, he left ages ago since the kitchen closes before the bar does. I doubt that he particularly cares if I greet him or not though so it’s probably fine.
“Hey Torin, are you on your way out?” I ask pleasantly. He nods.
“Yes. Did you enjoy your night off?” He asks the question awkwardly, like he isn’t all that comfortable with small talk. Still, I appreciate his attempt at conversation, usually I’m the one asking all the questions.
“It was alright, I still don’t have a lot to do. I might download some ebooks or something tomorrow and stock up. Hey if I do that, can you just disconnect the tablet from the internet and let me keep it so I can read when you’re not around?” I ask hopefully. Torin pauses and considers.
“I suppose so.” He responds, but his tone is a little suspicious. I fight the urge to roll my eyes. I’m not a hacker, if he doesn’t tell me the password to the internet, I won’t be able to access it. There’s no free wifi around here or anything either.
“Thanks, It’ll be better when some of my deliveries arrive too. I ordered some stuff to keep myself entertained, among other things.” I add and Torin just nods. I doubt that he kept track of all the shopping I looked at online. He mostly just keeps an eye out for social media and messaging apps.
“Yes. It probably isn’t all that entertaining sitting there watching me work.” He says dryly and I shrug.
“I can think of more boring things I could be doing. Watching paint dry, trimming grass one blade at a time… Stuff like that.” I joke. Torin cracks a tiny smile and I grin. Yes, I win!
“I have tomorrow off too, right? Or Should I say tonight? It’s weird to say tonight when I haven’t slept yet.” I ramble and Torin nods.
“Yes. You have tonight off, then the next two nights Laura will be off and you’ll be working with Catcher.” He explains.
“Why does Laura have these two days working alone?” I ask and Torin shrugs.
“She works five nights a week. Catcher works three and you are also scheduled for five. Before you started, Catcher worked alone two nights and Laura worked alone for four. The only night where we had the staff for two bartenders was Saturdays. I suspect that they both have wanted me to hire someone new for a while now. Now there are only two days a week when someone has to work alone, and since she’s the most experienced, it makes sense for it to be her. Week nights are usually a lot quieter anyway.” He explains. Is that the longest explanation he’s given me so far? It might be.
“So basically, you’ve been really short staffed for a while. Why didn’t you hire someone earlier?” I ask, a little confused. Torin shrugs.
“No one wants to work for me.” He mutters quietly and I frown.
“But you have other employees.” I point out. He shrugs.
“I wasn’t their first choice of employer, probably not their second or third either.” He answers. Huh… Note to self, ask Laura and Kyle how they ended up working here in the first place. I suspect that there’s a story there.
“Oh! I forgot to tell you. I caught a dust sprite yesterday morning. It was so strange. Did you know they consider their dust footprints to be art?” I blurt it all out in one go, eager to share my new experience with Torin.
“I did know that, yes. I assume that is what all the fly paper was for? To catch a dust sprite.” He confirms and I grin.
“Yep. And my plan succeeded. Jane even helped by waking me up to let me know what I caught one!” I tell him excitedly. He blinks in surprise and confusion. His eyebrows move upwards, just the tiniest bit.
“Who is Jane?” He asks, confused and I laugh.
“Jane is the creature in the basement. I decided that she should have a name. We talked about it, well I talked about it mostly, but she gave her approval. So her name is Jane now.” I respond. Torin just blinks again. Three times to be exact.
“You are a very strange girl. Most people run from monsters. You seem to like befriending them.” He sounds like he doesn’t know if he should be horrified or admiring.
“Maybe I just have a different definition of ‘monster’ than most people.” I suggest.
“Perhaps.” He agrees. I suddenly remember that he was supposed to be leaving.
“Oh sorry! You probably want to go home and get some sleep. I’m keeping you here with all my chatter.” I apologise, stepping out of his doorway so he can get past me if he wants.
“Don’t apologise, it's… Well, people don’t usually ‘chat’ with me. It’s an unusual experience.” He comments and I’m both sad and angry on his behalf all over again.
“That’s because people are often stupid. You can always come chat with me. You know, if you feel like talking. You don’t have to wait for me to hunt you down and pester you into conversation.” I add. It’s a strange invitation to make, but I get the impression that if I don’t make it clear, he won’t get it. It’s a strange friendship between the two of us. Aside from the obvious issues of my being trapped here and the unbalanced power dynamic, we don’t really have a lot in common. At least not that I’ve found so far. I don’t really know what Torin does for fun. I’d ask him, but then we’ll be here all day and he will never get to go home. I’ll ask him about it tomorrow.