First Day Jitters
1822 Words
Amelia
My alarm goes off, interrupting the dream I was having. I go to grab my phone and knock it off the end table, causing Chico to start yapping. “Hush,” I say to my little dog as I stumble out of bed. The phone slid under the bed, and I cursed as I struggled to reach for it while Chico barked at it. “Chico,” I yell at him.
I finally fish my phone out from under the bed and turn off the alarm.
Today is my first day at Keaton Industries. I am equal parts excited and terrified. I stand and feel dizzy, as I have for the last few days. I have also noticed other strange symptoms that I assume are from job-related anxiety.
Rushing into the bathroom, I take a quick shower and wrestle with my hair trying to make it look professional. Frustrated, I just settled for a black headband as it’s not long enough for a ponytail.
I put on some light makeup and then my new pantsuit.
There is a knock on the door as I admire myself in the mirror. Chico starts yapping. “Come in,” I shout, and Kylie enters with Moose and her daughters. Chico becomes more frantic as he barks at the lab.
Moose merely wags his tail at my chihuahua.
“Are you ready for your first day?” She asks as Marnie and Junie play with the dogs.
Chico yaps happily when Marnie picks him up. He licks her face causing her to giggle.
“I am nervous,” I say as my stomach turns, and I feel like vomiting. “I feel a little sick.”
“It’s just nerves,” Kylie confirms.
“Thank you for letting me use your car today. I hope to buy my own soon,” I tell her.
Kylie shrugs, “It’s all good. My mom is coming to take the girls, and I look forward to my alone time.”
I laugh, “Enjoy it.”
“Chico,” Marnie coos at my pup.
“You like him, don’t you?” I ask her.
“He is so cute,” Marnie grins and sets my dog down.
“Come on, girls,” Kylie calls to her daughters. “I’ll see you later. Ernesto and Paul are coming over later for drinks.”
“Hopefully, I’ll be home,” I state. “It’s just orientation today.”
“Marnie, Junie,” Kylie calls and smiles at me. “Good luck, Amelia. You deserve it.”
I pat her hand, “Thanks.”
Kylie starts up the stair to the main house with Moose and Chico following her.
I grab my dog and wait till she closes the door. I give him some food and then make myself coffee and a bagel. I sit down to eat, and my phone rings.
“Hello,” I answer it.
“Good morning,” My mother speaks. “I just wanted to wish you good luck for your first day at your new job.”
“Thank you, Mom,” I smile.
My mother had been sulking since Jonathan’s welcome home party. My brother announced that he has reenlisted in the Army. Mom didn’t take it well when Jonathan announced that he and his family were relocating to Fort Huachuca in Arizona. She cried and threw a fit while our father consoled her. Junior and I are happy for Jonathan.
“I just hope you won’t be leaving me, too,” She sniffles.
“Mom,” I drawl. “If anything, I may move closer to work.”
“Why can’t you just work here in the butcher shop?” She pleads. “We have computers.”
“And I told you and Dad that I would fix them anytime you needed it,” I tell her. “But Mom, we are all grown now.”
“That doesn’t mean you must leave us,” She blubbers.
“Carol, why are you crying again?” I hear my dad say in the background.
“I am talking to my daughter, Andrew,” Mom says.
“Mom, I have to get going. I don’t want to be late.”
“Please don’t leave me, Amelia,” she cries.
“How about I come over there after work?” I speak. “We can have dinner.”
Mom sniffles, “Okay. I’ll make spaghetti, your favorite.”
“That sounds great, Mom,” I say. “I love you,” I say before hanging up the phone. I take a deep breath, grab my new briefcase, and drop my phone into it. I pour coffee into my travel mug and head upstairs. Moose woofs at me, and I nod at Myron, who is eating breakfast. “How’s it going?”
He grunts, “It’s going.”
“That's good,” I laugh.
“The keys are over there,” He points to a bowl by the back door.
“Thanks,” I say as I grab them. “Tell Kylie thanks,” I say and rush into the garage to Kylie’s red Kia SUV. I start it, and music from one of the girl’s tv shows belts out of the speakers. I quickly change it to the rock station and head for work.
Thirty frustrating minutes later, I pull into the parking garage under the tower. The attendant assigns me a parking space. As I get out, I bump into the door of the car next to me. I see a cross man glaring at me. “I am so sorry,” I tell him as he inspects where the door hit his vehicle. “No damage.”
“You are lucky,” He grumbles. “I would hate to have to call the cops first thing,” He snorts and rushes away.
I roll my eyes, grab my briefcase and coffee, and follow the grumpy guy toward the building. I ride the elevator to the first floor and find the reception desk. A friendly woman grins at me as I walk up. “I am here for orientation for the tech department.”
“Oh, what is your name?” the woman coos.
“Amelia Fischer,” I state.
She looks down at her desk where paper name badges are lined up, “Here,” She hands me one with my name on it. “Orientation is down the hall,” she explains and points. “Have a good day.”
“Thank you,” I say and head down the hall. I enter a large conference room and find a seat next to a friendly enough looking woman.
“Hi,” she beams, “I am Bethany,” she holds her hand out.
` “Amelia,” I respond and shake her hand.
“Oh, I love your suit,” she says. Bethany is wearing a nice blouse with a black skirt, which matches her short brown hair and brown eyes.
“I like your blouse,” I tell her.
“What department are you going to be working in?” Bethany asks me.
“Oh, I’m a computer tech,” I reply.
“Cool,” she shouts. “I am so bad with computers,” she exclaims. “I am just going to be a sales rep.”
“Oh,” I smile.
A short round woman wearing a blue dress walks into the room with a taller woman behind her. The shorter woman sets a large briefcase on the table while the other woman helps her sort out some things.
“So, are you from Chicago?” Bethany asks.
“I am from Aurora,” I state.
“Aurora?” Bethany asks.
“Yeah,” I nod. “It's one of the many suburbs. I guess you could say,” I laugh.
“Oh, I just moved here from Hannibal, Missouri,” she says. “My mom was mad. She wants me to stay there, marry a farmer, and have lots of babies like my sisters.”
“Sounds like my mom,” I laugh. “She hates that my younger brother is moving to Arizona soon.”
“Wow,” Bethany laughs. “Why Arizona?”
“He is in the Army and is transferring there,” I respond.
The short woman up front clears her throat, and everyone in the room quiets. “Good morning, everyone,” she says in a higher-pitched voice than I was expecting. “My name is Nia Duke, and this is Karen Jones. We are the training specialists here at Keaton Industries. We will be conducting the orientation today,” she says and walks around the room, passing folders to each person while Karen writes a few things on a whiteboard. “First, we will be talking about the company overall, then we will fill out some paperwork,” she laughs. “After that, we will take you each to your work areas and introduce you to your co-workers and supervisors.”
I looked through the folder that Nia handed out. I must keep from zoning out as Nia and Karen take turns talking. I feel a little dizzy and have to excuse myself to the restroom. As I walk down the hall, I see a photo of the CEO, Ezra Keaton. I stare at it for a moment, swearing he looks familiar.
I get to the bathroom and feel like puking again. I manage to stave that off by sipping some water. After I return to the conference room, I sit with my head in my hands.
“Are you alright to continue, Miss Fischer?” Nia asks.
“I just have some first day jitters,” I tell her.
Karen sets a bottle of water in front of me, “Let us know if you need a break.”
I smile and nod at her. The dizziness and nausea soon subside. The orientation continues for hours. After filling out the paperwork, we are taken to our areas. I wave to Bethany after getting her number. We walk into a medium office, and a man approaches us.
“Aaron, this is Amelia,” Karen introduces us.
He grins at me, “Hello, Amelia; I am Aaron Howard, the supervisor.”
I shake his hand, “Hi.”
“Anyways, I have your work area set up,” He leads me through the office, and we stop. A man is working at a computer with his back turned to us. “Jordan,” Aaron taps the man on his back.
My heart sinks when the other man turns, and it’s the man whose car door I hit this morning.
“This is Amelia. She will be training with you today,” Aaron explains.
Jordan looks up at me with cold blue eyes and sneers. “Great,” He mutters.
“Great,” I respond.
- Writer
