Page 17 of The Reboot
‘Ha ha.’ She didn’t suppose they’d ever let her forget that. Still it would be a small price to pay if it meant she could start earning decent money and get some proper work experience. Her mind was already whirring with the possible implications. She could start paying her mum back, save up for a deposit on a flat, think about moving out… Maybe she could even persuade her mum and Nora to go on their big trip. She’d have colleagues, she could make new friends, so they wouldn’t have to worry about her being lonely…
‘You rejected us, remember, not the other way around,’ Dylan was saying.
‘You would have hired me?’
‘Yeah, we would. We’re not as daft as we seem, you know.’
‘Well, that’s a relief.’
‘Plus Nicola – the girl we hired – didn’t have a note in her head, and insisted on being Elton. So that wasn’t going to work.’
Ella laughed and wondered what she was letting herself in for.
‘It’s nice to see you back,’ Jake said to her the following afternoon, when she returned to Citizens of the Wild. Jake and Dylan were waiting for her in the reception area, hovering by Kerry’s desk when she arrived.
‘We thought you’d given us the thumbs down,’ Dylan said.
‘Sorry. I just thought I wasn’t going to fit in here.’ She looked around as a young guy with a messenger bag slung across his body skate-boarded through the door, waving to them as he whizzed past. ‘I mean, I’m still not sure…’
‘Don’t mind him,’ Dylan said.
‘Besides, no one has to “fit in”,’ Jake said. ‘There are no moulds. Just be yourself.’
‘Right.’ Ella nodded. Kerry caught her eye and gave her a little conspiratorial smile.
‘I’m guessing there’s no dress code, then,’ Ella said, nodding after skater-boy.
‘No, it’s very casual. Well, apart from Kerry.’ Dylan nodded to her, smiling. ‘But she’s a fashion graduate. Casual isn’t in her wheelhouse.’
‘Just wear whatever makes you comfortable.’ Jake’s eyes flicked over Ella’s dated M&S suit, which she’d dug out again.
‘This isn’t it, by the way,’ she said. She was relieved she wouldn’t have to waste money buying clothes she didn’t like, and could fall back on her beloved jeans and sweatshirt combo.
‘That’s cool.’ Dylan shrugged. ‘Just wear whatever you normally would – apart from dress-up Fridays.’
‘Oh?’ Her heart sank. It looked like she’d have to hang onto this bloody suit after all. Still, at least it was the reverse of most companies, where formal business wear was the order of the day and dressing down was a weekly novelty.
‘Don’t look so worried,’ Dylan said. ‘It’s only once a month. It’s fun.’
Even better! Not her idea of fun, but once a month would be bearable. ‘What on earth doyoudo for dress-up Fridays?’ she said to Kerry. ‘I mean … where have you left to go?’
Kerry grinned at her, looking pleased.
‘Yeah, she puts us all to shame,’ Dylan said. ‘One month she came as Wanda Maximoff – you know, the Scarlet Witch? Suddenly everyone decided they needed to work down here for the day. There were fights over the beanbags.’ He shook his head. ‘It was chaos.’
‘We had to have a word with her, didn’t we?’ Jake was looking at Dylan, but side-eyeing Kerry, his lips twitching in a smile.
Dylan nodded solemnly. ‘I don’t want to have to go through that again.’
‘So try not to looktoospectacular, is what we’re saying.’
‘Oh, I’m sure I can manage that.’
‘They just don’t want you stealing their thunder,’ Kerry said to her.
‘Oh, they don’t need to worry about that.’ She turned to Dylan. ‘So when you say dress-up, you mean … fancy dress?’
‘Yeah, fancy dress, cosplay … whatever you want to call it. You’ll get the hang of it.’
