“Thank you for coming in for the interview today.”
“Author didn’t really give me a choice, did she?” Lexi said,
leaning back in the chair and crossing her arms.
“It shouldn’t take up too much of your time. What do you like about
your job?”
“It pays, and I’m good at it.”
“Ok, what got you started in it?”
“I’m good with numbers, and it sort of fell in my lap at a time
when I needed something. It’s as good a job as any.”
“Some would say you should find a job you have a passion for.”
“I have a passion for not going hungry and having a house to
live in,” she said with a snort.
“Would you ever consider changing jobs, and if so, what would you want
to do?”
“Accounting is easy enough for me, and it pays well. I don’t see
a change ever coming. Unless, of course, things don’t work out in our favor in
Aleiant.” Lexi crossed her legs, arms still locked over her chest. She had a
knack for being intimidating. Her face did nothing to hide any emotion she was
feeling.
“What’s a hobby you have?”
“Books and flowers.”
“How did those come to be hobbies of yours?”
She pursed her lips and jiggled her legs. For the first time
since she sat down here, she didn’t look angry or intimidating. She drummed her
fingers against her elbow.
“Books are an escape for anything and everything. They let you
live as someone else, even if only for a fleeting moment. They don’t change,
they don’t argue, they just are. As they have always been.”
She dropped her leg back to the ground, and her arms loosened
their grip on each other. She wasn’t relaxed per se but close. She bit her lip
and glanced up toward the ceiling.
“Flowers, on the other hand. They shift, but incrementally. If
they are cared for and loved, they reciprocate. They speak in hushed tones to
offer support and change the intensity of their scent to suit you. I can always
go sit in the garden and leave feeling relaxed and centered. On the best days
and on the worst.”
“That’s an interesting perspective. Not many experience flowers like
that.”
“Then they aren’t paying attention. Fairies are more attuned to
it, but anyone can experience the emotions flowers can bring you.”
“What skill do you have that might be surprising?”
“I don’t know how to answer that. I’m not all that secretive.”
“That’s fair. How about a skill you’re most proud of?”
She scrunched her face up but didn’t say anything. Her fingers
resumed drumming on her arm as she thought about it, and the silence was
stretching into almost uncomfortable territory. The question needed an answer,
though.
“I’m proud of all of them. I honed them. I practiced. I put in
the time to make them worthwhile. It’s not like someone else chose most of my
abilities while I sat on the sidelines.”
The silence stretched on while waiting for an actual answer.
Lexi didn’t like to give them up easily, but she would have to give up
something. That is what interviews are for, after all.
“Finding and maintaining accurate history,” she finally said
with a scowl. “Happy?”
“You could say that. Why is that the skill you are most proud of?”
“It’s not as easy as it sounds. You can’t always count on
first-hand retellings, even less than second or third-hand ones. Everyone has
their own narrative. Everyone sees events through their own lens. Your
experiences and choices impact what you see and how you see it.” She leaned
forward slightly, hands resting on her knees as she thought of how to continue.
“If you had a person in your life that was always yelling at you
and criticizing you, and I never did. The only yelling I experienced was when
something horrible happened. Then you and I witness a couple arguing in a
coffee shop. You might feel sympathy for the one on the receiving end while
feeling like the giver was a horrible person. I might see it as the receiver
has done something terrible, and these are the consequences. That is a terrible
example, but it’s all I can think of at the moment.”
“I see what you are saying. So if that’s the case, how can any account
be taken as real and valid?”
“A lot of thought and investigation. The more accounts you have,
the more accurate a picture might be. Going back to the argument in the coffee
shop. We each have our account, but then you ask someone closer. They heard the
conversation, and they were both mad at someone else. Not arguing at all, but
mutually angry at a third party. It’s not always perfect, but that’s what
happens when you pour through history and history in the making.”
“How much time do you spend on this?”
“Obviously, I’m not chronicling every person’s life in detail.
It’s major events or anything that seems like it will be. It’s paying attention
to the world around you. I can’t say I sit and do this for a set amount of
time. It happens as history happens, but sometimes I like to look back and gain
more perspective.”
“Fair enough. Ok, next question: what does the perfect vacation look
like to you?”
Lexi snorted and leaned back again. Her enthusiasm and
willingness to talk visibly deflated. Talks of vacations did not stir the same
passion in her as thinking about history.
“Everyone leaving me to read in the garden. There is no danger
of that, though. There is always something to be done. Vacations are a dream
afforded to those who don’t need to work in this city. Or those who are lawful
and good and work for lawful and good people. Go ask Vanessa when the last time
she took a vacation was. Take off around here, and you’ll be replaced and
rendered obsolete.”
“So you’ve never taken a vacation?”
“No. Next question.”
“What about a perfect date?”
“I don’t date.”
She tipped her head to the side slightly as if studying
something. Her arms weren’t any more tightly crossed than they had been before.
She was completely indifferent to the question and its answer.
“Ever?”
“Too complicated. I like living alone. I like not being
connected to another person in such a way. If I want someone to share my bed…
it’s not too hard to find someone and have them out before the sun rises. It’s
exactly how I like it.”
“That sounds lonely.”
“That’s such a bullshit response,” she snorted. “It’s exactly
how I want it, and I have people around me. I just don’t have a partner. I’m
not lonely; I’m happy.”
“My apologies. And that was the last question. Thank you for…”
“Yep, yep, thanks, you’re welcome, bye,” she said as she stood
and stalked toward the portal to take her back.