You walk into the supermarket and make your way over to the counter. From the moment you walked into the store you feel a little awkward; the man behind the counter has not looked away from you for even a second. He looks like he’s about to accuse you of something, before you stammer out that you’re the new hire.
???
“Oh, I forgot about that. You’re late.” You look at the clock behind him. It’s one minute past the time you were supposed to arrive.
“Julian was supposed to train you but he called in sick, so I guess I have to. I’m a busy man so let’s get this over with as fast as possible.”
“Here’s your uniform, you can change in the back. I mean, it’s just a shirt, so it’s not like you really need privacy. Oh, there are rules about how you dress though, you gotta represent the store properly.”
He then goes into a long winded speech about appropriate clothing for wearing at the supermarket. It occurs to you he hasn’t told you his name, or asked you yours.
Gabriel
“My name is Gabriel.” He taps on his chest. “Like the nametag says. I figured we didn’t really need to go over that.” He narrows his eyes. “Since you can read, right…?”
If Gabriel is your manager and is going to keep acting this way, you don’t foresee yourself working here very long.
He looks at your nametag.
Gabriel
“Yon? That’s a weird name.” (Note: he would say this for any name. Except if you’re also named Gabriel. Then he’d call it a good name without acknowledging it’s his own name.)
“Anyway, follow me. I’ll show you where everything goes, and the storage room, since you’ll mostly be stocking shelves.”
He takes you through the store and introduces you to every aisle, ignoring the signs above each aisle which show you exactly which product goes where. He takes longer than you find necessary for each aisle. The most impressive thing about it all is that he knows where each product goes without even looking first, which is not impressive in the slightest.
The last place he shows you is the broom closet. It’s about as interesting as the rest of the store.
Gabriel
“This is where we keep the cleaning products. And also Julian when inspection comes by, which is about once a month. That reminds me, how old are you?”
Your age was part of your application, so he should know, but Gabriel has been acting like you’re less than dirt to him so you’re not surprised he pretends not to know. You tell him you’re the same age as Julian.
Gabriel
“Ah, that means you’ll be going into the closet once a month too. We sell alcohol here and you guys are underage, so I could be in trouble if they find out I’m employing you here.”
You’re pretty sure this isn’t true, but you don’t know enough to really rebuke him. The closet looks rather cramped, but you already think if it means you get some reprieve from being around your manager it might not be so bad.
The tour has ended. The evening is pretty quiet; not many customers come in. Gabriel takes the opportunity to show you how the cash register works and how to talk to customers as he takes care of their groceries. The last half our or so you two spend some time talking, and you find out that when he’s not talking about work Gabriel is actually pretty nice.
Despite your initial reservations, you feel a faint bond form between the two of you.
Gabriel Social Link - The Hermit 2
You’re working a shift at the supermarket, this time Julian is with you. It makes the monotonous work a lot less boring when he’s with you and the two of you can talk while youre working. As usual Gabriel is at the cash register, ringing up customers and doing something unknown to you whenever he is not. You’ve learned he’s quite good at looking very busy, but Julian has told you he isn’t really doing anything.
He does seem to like the both of you, even if he tends to act pretty high and mighty whenever he talks to you. You’ve learned Gabriel is only five years older than you, and ever since learning that it’s been hard to put that out of your mind. With the way he talks to you you’d expected him to be much older, not barely out of his teens himself.
He seems excited whenever he has an interest in common with you or Julian, but then shortly after becomes flustered, as if he’s too old to share interests with his juniors. You hope that maybe with time he will become a little less uptight.
A girl has been inside the store for a little while now, you can tell from the glimpses you’ve gotten of her she’s in the same school as you as you recognise her uniform, but she moves so fast you never quite get a good look at her. It’s as if she doesn’t want to be seen.
After a moment you hear a commotion at the cash register; it sounds like Gabriel is in a heated discussion with the girl. Julian rolls his eyes.
Julian
“It’s Lezniki.” He explains when you give him a puzzled look. “Alice Lezniki, from our year? She’s Gabriel’s sister. They get into a fight every time she comes in.”
You move to an aisle closer to the register so you can eavesdrop.
Alice
“Mom said to tell you to try and get home early today, she’s making your favourite dinner.” She sounds miserable saying this.
Gabriel
“Ugh, mom. I can cook for myself.” He pretends to be annoyed but you’re pretty sure you can hear some fondness in his voice.
Alice
“About that, when are you moving out? You’ve had that apartment across town for months now, but you’re still home like, every day.”
Gabriel
“Oh you’d like that, wouldn’t you. Mom and Dad like me to be home because at least then there’s a child there that’s not absolute misery to be around.”
Alice
“I’m sure that’s why, and not so you can keep relying on mom to do everything for you. Aren’t you wasting money on rent? You’re soooo grown up.”
Gabriel
“That is not why I still come home!” He sounds flustered; it’s a little hard to listen to. Julian chuckles. “I just… haven’t found the time to move yet. I’m gonna need some help with moving the bigger items. Not like you’d get that.”
Alice
“Yes, heaven forbid someone in high school hasn’t thought about the logistics of moving out of their parent’s place.”
Julian
“We can help you move!”
You shoot Julian an alarmed look; you thought you were trying to hide. He grins back at you. Gabriel turns around, he’s caught off guard. Alice looks like it takes effort not to try and hide from you.
Gabriel
“I didn’t know you were- …um, anyway. S-sure, thanks.”
Julian
“What about after the next shift? Me ‘n Yon got time.”
You don’t know why Julian is roping you into this, but you suppose he’s right.
Alice
“Finally.” She picks up her groceries and heads for the door. “When you’re out I’m taking your room!”
Gabriel
“No you’re not!” He yells after her, but his sister has already disappeared from view.
Julian
“He’ll have to pay us for helping him, it’ll be a nice bit of extra cash.”
Oh, so that’s why Julian offered to help. You’re not sure Gabriel is aware Julian’s expecting payment, though.
Gabriel Social Link - The Hermit 3
It’s after work hours and you and Julian have just finished moving the final piece of furniture into Gabriel’s apartment. It didn’t take as long as you would’ve thought; it turns out Gabriel doesn’t own much. The apartment is empty outside of a sofa, a chair, a small desk and a bed. There’s a small kitchen in the corner with a box of Gabriel’s smaller belongings on it, and two more boxes in the bedroom, but that was it.
Julian
“I almost feel bad asking him to pay us for this… That was like, nothing.” He looks around, pausing on the empty walls. “Maybe we should get him a housewarming gift, actually. This is kinda sad.”
Gabriel walks back into the room and sits on the sofa. He hands you a can of soda.
Gabriel
“Thanks for your help guys. I thought it’d take longer. If I knew it’d be this easy I would’ve moved out sooner!” Something tells you this isn’t entirely the truth.
He takes a sip of his drink. “Now I have my own place. To be on my own. To be alone in.” With every sentence his voice grows a little quieter. “What more could you want?” He says so loudly it startles you a little.
Julian
“Are you gonna decorate it?”
Gabriel
“Maybe a little, but I’m not gonna paint anything. I mean, I’m just renting, I’d have to cover it all up again if I ever moved out. Plus I don’t know how much I’ll really be here, anyway…”
Julian
“You think you’re still gonna be mostly at your parent’s place?” Theres a smirk tugging at his lips.
Gabriel
“No! I’ll just be at other places.” You can tell from his response Gabriel isn’t sure what ‘other places’ he’s talking about.
Julian
“Right. Because you’re such a busy guy.”
Gabriel
He tuts. “You’ll get it when you get older, Jude.”
Julian
“I dunno man, I don’t think I’ll ever rent an apartment in Grey Springs. I’d want to move to a bigger place. There’s nothing here.”
Gabriel
“You only think that because you’re still in school. Grey Springs is a lovely town actually, and I’m glad I’ve got my own place here now.”
Julian
“No offense, but how would you know? You’ve never left town. You didn’t go to college, or university, or get a job outside town-”
Gabriel
“Everything I could want is right here! And because I started working right outta high school I actually have a nice amount of money saved up.” He puffs out his chest. “All I need now is find a nice girl to marry, and I’ll basically be done at life.”
Julian
“Life isn’t a checklist!”
Gabriel
“Um, actually, at its core, it is.” He holds out his hands and taps each finger as he starts listing things. “You finish school, you get a job, you get your own place, you get married and then you have kids. Like, maybe have kids, I’m not sure on that yet. But life is totally a checklist at the end of things.”
Julian messes with the lip of his soda can as he thinks over his answer. You think you can tell Julian doesn’t want to say anything to offend Gabriel. He is your boss after all, or maybe it’s because of something else.
Julian
“I don’t think I’d be happy thinking about it like that.”
Gabriel
“Sounds like a you problem,” he scoffs. Julian looks annoyed. You wonder if he regrets not speaking his mind more honestly. Gabriel turns to you. “What about you, Yon? What’s your plan for your life?”
Julian: "Yeah, me too! And I think that’s pretty normal. We’ll see where life takes us, right?" Gabriel: "That is so irresponsible."
Gabriel: "I’m glad you see some sense." Julian: Don’t agree with him, he gets so annoying when you do.
Gabriel: I don’t need Yon’s approval, I know I’m right! You just feel bad because I’ve proven you’re a little immature.
Julian: I’m not taking that from a guy who doesn’t even own a TV.
Julian: He laughs. “I think that’s a little extreme, but it’s a sound philosophy.” Gabriel: “As long as you keep showing up for work, that’s okay with me.”
Julian
“It kinda looks like all you can do here is eat and sleep. You don’t have a TV, or a computer… How are you gonna spend your free time here?”
Gabriel
“I do have a computer actually, I have a laptop. And I already told you I don’t plan on spending much time here.”
Julian thinks for a moment as he takes a sip from his soda. His eyes narrow.
Julian
“Wait, if your next step is getting a girlfriend, how are you gonna take her back here?”
Gabriel
He eyes Julian suspiciously. “What do you mean?”
Julian
He gestures at the room. “You got nothing and the whole house is white walls with grey carpet! If anyone took me back here I’d run like a bat outta hell. You gotta give it some personality or you’re never gonna get a girlfriend.”
Gabriel
“...And you’re the expert on dating.”
Julian
“I didn’t say that. But fine, if you don’t believe me, ask an actual girl. I bet she’d say the same thing.”
Gabriel
“Fine, I will.” He averts his eyes from Julian, his cheeks a little flushed. You wonder if he’s thinking of a specific girl.
You and Julian hang around a little longer until you finish your drinks, after which you bid Gabriel farewell and go home. As you tell him goodbye you can tell he’s still thinking about what Julian said about his decor.
Gabriel Social Link - The Hermit 4
You’re about half an hour into your shift when Gabriel suddenly comes bustling towards you.
Gabriel
“Hey Yon! I’m gonna need you to get into the cleaning closet.”
Julian
“What? Inspection’s not due for another two weeks.”
Gabriel grabs you and Julian by the shoulders and starts leading you towards the closet.
Gabriel
“It’s an emergency. Sudden inspection. You gotta listen to me, I’m the manager.”
He’s pushed you in and closed the door before you can protest. You try to open the door but Julian stops you.
Julian
“Don’t bother, he’ll just push you back in. At least in here we don’t have to work. And it’s not a surprise inspection, by the way.”
It’s hard to tell in the small slit of light coming through the rectangular window in the door, but you can see a glint in Julian’s eyes.
Julian
“It’s Celeste Walton.”
You awkwardly crowd around the small window to get a look at the front counter.
