Months had passed since that fateful day, and another fateful encounter would soon occur to them both that would change everything.

Melody and Hilary walked into the store; every employee surrounded the boss as he stood on a podium.

"Is everyone here?" The boss asked. "Because I have an announcement to make!"

"Again?" Melody shook her head in disbelief.

"Does he seriously do this often?" Hilary asked.

"Hey, keep it quiet over there, peanut gallery." The boss retorted before continuing. "Anyway, we have an extra member here." He turned to the figure. "Come on and introduce yourself, don't be shy."

"H-hello, my name is Stanley, it's nice to meet you all." He introduced himself.

Melody peeked through the crowd and upon seeing him, appeared disinterested. "Another guy is going to be working here?" She hissed.

"Oh, come on, you got to give him a chance," Hilary told her. "Not every guy is 'like Cody', you know."

Melody pouted and looked away. "I never said that, though."

"Now who would like to—" The boss started. He heard snickering from a distance. He glared and squinted his eyes. "Who said that?"

"I'll do it." Hilary raised her hand and giggled.

"What? Seriously?" Melody asked, her eyes widened.

"How nice." The boss said, feeling satisfied. He motioned at Hilary to get Stanley's attention. "Ok, so she'll show you the ropes and establishments of this place."

"Hi, I'm Hilary, and this is Melody." Hilary greeted. "We hope you enjoy your stay here."

"Same here," Stanley replied and bowed. "And I hope to be of use and service to all of you."

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Why do I have to do this too?" Melody complained.

Hilary rolled her eyes. "You know you don't have to if you don't—"

"What? But I..." Melody stammered, raising her hands in defense. "As your mentor, I feel like I should watch over you and—"

"What are you, my mom?" Hilary questioned. She turned and walked off in a huff.

Melody bit her lip and turned away. I just wanted to hang out with—

"Don't fret." Stanley tried to assure her. "I'm sure she didn't mean—"

Melody glared at him as a vein popped out in her head. "Look, you need to learn to stay out of people's conversations. And if you make Hilary cry, I’ll make sure you regret it." She drew a line across her neck while keeping her serious face.

Stanley gulped as his heart sunk lower than the black abyss.

"Are you guys coming?" Hilary called out to them.

"Yeah." The two replied and followed her.

The first day of work didn't go super well for Stanley. He tripped and dropped cans at an alarming rate and wasn’t social with customers.

Melody groaned every time this had happened. She also couldn't believe that her friend tolerated Stanley with every moment that occurred. She tried her best to help and support him. That feeling made Melody sick to her stomach.

More time passed by as lunchtime occurred. Melody approached Hilary, revealing to have brought nothing, and hoped to share food with her. After sitting beside Hilary on the bench, Stanley walked over to them, and wished to sit beside them since they were familiar to him.

"Is that not allowed? Can I not sit here?" Stanley asked.

"We didn't say that." Hilary started, taking a bite out of her tuna sandwich.

"But don't you have any other friends to hang out with?" Melody inquired.

"Not really." Stanley scratched the back of his head and muttered. "I mean, it's not like I could..."

"Come on, lighten up." Melody got up and turned Stanley around to push him toward a group of other employees. "It shouldn't be that hard to talk to other people, right?"

"Melody, be nice and understanding," Hilary informed her. "It's probably hard for him." She got up and glanced at Stanley. "Stanley, we can help you out if you'd like."

"Thank you." Stanley beamed. "And, thanks for everything." He reached into his pockets and took out some colored bags. "Here you go, I got you both something." Stanley handed Hilary a green bag and Melody a yellow one.

"How sweet of you, thank you so much." Hilary chirped.

"Yeah, you didn't have to do that," Melody added. "But what's inside?"

"Open it when you get back to your rooms," Stanley recommended.

After work, Hilary walked over and whispered to Melody's ear, "I'm sorry about before." before leaving.

For what, though? Melody thought, not remembering what happened between them earlier.