Peaked in High School

On the Hunt

A load of laundry is thrown into the washer after breakfast. Beau then watches TV while Everett does his confusing coding nonsense for work on his laptop in the kitchen. By four o'clock, Everett is done with work and suggests that they go into town to ask around about a potential job for Beau.

Dressing in his—now clean—collared shirt and slacks, Beau feels significantly better about his chances of getting an interview today.

"-and then he threatened to call the cops on me, so I walked from there to the bar," Beau explains during their car ride into town. He is filling Everett in on the deli-debacle that led to him hiking to the bar where he then attempted to drink his problems away.

"Steve isn't the friendliest guy in Sinting, that was just bad luck that you ended up at the deli instead of one of the other shops." Everett tries to make his passenger feel a little more at ease about the situation.

Turning up the volume on the radio for a depressing rap song that he likes, Beau then raises his voice to speak over the music. "He was a dick, dude. If he thinks I'm buying his shitty meat after that, then he's on crack."

Everett barks out a laugh at this as he pulls into the bookstore parking lot. "Hopefully you don't feel that way about every place you apply to, I'd hate to have to make the trip into Columbus just to do all of our shopping."

He doesn't receive a response, but a question as soon as they park. "Where are we? Are you making me apply to a bookstore?" Beau asks in disbelief while staring out the window at the building.

"I'm not gonna force you to apply anywhere that you don't want to. I just thought the bookstore might be a good, low-key kind of job," Everett explains.

Running a hand through his hair, Beau nervously looks over at the driver. "I don't really, like, read, though."

"That's fine. They might just have you at the cash register or stocking the shelves," he reasons.

Beau fidgets with the buttons on the passenger side door. "What if customers ask me about book recommendations? I seriously know nothing about books, dude."

Everett's eyebrows furrow in confusion at Beau's nervousness. He's not used to his old neighbor being so unsure of himself. "You can probably ask a coworker for help if that happens. We can go somewhere else if you don't want to apply for a job at this place."

"I'm just worried, I guess," Beau looks sheepish as he stares down at the buttons on the car radio that he's fiddling with.

"Worried about what?"

Sighing, Beau finally looks at Everett. "I mean—what kind of bookstore would hire a dyslexic guy who knows jack shit about reading?"

"You're dyslexic?" Everett asks with a tilt of his head.

"Like, I was never diagnosed, but I heard you a couple years ago telling my dad that you think I am. I was in denial for a while about it. After not graduating, I kind of thought about it more and accepted the fact that I've always had a harder time reading than I wanted to admit."

A look of panic falls over Everett's face. "You heard me talk to your dad about that? I'm so sorry, Beau. I wasn't trying to be mean or make assumptions.... I honestly just noticed that you showed some signs when we were studying."

"We're chill. You didn't seem like you were saying it in a douchey way. I was pissed at first, but it's pretty obvious now that I probably have that shit," Beau says dismissively with a wave of his hand.

"Let's go somewhere else, then." Everett goes to put the car in reverse to back out of the spot that he just parked in, but Beau places his hand on top of his on the gearshift to stop him from doing so.

Looking up at Beau, Everett's eyebrows knit together in confusion.

"We don't have to leave. Maybe I should still give it a shot?" Beau sounds uncertain as he says this before removing his hand from Everett's.

Everett clears his throat and then goes to shut the car off. "It won't cause any harm to see if they're hiring. Let's go inside." They get out of the car and make their way into the quaint store.

"Hi, Mrs. T! How are you doing?" Everett greets the older woman currently placing books on shelves. She must be in her late sixties or early seventies. Her short hair is a mixture of gray and white and she has large, frameless glasses on her face similar to the ones that Everett used to wear in high school.

Looking up from her cart full of books, Mrs. T turns around to face the two of them. With a kind smile, she says, "Everett, it's so nice to see you again! How is Charlotte doing?"

Beau notices a sadness in Everett's eyes that he swiftly covers up with a fake smile and forced enthusiasm. It's a pitiful sight that almost makes Beau want to comfort the guy. Instead, he crosses his arms over his chest as Everett responds to the old woman.

"She's in Boston with her family right now. This is my friend, Beau. He's new in town and is looking for a job. This was the first place I thought of when he said that he wanted to work here in Sinting." Everett breezes past the formalities and gets straight to the point of their visit.

Mrs. T is now looking at Beau who stands up straighter and offers a hand to her. "It's nice to meet you, ma'am. Everett only has positive things to say about your bookstore and I wanted to see if there was an opportunity to work here."

She shakes his hand and briefly looks at Everett before turning her gaze back to Beau.

"Lovely to meet you, Beau. I can always use some help around the store. We are typically open Sunday through Friday, but I'm flexible with days and hours depending on your availability. I usually open the store at seven in the morning and close around five in the afternoon. We currently have one other employee who works different hours of the day."

Beau tries not to look too eager as he nods along. "That's fine with me. I can work whenever you need me to."

Mrs. T responds with a warm smile. "That's wonderful! I could use you at the cash register and also restocking some books when we get new shipments and returns. How about you come in this Sunday at seven and we can get you trained?"

"I'll be there—thank you so much, ma'am!" Beau gives her a relieved smile.

"No. Thank you. I've been considering putting up a hiring sign recently, so this works out perfectly. God must've seen me struggling and brought you to me. It was great talking with both of you. I'll see you in church on Saturday, Everett. You should bring Beau with you as well."

With a nod of his head, Everett replies, "Thank you, Mrs. T. We'll definitely see you on Saturday."

When they get back in the car, Beau claps his hands and pumps his fist in the air while whooping. "One and done, baby! That was a lot easier than I thought it was gonna be."

Everett laughs at Beau's charming enthusiasm. "Mrs. T is super nice, but her age has really been showing recently. I've wanted her to get some extra help around the shop for a while now, so I'm glad this all worked out."

Beau shakes Everett's shoulder excitedly as Everett pulls out of the parking lot. "This is gonna be a sick gig. Thanks for the assist, bud."

"No problem. Let's celebrate with some sweets from the bakery down here." Everett parks on the street outside of a bakery.

"Fuck yeah!" Beau cheers before hopping out of the car.

Everett shakes his head and laughs to himself as he exits the car as well. In that moment, it's like his current predicament with Charlotte is nonexistent.