Page 7 of The Nowhere Witch

“Just so you know, I have a lot of experience in sales. I worked in a shop for years and was always on time and extremely responsible. I can provide a reference as well.”

She swallowed, then stared at the door again and back to me.

“That’s very nice,” she said, straightening things on the counter. “But I’m not hiring right now. Try back in a year or so. Maybe things will have changed by then.”

I took a step toward her, fed up with all the twitchy shop owners who never needed help even when they appeared completely understaffed. “Was it the wall? It’s clearly something.”

“No, not at all. I’m sorry. I just don’t need anyone,” she said. “I would’ve loved to hire you.”

I forced a smile and a wave as I left.Loved to?If she’d really loved to, she could’ve. She had piles along the wall that she clearly didn’t have time to get to.

Didn’t matter. There were plenty more places in Xest. Someone would hire me.

4

No one was going to hire me. There were no more places in Xest I could think to try. I’d been to every open business I could find that would let me in the door. Now the sun was setting and I was no better off than I had been this morning. Hawk did own this place, and he was doing a mighty good job of making it hard to stay.

I’d been wrong, so utterly wrong that if this had been a graded test, I wouldn’t have even gotten five percent correct. Still, I wasn’t giving up. It would take a lot more than this to make me quit.

The old, rusty mailbox was the final stop of the day. I’d drop off my letter to Rabbit, letting her know I’d ended up back in Xest, so she didn’t worry. I’d written it to her last night, so it read a little more optimistic than my current state of mind. If I’d had to write something now, it might’ve been closer to “see you in a few days.”

Heading back to Zab’s, I drew a mental map of Xest, wondering if I’d overlooked a place. There had to be other places hiring here. Zab would know. If he didn’t, Musso might. He might have a connection that would help me get a foot in the door. It wasn’t like I was aiming high. I’d take anything. Hand me a broom or a mop as long as it came with a paycheck. Scrubbing dishes, digging ditches, whatever it took.

A man came close enough to me that I jumped back before he accidentally hit me.

“Go away, Nowhere witch,” he said as he passed by.

Great. I’d moved beyond sneers to getting run off the street? It was the last slight of the day, and one too many.

“What did you say to me?” I didn’t realize how loud I was until a few people across the street stopped in their tracks to see what was going down.

He stopped and turned back toward me. “I said,go away,Nowhere witch.”

Whatever a Nowhere witch was, the way he said the words made it sound like it was the lowest of the low. Be nice to know what it meant so I knew how to respond. I’d have to take a leap and just run with it.

“I’m not goinganywhere.”

“We’ll see about that,” he said. A few stragglers were gathered behind him, all sneering in my direction, as if they’d been waiting for a moment like this to gang up.

Great. Now he had a group. Still, I wasn’t backing down.

“Oh yes, we will see.” I still couldn’t defend myself worth a damn with magic, but if he pushed me too far, called my bluff, I wasn’t above punching him in the face. I might be on the small side, but I was strong and scrappy. Hopefully the rest of them wouldn’t jump me.

My offender was suddenly at a loss for words as he looked over my shoulder. With a last sneer in my direction, he walked away, his little group dispersing with him.

I should’ve been relieved I had backup too, but this wasn’t how I wanted to end my day. There was one person who could clear the street, and I’d already had enough humiliation. I didn’t need Hawk as an audience, saving the damsel who’d be better off in Salem.

“I didn’t need your help. I had it covered.” I spun and found a tall, dark-haired man standing there, but not Hawk. Oscar, who was still smiling in spite of my tone, appeared to be the man who’d come to my defense this time. I was just going to alienate everyone today, wasn’t I?

“Excuse me for helping out a friend,” Oscar replied, his soft hazel eyes gleaming.

I gave him a humbled half-smile. “I’m sorry. I thought you were…” I threw up my hands. I probably didn’t have to spell it out to one of Hawk’s friends.

“Understandable, given the situation,” he said, laughing.

Oscar had the kind of laugh that came often and easy. I could use a little of his levity right now, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t here to reinforce the troops.

“Are you going to try to run me out, too?”