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HELP WANTED.

The blocky Times New Roman printed on a creamy pastel blue sheet of paper that hung in the front window of the Sweet Delights candy shop were more terrifying than Daphne could remember words being in a long time. The last time her stomach had been this knotted up she'd been considering acceptance to Barren Pines Academy and then reading her acceptance into DCU. Both were now meaningless but this wasn't.

This was going to be a step in the right direction for her new life. What better place for an innocent young lady to work than in a candy store? It got all the high school traffic and lets face it -- it was a great place to siphon energy. It was one of the many reasons she wanted to work there. The discount on all products didn't hurt!

So Daphne had very carefully combed and styled her hair so that the curls laid almost flat in a neat wave down to her waist, pinned back in a half-ponytail so that her face was neat and clean. There had been a very modest consolation towards cosmetics with a berry-colored gloss and mascara around her eyes. She didn't really need much more! She'd even chosen a soft lilac cashmere sweater that was on the conservative side of off-the-shoulder with gray pants that made her look all cool and crisp.

Or that was what she was going for! Nerves, nerves, nerves. Elzo had kissed her softly, wished her luck, and kicked her out of his office so that there was no way she'd miss her scheduled interview. A glance at her cell and another deep breath. The bluenette had faced Tanzanite, Beryl, and more senshi than she could name. But now she was deathly afraid of not getting a job?

Yep. Yep she was.

Opening the door so that the bells chimed, a nervous smile stretched across her blushed face, Daphne looked behind the counter and relaxed. "Hey, I know you! Zac right? From Narnia." At least it wasn't the unknown entirely.

Seeing a familiar face of the poor kid she'd rescued from that closet and had a nice talk with about brains and fighting, Daphne felt a thousand times more at ease. Her face had gone from slightly pasty and nervous to bright, cheerful, and nervous in a snap at the welcome. "Don't get too excited, I was told I can't buy anything until after the interview. Can't get this all messy because it took way too long to do." A hand indicated her entire ensemble as she leaned on the counter and beamed.

"Help wanted, right? I have an interview with someone but I'm not entirely sure who." Gold eyes grew hopeful as she looked at the tiny young man across from her. "Any chance you're my interviewer? I have a great resume. So amazing that nobody's been able to read it because it's invisible." Audrey had certainly never had a real job and Daphne? Daphne didn't even really exist as far as the United States Government was concerned.

The bluenette had started to lean in further before remembering that Zac liked his space and rocked in a long motion onto the balls of her feet and dropping onto her heels firmly. "Sorry. I'm horribly nervous, I really want this job. It looks like such a nice place to work."

There was a second or two of blinking before incredulity crept in and Daphne smacked her hand against the counter in reflex. "Are you telling me I got all super-dressed up and even put on makeup when a nice smile and half a brain would have worked?" That was the sticking point for her really. It had taken far too long without the assistance of her three fashion guru ladies to even make some semblance of order with her hair and face. The outfit wasn't hard but the face and hair? Ghastly.

It faded as quickly as it came and she laughed. "Oh well! That means I'm hired, right? Elzo'll be thrilled!" It would mean less moping bluenette around the apartment, staring at nothing, and it also meant free candy. Or well if not free greatly reduced in price candy. For someone else it might have been a bad thing but Daphne's metabolism allowed her to shovel in almost anything she wanted. Ah, the blessed Collins genes!

Scooting between the counter and her new co-worker Daphne was all smiles and she peered into the case. "This is an interesting view isn't it? You just see things differently once you're on this side of the counter." A finger slid along the glass and Zac was the recipient of another beaming smile. It was a good day!

Compliments on anything but her mental prowess still came uneasily to Daphne and without wanting to she blushed slightly. She was beyond glad that Zac wasn't really paying attention as he explained everything to her in a precise way that would probably be the most exact ways of doing things. Somehow, she didn't think this guy ever took shortcuts or did things the easy way because it was faster and took less effort.

She approved.

Pulling a strand of blue forward it was curled around her finger and released with a sigh and a toss. "Ponytail, got it. Maybe I can use this to finally get my hair cut." Not even really thinking about who she was talking to, her hair was pulled and shaped until it bobbed around her chin in length. "I mean it's like a foot and a half of hair. You think?" The same vague, considering look in her eyes was turned on the display cases.

It wasn't only girls who could be softened up with sweets! "I bet you get really busy when the schools let out for the day. Meadowview and Crystal girls at least and maybe the St Mags girls if they're allowed out." Which explained why he was alone in the shop at 11am. Nobody around to really buy candy!

Eyes lingered for a long time on the caramels that were roughly the same color as her eyes and a slim finger pointed at them with a smile. "I like chewy. Caramel does me every time especially when they're covered in chocolate. I don't think I've had fresh caramel in utter ages." Avarice lit her face and there was little question as to what she planned to take home with her to celebrate!

Tugging at her hair lightly there was also consideration. "So generally you want to have something on hand that you can recommend in a nearby smaller case, but then also the general things that you think everyone would like out as well so that nobody feels like they can't find what they want." It was a solid business tactic and not complicated at all. Fudge. Was that caramel fudge? Eyes were drawn again and her stomach rumbled in response forcing a light blush to her cheeks.

"Ahaha sorry! Apparently my stomach is driving today. I guess you get used to being around candy all day and then you probably never want to eat any of it." Though that seemed...unrealistic. Thinking of Pasha had her sighing a bit wistfully for he would have absolutely would have loved having a hookup into a place like this. "Guess there's just one more question!" A finger reached out and flicked across his chest.

"Dress code?"

A bit of hesitancy touched Daphne's face at the money Zac deposited into the cash register but avarice won over as caramel was deposited next to her hand gallantly. "That's why I never wanted to work at the Shufflepuck. When you spend all your time around something you lose your love for it. Their cinnamon rolls are my religion." Fingers delicately picked up the caramel and popped it into her mouth with a happy little sound. "This is amazing. Ohmmm."

The bluenette blushed as her jaw started to stick as she spoke and there was a rush for the sink to cup water to drink from her hands. "Ahaha sorry! Just uhhh...pretend I never did that ok? That's some intense caramel you have there." Fingers knit at her waistline for a minute and eyes considered them as she tried to master her embarrassment. It wasn't always easy when making an idiot of yourself, to recover and keep going to make a good impression.

"So. You said something about paperwork?"