Stella looked across after making what she hoped was a great final statement for why she should be hired as a librarian at Rising Shards. There was a silence that lasted a bit too long from her interviewers, who had been generally chatty so far. Principal Penteldtam had offered up plenty of curveball questions that were so bizarre they seemed almost pointless to ask, his brother/co-principal Berin asked more typical questions.

“Well, Miss Faleur, I’m very impressed!” Penteltdam said. “In fact, I’d say you’re pretty nifty! I’ll definitely take your suggestion on what substance would be best to clean a highway on ramp, good thing I asked that one, right?”

“It was great speaking with you.” Berin said. “We have a few more interviews scheduled, but we’ll be in touch.”

“Great!” Stella said, standing to shake their hands.

Normally, she dreaded the feeling of crushing an interview, because there were enough times she thought she killed it then found out later she totally tanked it. But this felt different. Maybe it wasn’t riding an arrogant high of answering a few questions right or making the people interviewing her laugh, more so that she was perfectly qualified for the job, which made her feel more comfortable talking.

She had to check her phone to make sure she had the right room number as she wandered around the girls’ dorms, making sure to check out the smaller library she’d be told she’d have plenty of time having shifts in. Zeta’s room was on the second floor, and Stella promised her she’d check in after her interview. Plus, Stella had a few tactical reasons for wanting to check in with Zeta.

Stella gave the knock she gave Zeta back at home when Zeta had her door closed and needed the mild intimidation only a big sister guardian could give.

“You don’t look mad, or sad,” Zeta said after opening the door. “I’ve seen you leave some interviews pretty sad or mad, so that’s a good sign right?”

“I hope so!” Stella said. “Now can you let me in?”

“Oh, right!” Zeta said.

Stella quickly made her way to the bathroom, grabbing the garment bag hanging on the door. While she made sure to get the most professional looking clothes possible for this interview, that look did not translate to comfort. After locking the door and getting the much more comfortable and better for outdoors set of clothes from the garment bag, she finally felt the pressure of the interview leave her. She practically wheezed as she got her skirt off and sighed in relief once she was in her comfier clothes.

“Remember, no judging the state of the bathroom,” Zeta called from outside. “You promised, remember?”

“I know, cuz I couldn’t blame it on just you if the three of you messed it up in here,” Stella said, taking a quick peek around the sink area. She had honestly expected a lot worse, outside of some clothes on the floor it wasn’t terribly messy. “It doesn’t look too bad though.”

“That’s kinda judging, Stella,” Zeta said.

“Good judging!” Stella said. She packed her interview clothes away and left the bathroom. She paused at the sight of Oka and Kalei suddenly also in the room.

“Why the hell are they here?” Stella asked.

“Well, Oka’s my girlfriend,” Zeta said. “Oh, and they’re both my roommates.”

Stella rolled her eyes.

“How did your interview go, Stella?” Oka asked. “I may have already told Berin that you’re the reliable sort, I’m sorry if that’s overstepping my bounds or anything.”

“No, I really appreciate it! That’s so sweet!” Stella turned to Zeta. “You be extra nice to her today.”

“Make her be extra nice to me too,” Kalei said, playing on her handheld game console on the top bunk.

“Zeta, be extra nice to Kalei too,” Stella said.

“Yeah, yeah…” Zeta said. She was staring out the window now, as the blizzard outside was starting to kick into full gear. “Hey, Stella…this storm’s looking bad.”

“I’ll be alright,” Stella said.

“Are you going to drive home in this?” Zeta asked.

“Your sister’s an adult, she can handle it,” Kalei said. “Like, if it’s really bad, she can just walk!”

“I’m not going to walk.” Stella said. She hated to admit it, but the storm was looking pretty bad. Her friend Pippi was the type to always frequently warn about the severity of blizzards whether anyone wanted to hear it or not, but Stella had put her warnings in the back of her mind to focus entirely on landing the Rising Shards librarian job.

“You know…” Zeta pondered. “You could spend the night here with us! You could sleep on the floor!”

“I’m…good.” Stella said.

“How about sleeping at the library?” Oka suggested. “You’d give off the impression of a real go getter.”

“I’m pretty sure I’d get thrown out.” Stella said. “And I took a Stuba here, so I was just gonna take one back.”

The winds outside got louder for a second, bringing a burst of snow across the window as they howled.

“Zeta, if it’s really bad, I’ll just get a hotel for the night.” Stella said, answering her little sister’s anxious pout. “And no, your room would not be the same thing as a hotel. I won’t have to sleep on the floor at a hotel.”

“It could be like a mock Safe Silver though…” Zeta said. “It is the first big blizzard this season, doesn’t it make you feel all festive?”

“A bit, but not festive enough to spend the night sleeping on your floor.” Stella said. “I should really go, though.”

Zeta rushed over to hug her, her trademark anxious hug when she assumed the worst about a situation. Stella had felt this brand of hug plenty from Zeta.

“I’ll text you when I’m wherever I’m gonna be for the night.” Stella said, rubbing Zeta’s back. “Fair?”

“Fair…” Zeta said.

“Alright, love you, thanks for letting me change here and keeping my clothes safely guarded.”

“Yeah…” Zeta said, still clinging to the hug. She mumbled a “Love you too…” before retreating back to her bed.

“Bye, Stella!” Oka said. “I hope to see you working next time! Or, working here next time. I hope you get the job, I mean!”

"Later." Kalei said, still mostly focused on her game.

Stella waved as she left. She figured she’d earned a fancy coffee from the school’s cafeteria shop, so she made her way there to plan her next move. After getting a fancy gingerbread latte (which took a bit because of a strange girl in front of her that bought at least twelve coffees), Stella stood at the big window wall in the cafeteria, watching the snow as she sipped her drink.

Do I really want to call a cab to get home in this? What else could I do?

“What a mess,” a familiar voice said near her. Stella looked over to see Dr. Evy Diast also staring out at the snow, muttering to herself. She hadn’t seemed to have noticed Stella’s presence yet. Stella knew if she wanted to play it safe she could just slip away and avoid any potential awkwardness. But she just crushed a job interview and was already feeling the caffeine high of the gingerbread latte. So she approached Dr. Diast.