“A job?!” Secela exclaimed. “Where am I going to find a job? I’ve never been in this town before! Ha, I’ve never been out of—” She stopped herself just in time, If had finished her sentence with “the orphanage”, as she had intended, the bartender probably would have caught her slip and returned her to the orphanage.

                “What was that, sugar?” the bartender asked sweetly.

                “Nothing,” Secela answered quickly. She took a deep breath to calm herself down and asked, “Do you know of anyone who’s looking for someone to hire? Maybe someone to help with the cleaning?”

                “Hmm,” the bartender said, thinking. “My boss actually could use someone to clean up The Hungry Chicken as well as the house above. Would that be alright with you?” Secela nodded.

                “That’d be fine,” she said.

                “Well then I’ll go ask the boss,” the bartender turned to go, but Secela reached over and caught her arm, remembering something.

                “Wait. What’s your name? I didn’t catch it,” she said.

                “Oh! Sorry, sugar. My name’s Harda. What’s yours?”

                “My name is—uh—” Secela stopped short. She thought for a second, thinking that the orphanage might be looking for her. “My name’s Cella,” she answered. Ina had often called her that as a nickname back in the orphanage, so it would be easier to answer to than something like “Kate” or “Eliza”. The bartender—Harda—smiled and turned to leave. Secela waited, drumming her fingers lightly on the counter, counting the seconds. About 11 minutes had passed when Harda came back.

                “Well?” Secela asked, expectant. Harda’s face broke into a smile.

                “Mr. Griem, my boss, says you can stay here in a spare room next to mine. Starting at closing time today, you can sweep and clean the tavern and the house above. You got the job!” Harda’s grin triggered a smile from Secela. She sighed in relief.

                “Thanks for asking about the job for me,” she said. “What should I do now?”

                “Well, you should probably go upstairs and settle into your room. It’s the second one on the right.” Secela did as she was told. In her new room she found a plain, hard bed, a writing desk with a mirror above it, a chair, and a closet. The room was plain and without much color except a vase of white and pink tulips on the desk. But Secela still found it was to her liking. It was undoubtedly better than the rows of hard, uncomfortable beds in the orphanage sleeping area. Secela smiled to herself and started to unpack her bag.