Shooting Star

Running a hand through her hair, Layton sighed, frustrated beyond belief with how her day had been going. She climbed out of her car and made a soured face as the California heat radiated onto her skin and the humidity just about suffocated her. She tossed her car keys into her purse and grabbed her portfolio before locking up the car. Her black heels clicked against the concrete as she crossed the parking lot quickly. She knew she was running late for her interview, and she couldn’t have been more upset for not timing her day correctly.

Walking into the air-conditioned salon, she put a bright, friendly smile onto her face, knowing that even though her day had been going awful, she still needed to act professional. After all, Layton had been to about eight interviews in the past two days and none of them had gone that well. If she wanted to stay in Huntington, then she needed to get this job, because it was her last option. She had confidence in herself though, and she hoped that along with her portfolio and nice personality, it got her the job.

“Hi, I’m Layton Summer’s. I’m here for an interview,” She said to a small brown haired girl who was working the counter.

The girl looked up at her and smiled. “Let me get Maria for you. I’ll be right back,” She told her.

Layton nodded and watched as she walked to the back of the salon and into a room. Layton chewed on the corner of her lip nervously, knowing this was it. This was her last chance. She had no earthly idea what she would do if she didn’t get the job. Most likely she would have to get a waitressing job temporarily so she could pay the bills, but she hoped it didn’t come down to that.

It wasn’t long before the brown haired girl walked back up front to the counter with an older woman beside her. Layton straightened up her posture and tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear, before smoothing out the black pants she was wearing. She was nervous, and silently cursed herself for not relaxing a bit.

“Layton!” The older woman exclaimed happily, “It’s so nice to meet you finally. I’m Maria Baker, but please, call me Maria.”

“It’s nice to meet you as well, Maria,” Layton smiled and shook her hand.

“Well,” The older woman clapped her hands together, “Why don’t we go into the back and we can get this interview started?” She suggested.

“Of course,” Layton laughed softly and nodded.

Layton licked over her bottom lip as she followed Maria to the back where an office was. She could only assume it was Maria’s office, and she learned it was when Maria sat down behind her desk and motioned for Layton to take a seat in one of the chairs across from her desk. Layton set her purse down on the floor and sat down in the chair with her portfolio sitting in her lap.

“I’m so glad you called for this position, Layton,” Layton was shocked to hear the older woman say, “I’ve been needing to fill in the position for quite a while, but everybody I’ve interviewed has just been terrible.”

Layton smiled. “Well, I hope my work is good enough.”

Maria smiled back. “I’m gonna need to see your portfolio of course before we go any further with this interview.”

“That’s not problem,” Layton murmured as she picked up the black book in her hands and handed it to the older woman.

Layton had come prepared, just like she had with all the other job interviews she had been to. Her portfolio consisted of before and after photos of women and men’s hair she had cut, styled, and colored. It wasn’t much, but it was professional, and Layton was proud of how far she had come in the past few years.

“You’re good,” Maria smirked slightly as she looked up and over at Layton. “Better than I expected, really.”

“Thank you so much,” Layton said, almost stunned.

She definitely hadn’t expected to hear Maria say that either. She knew she was good at what she did, but she wasn’t sure if she was good enough for a job at such a nice salon like this one. Though it didn’t really matter, either way she would definitely enjoy working there with Maria and the other women. A job was a job, and at that point she was desperate for this particular one.

Maria finally closed her portfolio and grinned at Layton. “Lets talk pay, shall we?” She asked, knowing she wanted to hire her.

Layton’s eyes widened before she nodded as a huge smile stretched across her face. “Sounds good to me.”

-x-

“Thank you so much, Maria,” Layton murmured after their interview.

Layton was shocked she had been hired, but couldn’t have been more excited. She was really looking forward to starting work on Monday. She knew it was going to be a challenge, considering it was such a nice salon she was working in, and there were rules she had to follow, but it didn’t matter to her. She just appreciated the opportunity to work in such a nice place with such nice people.

“Oh no, honey! Thank you,” She grinned, “I’m so glad to have you starting here. You’re gonna be a great addition to our staff here.”

Before Layton could respond, a petite blonde came up from beside them and interrupted them. “Excuse me?” She asked, causing Layton to turn to her.

“Gena,” Maria said, “I’d like you to meet—“

“Layton Summer’s!” Gena grinned, stunned at whom she was standing in front of. “Is that really you?”

Layton swallowed hard and put on a fake smile. “Gena, hi! It’s so nice to see you.”

“You two know each other?” Maria asked.

“Layton spent every one of her summers here growing up. She’s known Matt, Brian, and Jimmy since she was just a child,” Gena explained. “Gosh, Matt is going to be so excited to hear you’re back. We were all wondering what happened to you.”

“I just got so busy with school and everything, I seemed to have lost touch,” Layton shrugged, feeling very uncomfortable to hear Matt’s name.

She hadn’t seen Matt or anyone else in the Avenged family since the summer they celebrated Matt’s twenty-sixth birthday, and honestly, she wasn’t planning on seeing them anytime soon either. Hell, she had only been back in town for barely a week, and here she was already running into someone from her past, someone who had connections with Matt. She knew she couldn’t hide forever while living in Huntington. It just wasn’t possible. Huntington wasn’t as big you would think, and sooner or later she would have ran into somebody from the past, but she wished more than anything it had been later.

“Well,” Maria murmured, “I’ll let you to talk and catch up. It was so nice to meet you, Layton, and I truly can’t wait for you to start Monday.”

“Thank you again,” Layton smiled, “I’ll be here bright and early Monday morning,” She assured her new boss.

“See you then,” Maria grinned before turning away.

Layton looked back at Gena who was practically jumping up and down. “We’re gonna be working here together!” Gena squealed.

“That’s great!” Layton said, all while thinking the complete opposite.

“Oh my Gosh! We have so much to catch up on and talk about!” Gena said, “Oh I know, how about we go get a cup of coffee?” She suggested.

Layton frowned slightly. “I’m sorry, Gena,” She apologized, “I really have to get home,” She said, which wasn’t a total lie. She really did have to get home. “But maybe we can reschedule for some other time.” Layton spit out when she saw the look of disappointment that spread across Gena’s face.

“Okay!” She nodded as she pulled out her phone. “Give me your number and I’ll give you a call sometime this weekend.”

Layton licked over her bottom lip and traded numbers with Gena. She really didn’t want to in the first place, but she also didn’t want to be rude. After all, Gena had always been such a great friend to her years ago.

“You know what?” Gena asked. “Tomorrow everyone is getting together at Matt’s for his and Val’s engagement party, and you should totally stop by. I bet everyone would love to see you.”

Layton felt her breath hitch in her throat. Matt was engaged to Val? Matt was marrying Val? She couldn’t believe it. She knew Matt and Val had always been close, but Matt used to always say that he could never imagine himself marrying a type of girl like Val. However, Layton guessed he had moved on, which was good. She couldn’t exactly say the same thing for herself, but she was glad to know that he was happy and had gotten over her.

“I don’t think that’s such a great idea, Gena. Matt and I have barely spoken two words in the past almost seven years. Plus, I have so much to do this weekend before Monday. I’m sorry,” Layton said, hoping Gena could understand.

Gena sighed softly and nodded. “It’s okay. I get it. It’s too soon.”

“Thanks for understanding,” Layton murmured. “Anyways, I really should be going.”

“Of course,” Gena smiled, “It was nice seeing you, Layton.”

“It was nice seeing you too, Gena,” Layton replied.

The two of them said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. While Layton was thrilled she had gotten a job, she was a bit nervous about being back in Huntington. She wasn’t sure how she was supposed to keep her secret if she was running into everyone while out and about, and while working side by side with Gena. But she was prepared in the long run if anyone ever found out. She knew it wasn’t going to be pretty, but she was prepared for it anyhow.