Charlotte arrived at the store around ten minutes early and briefly deliberated on whether it would create a better impression to just go right in or wait until her appointed time. It wasn't like this was going to be a career job, just something to hold her over financially until a better offer came along, but she always took her work seriously.
Charlotte was a bright, enthusiastic young woman in her early twenties, small in stature with frizzy brown hair and a youthful appearance. She was pretty without being beautiful - "cute" was a term often used to describe her, though not one she was fond of, as she found looking younger than her age often meant being treated that way too.
After a brief pause the Magic Shop's newest employee opened the door to be greeted by what she assumed must be her new boss. She had not been introduced to him before, having accepted the position from an agency at short notice, but as this was the only other person in the building there could be little doubt.
"Ah, sorry we aren't open yet" the ageing gentleman grumbled with a noticeable degree of irritation. Charlotte was surprised how much this guy looked like a sterotypical wizard, with long grey hair and an almost too perfectly sculpted moustache. He was even wearing a cape. Charlotte figured he must take the mystical image of the store pretty seriously. Either that or he was crazy enough to think he really was magic. Some of the items in the store gave that impression too - potions, staffs dusty old books. She couldn't imagine there was much of a market for this.
"Oh, sorry I'm not a customer. I'm Charlotte, the agency sent me"
"Oh, I see" the old man seemed to inspect the young woman a little uncertainly for a moment or too before deciding to be cordial "Well welcome to the shop Charlotte. You can call me Gareth"
"Nice to meet you Gareth"
"Look, um.." the owner already seemed bored of the pleasantries "It's rather fortunate you arrived when you did. I have a few errands to run. We can get to know each other properly later, but for now if you could just attend the counter and deal with any customers that would be a tremendous help. I only deal in cash so it's a fairly simple system."
"Yes, of course, that should be fine" Charlotte replied, eager to please.
"Good, um, thank you. I'll try not to be too long and ,ah, please don't touch go poking around or playing with the products. I'll be able to give you a proper guide to the shop later. Understood?"
"Of course"
"Great. Well, um, see you later then. Bye"
Charlotte stood attentively behind the counter once her slightly odd new boss had departed and wondered what this already strange day had in store for her. At least the pay was good.