You're Dangerous

by Casey McMillin

  "Can you do something having to do with lacrosse?" he asked.

  Hannah agreed even though she wasn't a hundred percent sure she knew what lacrosse was. She thought it was the one with a net on a stick, but wasn't positive. She asked him, and he confirmed, saying how he'd love to show her a little sometime.

  Sam stayed with her for an hour or so, just hanging out. At one point, she mentioned missing playing Mario Kart on Nate's Wii, and Sam said he'd bring his Wii up there for her since he never used it anymore.

  Sam would do just about anything for Hannah. He'd be the first to admit that he had a crush on her. It had been that way for several years and he didn't bother denying it. She thought he was really cute and everything, but he had just turned sixteen and she'd be nineteen in a few months. There was more than two years age difference between them, and for Hannah it just seemed like too much. Maybe it was more about the fact that she'd known him since they were kids, and had always thought of him as a little brother. Either way, nothing had ever happened between them. She thought he'd be getting over it now that he'd be seeing more of her and some of the mystery would disappear.

  Sam left her apartment at a little past eight o'clock, and the second the door closed behind him the loneliness hit her. She cried for a little bit before she called her best friend, Molly, who was back home in Sparta. Molly would have come to help her move, but she was stuck working at her dad's hardware store and couldn't get off.

  Hannah usually wasn't much of a phone person, but the quietness in her apartment was deafening, and she talked with Molly for almost two hours that night to avoid the silence. Molly had plans to move to Nashville to go to beauty school as soon as her brother got discharged from the Army and could take her place at the store, and the girls had fun scheming about the time when Molly finally got there. Hannah felt better once she got off the phone.

  Hannah developed a bit of a routine during the next few days. She took long walks around the neighborhood partly for the exercise, but mostly just because she otherwise felt trapped without a car. She had plans to figure out the public transit system, but was honestly a little intimidated, and wanted to get some pepper spray or something first.

  There was a coffee shop she'd been passing everyday, but had never gone inside. It was called Common Grounds, and was only a few blocks from the Culbertson's house. It was one of about ten or twelve businesses that lined South College Drive, a street that bordered Belmont's campus. The street used to be residential, and the business on that section of it had just sort of taken over the houses. There were a variety of businesses from clothing stores to restaurants.

  Mature trees lined the streets, and Hannah loved the feel of that little strip. She figured, if for no other reason than proximity alone, she'd probably be applying for a job at one of those businesses, and knew her first choice would be the coffee shop. Hannah needed a few days to process the reality of being alone, but she was starting to feel confident by the middle of the week, so she made plans to go into the coffee shop that Wednesday morning to check it out.

  Boy, was she glad she didn't go in there feeling anything less than confident. It was probably the most intimidating coffee shop she'd ever seen. The level of coolness one had to have to feel comfortable in a place like that was off the charts. The front lawn and oversized wooden deck that extend off the front porch were full of customers. It seemed like every cool person with good fashion skills in Nashville was gathered there, and Hannah walked past them all with a somewhat forced smile as she opened the front door of the house.

  One of the first things that hit her when she opened the door (aside from the smell of coffee) was the music. It was way louder and heavier than she expected for nine o'clock in the morning, and Hannah wondered if they always rocked out in there. Everyone seemed to be going about their business, so she assumed it was par for the course.

  The counter was tucked back and to the right, and there was a line of about eight people waiting to place their order. Hannah looked around nervously, deciding whether she should get in line or walk around and explore the rest of the place a little. She decided to get her coffee first, so she situated herself in line, doing her best not to block the door. There were four huge chalkboards hanging from the ceiling over the counter that listed all the menu items. They had a lot of food options, but Hannah was too nervous to eat, so she just ordered a small coffee with cream and sugar.

  The cashier handed her a mug, pointed to a coffee station in the adjoining room, and told her she could serve herself. She chose a dark roast coffee and stirred in two sugars and a little bit of cream—not skim milk either—the real stuff.

  Most of the downstairs was open, and Hannah sat in the main seating area where she found a small table against the far wall. Every tabletop in that place was different and wonderful in it's own way, and the one she sat at was a colorful mosaic with brightly colored circles. All of them were handmade works of art. She stared for a second at the beautiful one she'd chosen as she traced one of the tiles with her fingertip.

  "You done with this?" a voice said. It startled Hannah, and she looked up to find a girl holding a bus pan and a wet rag. The girl gestured to the small plate that was on the table in front of Hannah.

  "Oh, that? It's not mine. It was on the table when I got here."

  "Oh, I'm sorry," the girl said. "I'll get this out of your way." She put the plate into the plastic tub with a smile and turned to tend to another table.

  "I do have a question though," Hannah blurted. She was instantly mad at herself for saying it, but it was too late. It was out of her mouth, and the girl had already turned around.

  "Yeah?" the girl asked.

  She paused for a second considering making up something like, where's the sugar, but decided to ask what she really wanted to know. "Do you like working here?"

  The girl cocked her head at Hannah, as if she was trying to figure out why she was asking, but didn't hesitate too long before smiling and replying, "I love it. Why? Are you trying to work here?"

  Hannah was taken off guard even though that was a logical assumption for the girl to make. "I think so," Hannah said honestly. "I just moved to town, but I live right down the street and I thought it looked pretty cool."

  The girl smiled. "It's the best," she said. "It really is the coolest coffee shop in Nashville. Well, we have two sister stores, and they'd argue that they're the best, but everyone knows Belmont campus location is where it's at." She looked Hannah over. "You should totally come work here. I'll get you an application from the office if you want."

  Hannah gave her an excited nod. "I'd like that," she said. "Oh, and I'm Hannah, by the way."

  "I'm Taylor." She started to reach out a hand, but stopped. "I'd shake your hand, but—" She looked at the towel then at Hannah with an expression that said my hands are really gross.

  Hannah just smiled. "Should I follow you somewhere?" she asked.

  "No, that's okay. I'll just go grab an application real quick and bring it back to you. You can bring it back anytime and they'll call you if they want to set up an interview."

  "That's great. Thank you so much."

  "No worries—and you can put on there that you talked to Taylor and I said you're cool if you want." She paused for a second and looked at Hannah as if to appraise her, then her expression shifted to mock suspicion, "You are cool, aren’t you?"

  Hannah held out her hands as if she wanted Taylor to check her out, and with a deadpan expression, she said, "Pretty much as cool as they come, obviously."

  Taylor busted out laughing. "Oh my God, you're awesome," she said. She was still laughing as she walked away, but she stopped and looked over her shoulder "It may be a few minutes, so don't give up on me."

  "I won't," Hannah said. She breathed a sigh of relief when Taylor's back was fully turned. She could tell she liked the people who worked there, and it was hard not to get her heart set on things working out. She had to remind herself that they might not even be hiring, and if
so, there was probably a list of applicants a mile long.

  Hannah did some people watching for the next few minutes while she waited for Taylor to return. She felt a nervous twist in her gut when she saw Taylor confidently walking toward her carrying only a sheet of paper in her hand. Hannah thought she must be close to her age, although she was really bad at guessing ages, so she could have been way off. Either way, she was young and really pretty, and more importantly, she wore an inviting smile that made Hannah feel entirely comfortable. She'd taken off the dirty apron she was wearing and pulled out the chair and sat opposite Hannah without hesitation.

  "It's pretty straightforward," she said, putting the paper in front of Hannah on the table.

  Hannah glanced down at the piece of paper, and from what she could see, there were just a few words on it—three simple questions, to be exact. One was written at the top of the page. Another a third of the way down and the last was two thirds of the way, giving the applicant plenty of room to write their answers. Hannah picked it up and turned it over. There were two questions on the backside—one at the top, and the other was at the center.

  "That's all?" Hannah asked. She hadn't taken the time to read the questions, but it just seemed too simple.

  Taylor shrugged and smiled "I guess that's all they need to know," she said. "I think it's more about the interview anyway."

  Just then, the death metal that had been playing the whole time went into this really loud guitar solo that was extremely hard to ignore. Taylor rolled her eyes. "I can't take it anymore," she said. She stood up and cupped her hands around her mouth before she yelled into the room at what must have been close to the top of her lungs. "Let's see a show of hands for everyone who wants to change the music!" she yelled.

  Most of the hands in the room shot up. Seriously, like thirty hands went up in a matter of a second.

  "Aw, come on!" the guy working the espresso machine yelled. "It's just getting to the good part."

  "I'm sorry, Nothing, you're out numbered." Taylor turned to look at Hannah, but didn't move to sit back down. "That's Nothing. He's an atheist and his music sucks. I'm not sure if the two are related. We all take turns choosing the music, but his mostly gets vetoed. He's used to it. He's harmless." She tapped the table. "I'm off to chose something else, and I have to get back to the dishes anyway. It was nice meeting you."

  "You too," Hannah said. "Thanks for getting this." She held up the application.

  "No problem," Taylor said. She pointed at Hannah and gave her a stern look. "Don't mess it up." Hannah got wide eyed and Taylor laughed. "I'm just playing, you can totally mess it up if you want."

  Hannah left Common Grounds trying not to let herself feel as hopeful as she wanted to about it. She wanted to be friends with Taylor. She wanted to be friends with Nothing and the rest of the gang for that matter. She waited until she got home to read the questions on the application.

  Chapter 3

  It took Hannah the better part of two days to finish filling out the application, and when she did, she hung it on her fridge with a magnet. She was planning on waiting until that Saturday to bring it in because she didn't want to accidently hand it to a manager without being prepared to make some kind of on-the-spot first impression.

  The first thing she did was have it copied on heavy duty card stock so that it could hold up to her answers, then she preceded to draw a detailed cartoon answer for each question. Each answer was a scene that took up the entire space provided, and by the time she was finished, the paper was covered. The front and back were both so thoroughly covered with artwork that it was hard to even see the questions themselves. She answered their five questions with five honest cartoons, and she hoped it'd be good enough to get their attention for an interview.

  Question 1: What was the biggest mistake you made in your life and what did you learn from it?

  Her drawing was that of a rollercoaster with the girl in the front seat hurling hilarious looking cartoon vomit out of her mouth. Her riding partner was shrinking back in horror and she was sporting a thought bubble that said, "I'm never gonna eat a funnel cake again."

  Question 2: Tell me in no more than two words what you think we do.

  Her drawing was two words written in big, bold, bubble letters that looked like they were shooting out of a coffee mug. The words read, "Sell smiles," and the outside edge of the drawing was lined with at least a hundred smiley faces, each one unique.

  Question 3: What kind of person do you like to work with?

  She wasn't trying to hide the fact that she wanted to work there, so she went with a shameless approach. Her drawing was of Nothing the atheist and Taylor. She tried to remember them both, but she put Nothing wearing a T-shirt that had that A in a circle on it. She was pretty sure that meant anarchy, and she didn't know if that and atheism were the same thing, but she thought they'd get the idea. Taylor was easy. She had big lips and a long ponytail that made her unmistakable.

  Question 4: (Top half of the backside.) Can you do this job?

  She drew herself behind the counter at Common Grounds. She even searched pictures of it on the Internet so she got the placement of the register and the espresso machine. She had six arms, each doing a job. Two were working the espresso machine, one was getting a bagel, one was taking some money, one was handing a customer a mug, and the last was giving a thumbs up. Her eyes were closed and her head was tilted to the side with a bubble above her head that contained a series of Z's. Basically, her cartoon stated that she thought she could do it in her sleep. She knew it was taking a risk, but she decided not to overthink it. She'd be herself and hope for the best.

  Question 5: Why shouldn't I call your last job for a reference and why? (Here's the part where you tell us where you used to work so we can call them and see for ourselves.)

  Hannah knew her old boss at the record store wouldn't have anything bad to say when they called. He loved her and made sure she knew she always had a job to come back to. She drew Mr. Nelson in front of his record and comic store. He was wearing a cheesy grin and had a button on his shirt that said I heart Hannah. She focused most of her creative energy on the window displays of the store making each of them about things that actually happened at the record store, including the time when her friend found a joint in the bottom of a Pink Floyd album. It wasn't just a roach or anything. It was a whole joint, and yes, they smoked it in the parking lot after their shift. It still did the trick even though it was who knows how old, and every time either of them were having a bad day—they searched the bottom of Pink Floyd records just in case. Of course, it never happened again.

  Anyway, one of the posters in the window behind Mr. Nelson was a scene of two girls finding and smoking a bottom-of-a-record joint, and the rest were full of other memories Hannah made at the record store.

  She planned on attaching the letter Mr. Nelson had written her since her drawing hadn't given them his contact information.

  Hannah loved how the application turned out, but there was just no way to know how they'd respond to it. At the very bottom of the back page, there was a space for her contact information. She filled it in with her neatest comic book print.

  The application was completed and on display on her fridge when Sam came up to her apartment that Friday afternoon to tell her his mom wanted her to join them for dinner. She hoped he'd notice it himself, but he was in there talking to her for a few minutes without seeing it, so she went ahead and asked him to take a look. She was pretty certain that she was going to turn it in no matter what he said about it, but she wanted to get a second opinion just in case she unintentionally drew something really offensive or something.

  "That drawing on the fridge is my application for Common Grounds. I want you to take a look at it, if you don't mind. See what you think."

  Sam crossed the kitchen area where he stood and stared at the picture for a long minute without saying a word.

  "The questions are at the top of each little section," she said.
r />   "I see them," Sam said. He reached up and carefully removed the magnet, catching the paper in his other hand and bringing it to his face so he could inspect it more closely. He turned it over and saw that the backside was also completely covered. He looked at it for a few seconds before closing his eyes in disbelief.

  "This is so cool, I can't even think straight right now," he said.

  "Oh, stop," Hannah said. "I'm not fishing for compliments. I really want you to look at them and see if you can understand how they relate to the questions."

  "Of course I can see that, Hannah. It's amazing. They answer these questions more clearly than words."

  Hannah felt a wave of excitement hit her that someone besides her got it and liked it. She hoped whoever looked at it at the coffee shop would feel the same way. He returned the paper to its spot on the fridge and turned to face her.

  "My parents want to eat Thai food. They said you should come."

  "Your parents have fed me more than I've fed myself since I've been here."

  Sam shrugged. "They don't mind. They told me to come ask you. I think we're leaving at six. We should be back by eight if you had something going on. You know, since it's Friday night and everything."

  She smiled. "I don't really have anything going on. My little brother is coming to spend the night tomorrow, and I was thinking about bringing the application to Common Grounds sometime this weekend, but tonight it's just me and Mario Kart."

  "I'm going over to my friend's house later. His parents are out of town. You can come with me if you want."

  "That's really sweet, Sam," she said. "I'll think about it, but I'll probably just hang."

  It wasn't that she didn't want to go. She would have loved to have something to do for the evening since she hadn't made any friends in Nashville yet. She was pretty sure she wouldn't go, though. She feared Sam might take it the wrong way if she agreed, and didn't want to give him false hope.

  "Oh well, you can come if you want. It'd be fun. My friend Ellis is picking me up. He's my ride most of the time until I get my truck next week." Sam loved to mention his impending truck purchase. It was so cute how he thought that would be such an enticement since Hannah didn't have a car.