Chapter 2
Severus Snape snapped out of his internal monologue when he heard the name of the stop before his drift around the bus. He looked at the clock on the wall and saw he had 3 minutes before he had to get off. He shifted in his seat and opened his trunk. He picked up the sack that the conductor handed him and furrowed his eyebrows. His water looked to be normal and room temperature. He closed the lid of his trunk and decided to ask the conductor when he got off.
He looked at the clock one more time to see he had two minutes left before he had to get off. He shut his trunk and hooked one hand under the leather strap fastened on top of the trunk and reached for the compartment door latch. The door flung open and Severus jumped at the sudden and loud noise. He saw one wizard that looked like Albus Dumbledore if he was in his 30s but with the same facial hair. He quickly and haphazardly stumbled around the third floor down the stairs and to the ground floor right as the knight bus came to a stop outside of the 'Welcome To Cokeworth' sign planted firmly in the ground with the coke crossed out and replace with crack with a spray paint tag that looked suspiciously like his neighbors down the streets son's name.
Severus almost fell forward when the Knight Bus suddenly jerked after coming to a stop and an old man and a shriveled up detached head were arguing about something at an unprecedented volume. He quickly waved over the conductor and held up his pouch. "How can I help you lad?" Said the man, ticket machine nowhere in sight. "How do I get this water bottle to different temperatures?" He asked nervously afraid to sound stupid. "Oh sorry lad, just give it a smack with your palm and it should change. Once for hot and twice for cold." The conductor answered with a grin. "Thank you" He said. "No problem!" The conductor replied. "Also, cover your ears." He added. Severus did brows furrowed in confusion. "Cokeworth, Next stop Telford!" Shouted the man not two seconds after in an unbelievably loud voice. Severus winced and stepped away from the man. He took his fingers out of his ears and hooked one hand back under his trunk and his pouch in the other and turned towards the bus' exit.
He stepped off of the Knight Bus and the second his feet hit the rocky road the Knight Bus took off. He was temporarily blinded by hair whipping into his face. He dropped his stuff and wiped his eyes and mouth free of his oily hair while spluttering. He makes a mental note to go to the pool and use its showers sometime soon. Severus huffed in annoyance and smoothed his hair down from its ruffled state. He wipes his hands on his trousers and picks his belongings back up. It's time to face the music.
He starts on his journey back home when an idea pops into his head. He puts his trunk down and drops to a knee before it, he pops the latch on the front of the trunk and pulls his school vest over his head. He folds it quickly and puts it on top of his school books. He also extracts the elven food platter from his pocket and puts it in the open part of his trunk just in case the charm cancels before he gets home. He tucks the toothbrush and water bottle pouch into a snug space between his school books and his worn nightclothes. He had taken off his cape on the train so all he had on was his fancy collared school shirt, his formal school pants, and his loafers. He looked proper other than the hair but he couldn't be bothered other than to tie it up. He did a look over what he could see and nodded to himself.
He once again starts into Cokeworth. There were 3 parts of Cokeworth. Queens Road, Brenley Road, and Spinners End. Queens Road is the part of Cokeworth where the grass still grew green and the flowers still bloomed. If you had the money for a 200 saloon you lived on Queens Road. Brenley Road was a mix of Spinners End and Queens Road the grass wasn't green but it was there and you could still see at least 3/4 of a blue sky. If you had a Volkswagon you lived on Brenley Road. Spinners End was a dump. The air was as thick as the water and the skies were as grey as the grass. All the Mills were in Spinners End. It was unpleasant to live in and even more unpleasant to be associated with. If you lived in Spinners End you had a 30/70 chance of working in Brenley but don't even try to work on Queens less you want to be ridiculed. Lily lived on Queens Road and when Severus would visit her he would get no less than six nasty looks.
Severus lugs his trunk past the sign of Cokeworth and through Queens road. He scanned the area for 'Help Needed' signs. He was going to get a job in Cokeworth. They were the only jobs that paid enough for him to get out of the UK. He spotted a sign on the front of a restaurant with a 'cooks wanted' sign. Bingo. No one would see him or be able to call him out and he had potions skills he could rely on. He walked up to the patio and dropped his trunk behind an outside table. Nobody steals on Queens road so he felt okay putting it there. He walked up to the door and pulled it open. He looked at a clock on the wall and It read '5:10' so dinner rush hadn't started yet. He walked up to the seating podium and the hostess automatically looked up. "Hi, party of one?” She asked formally. "No, Im here for the cook's interview." He said in a hopefully polite tone. "Oh, ok follow me" she perked up and started walking off, Severus followed after her while she asked him questions. "Do you have cooking experience?" "Yes." he lied "Oh, great! And how old are you?" "17." He lied again "Oh really where did you work before this?" He faltered for a second then quickly thought of something "You wouldn't know my family moved a town over like a week ago and wanted me to get a job." He lies again. He really should be worried but he really just can't bring himself to care."Oh, ok! Well here we are go on in." She knocks then opens the door when a voice drifts under the closed door.
"Oh, Mary who is this?" the man on the other side of the door asks. He has on a formal blazer with a tie tucked into pants with a slight flare at the bottom. He has short black hair slicked to one side and is leaning on the front of his desk looking as if he had just hung up a call. "A person interviewing for the cook position." She answered then turned to his looking slightly abashed, "I didn't catch your name, I’m sorry." He turned to her and stuck his hand out "Thomas Jones" He replies when she shakes his hand. He shifts with his hand still out to the man. The man who he finds out is named William Sinclair who he now knows owns the restaurant.
William asks all the same questions Mary did, but Severus makes sure to emphasize the fact that he lives in the next town over so it takes him a little to get to work and he might be late sometimes just in case something happens at with his father. They talked about how he had already finished school, about how he already had experience in the field, and about how he was the only one of the interviewees who seemed to have those qualifications. They discussed pay and decided on 20 pounds every 2 weeks. After twenty minutes of talking, the dinner rush was starting . William stood up and Severus followed his lead shortly thereafter. William stuck out his hand to shake and Severus took his hand in a tight grip and shook. "I'll give your first paycheck if you start today," William said trying to sounding hopeful and professional at the same. Severus thought about going home to hell with his father and his mother through the dumpster fire that is Spinners End and agreed immediately.