7 Curiosity (1/2)

When Vy realised what she was doing she quickly kept her dagger and apologised.

”Terribly sorry, I thought I was being attacked from behind.”

”That's alright, I should apologise for scaring you like that. It's an old habit of mine,” the man said as he dusted off his clothes.

The man was the owner of the bookshop, Rodrick Mill. He wore a buttoned-down shirt and dress pants, as well as a pair of suspenders. His glasses sat on the ridge of his nose and it had become a habit of his to readjust them every few minutes or so. His hair was combed in place with a little bit of wax. As Vy picked up the book, Rodrick's curiosity got the better of him.

”Not many in this town can read, let alone walk into my shop. Are you from elsewhere?”

”Yes, I travelled from a different town. I'm here to look for work.”

”Work you say? I might have the perfect job for you. But I will need to test your abilities if that's alright with you.”

”Test my abilities? If it's something I can do, I will gladly help.”

Rodrick nodded with a gleaming smile and invited her to the back of this shop where there were two desks stacked with plenty of papers and documents. In the middle of the desks was a typewriter-like device. Vy picked up one of the pieces of paper and read its contents.

”You see, I'm a scribe for the town. So people come into the shop asking for letters to be written and printed, invitations, all that sort of thing. But I'm overwhelmed with keeping the store and the official documents that are to be put up in the announcements.”

Rodrick went on to explain that he would appreciate the additional pair of hands to help him with the work. But before they could proceed, Rodrick would like to test Vy's writing and typing skills. He sat her down at one of the desks and loaded paper into the typewriter device. Going through a stack of documents he found a letter that he would like her to type and asked her to do so, word for word.

Before he could tell her what to do, Vy had already begun typing diligently. This left Rodrick a little speechless but he kept the shock to himself and went off to get on with his other work. While he had assumed it would take Vy at least 15 minutes to finish the document in half the time. Vy showed him her work with a smile and also informed him that he had made the edits based on the mistakes she had spotted in the original work.

”I hope my work is up to your standard, Mr Rodrick,” Vy said.

He was lost for words. Even the apprentice scribe he hired several moons ago, with 2 years of experience, could not type that fast. And with no mistakes!

”Mr Rodrick, is everything alright? If it's not up to your standards I could always retype…”

”No no. My apologies I was just a little surprised by your efficiency and accuracy. Are you certain you're not a noble's daughter? Where did you learn your typing skills from?”

Vy was caught off guard.

-Shoot. I can't tell him the truth. But what should I say?-