Verniy Valkova
#B51316
Today was the day. Verniy didn't know what nutcase recommended her for the position--what did she do to garner this mystery man's attention?--but like heck she was going to decline the invitation. She had been brought in at an earlier date to accept the job offer, but she never did get a good look around the office. They had tossed an ID at her and told her the official start date of her employment: today.
Verniy fiddled with the plastic card in her hand. Her short, blonde hair was frizzy that day. It filled her with pride to see her gender marked as "male", though she had to wonder if her co-workers would believe it. Would the "a" at the end of her surname give it away? She prayed that no one there was familiar with Russian. Verniy had long since decided that her identity at work would be "Mr. Valkova", lest she seem weak and fragile.
Flashbacks to her time in high school came flooding back to her in waves. Predatory glances as she answered a question in lecture hall. Staring. Always staring. Her counselor, laughing at her. "You can become a detective, sure dear, but good luck climbing up that ladder." Yet she wanted to fit in with the other girls! She wanted to buy cute lingerie. She wanted to prance around the mall, boyfriend in tow, with a fluffy skirt that showed off her chicken legs.
And oh, how she craved to have curves like the other girls. Instead, the stick thin wrists that poked out the sleeves of her oversized duffel coat drew her attention. She looked unhealthy by some standards, and maybe she was, but how well can you afford to eat when you're locked in a deadly tango with student debt?
But now... now was the start of her new life. Verniy could kick that student debt right where the sun don't shine. She was a girl at heart-- she had struggled for hours to night before to strike that perfect balance between casual and formal. Casual enough that she didn't seem to her co-workers a stiff, but still formal enough that she wouldn't leave a sour taste in anyone's mouth. She had done little with her hair, and nothing in the way of makeup. It would be a dead giveaway. She sprayed some cologne and tucked her white button-down into her jeans. Couldn't go wrong with a classic look.
Keys. ID. Phone. Each had a place in her coat. Right, her meds. Had to fend off those killer headaches.
Verniy did a second look-see around her room, and then she was off to work. As it turns out, traffic permitted her to arrive a whole fifteen minutes early, which she used to grab a coffee. A good shot of caffeine in the morning always woke her up. She had to restock at home.
It was 8:59am on the dot when Verniy stepped foot into the agency, at which time the receptionist greeted her with enthusiasm. Crystal? Chrysanthemum? Probably Christina. Verniy already forgot her name by the time she called out an older employee to act as her tour guide. She took note of all the important locations--like the break room with the coffee machine; and the copy room, which she assumed she'd be frequenting as the new detective on the scene. The tour guide didn't seem too shabby. The pair made small talk over the course of the tour, and Verniy felt as though she was really hitting it off with the older woman.
If there was one thing she took out of the tour... It was that she could really get used to to the aesthetic. It looked like some late-1800s detective agency.
What she was the most interested in was the last stop on their little tour. New detectives always get paired with a senior detective to teach them the ropes, the woman had told her. That individual was the one who was sitting right behind the door in front of her. Just the thought made her positively giddy!
The door swung open. Verniy bowed at a perfect 90-degree angle. She'd be a right triangle if she wasn't a human!
"Please don't mind the intrusion, Abner. Meet our newest detective, Mister Verniy Valkova."
"It's a pleasure to meet you!