White As A Lie

9: Test #2

I walked into Xander's Sandwiches around 10:00 the next morning.

It was now February 1st.

"Welcome to Xander's Sandwiches, how may I serve you?" A young kid said from behind the counter with a big smile. He had light blond hair and blue eyes. He was strong, his muscles stuck out underneath his dark green shirt. The black hat he wore, with Xander's Sandwiches written in cursive blue letters, made his hair that much lighter.

"I'm actually here for a job." I said.

"Oh. You're Nolan McCain?" He asked. I nodded. "We've been expecting you." He said in that dark tone, then laughs. "Follow me, my dude."

This kid is definitely one of those jock-y high schoolers that are secretly nerdy. I've been around teenagers long enough to tell.

"I'm technically not allowed to hire anyone, but my uncle's out today, so he told me to do the interview. He gave me questions." He showed me the paper for a brief second. "I'm Nico, by the way. Xander's nephew."

"Nice to meet you." I shook his hand. "Is there someone to take your place at the counter?"

"Oh!" He smiled, embarrassed. "Ashley! Can you work counter for a few minutes?!" He yelled.

"Sure!" A girl called back.

"Thanks!" Then Nico adjusted his papers and smiled at me. "Okay, Mr. McCain. It says here you went to Fairview Tech. Worked as a school counselor at Fairview High from 2016 to early 2020. Now here you are...no criminal record, so that's good."

I almost laughed.

"So what makes you want to work at Xander's Sandwiches? It seems like a big step down to go from counselor to this." Nico asked.

I nodded a little. "Well, I gotta have a job. I've got bills to pay, food to eat..."

Nico chuckled. "True. Why aren't you a counselor anymore?"

Are these the questions on your sheet? "Money."

"I didn't think schools could cut a counselor."

"We were really, really low." I tried to smile.

Nico smiled back. "Well, I'd say you're qualified to work here: you just have to know how to make sandwiches." He laughed. "I'll tell the big man."

"Alright." I got up and so did Nico. "Thank you." We shook hands again.

"Xander will be in touch with you within the week." Nico smiled and walked back to the counter. "I'll probably see you later."

"Great." I smiled back and left the restaurant. Some interview that was. What? Two questions? I guess you really don't need much experience to work at a sandwich place.

***
I got home, sat around for a while, took a walk outside, then went home. I had absolutely nothing to do.

A knock on my door came around 1:00 that afternoon. I opened the door and saw Chief Burke. "May I help you, Chief?"

He smiled. "You sure can. We want to test your blood again, make sure it wasn't a fluke." He was smiling, but his brown eyes weren't.

"They're still convinced I did it?" I asked.

"We just want to make sure."

"It was white. I thought you said I was a saint."

"Son, please, just come with me. If it's still clear, you get to leave. Putting up a fight only worsens your condition." Chief Burke said. He wore a wooly hat that covered his balding head.

I grabbed my coat and walked with him to his police car. We arrived in about ten minutes.

"Just wait here, I'll get the nurse." Chief Burke said and slunk off.

"Nolan," a voice said behind me. "What are you doing here?"

I turned around and saw Alton. "They wanted to test my blood again." I said moodily.

Alton frowned. "I thought you were white?"

"Yeah, but evidently that's not enough." I shook my head. "Are you all even looking into somebody else? Did you find the knife that was used? Or are you all just sitting around, thinking of more ways for me to be miserable?" I asked.

Alton looked stunned. "Hey, now, we're doing our best. Just looking for justice."

I sighed. "Sorry."

"Look, I understand your frustration. We're not trying to ruin your life. The police department isn't the one that printed those articles. And no, we haven't found a knife, but we can tell it was a paring knife. We've looked into you, Nolan, and you seem so clear. So goddamn clear, in fact, that there's been a few days we were thinking of just leaving this as a cold case. But that's not what we do. We want justice, for everyone. And I'm sorry to say, but you're the only lead we have. It looks like it's you, or a ghost. No possible way it was suicide, nor anybody outside the household." Alton said.

He thinks I did it. I can see it on his face. He just won't come out and say it. He's probably the one who wanted me to take the blood test again.

"Mr. McCain, we're ready for you." Chief Burke called from another room. I stood up, looked at Alton one more time, then headed into the back room.

"Have a seat, sir." The nurse smiled. It was a different nurse than the first time. This one had short black hair and hazel eyes. "Just relax, this will only take a second." I roll up my sleeve and she sticks the needle in my vein. "All done." She said a moment later. I felt like a kid again, the way she was talking to me.

Chief Burke returned just two minutes later. "Still white as snow." He said. "I'm sorry for taking your time. You may leave now." He smiled, but I didn't return it. I grabbed my coat, put it on, then left without so much as a glance at anyone.

"Nolan!" Alton called after me when I was outside. I turned. "No hard feelings, right? I didn't mean to upset you."

I've been hearing that a lot lately.

"Perfectly fine, Alton. You're just doing your job."

"I'm still sorry. And I'm sorry this is happening in the first place."

I sighed quietly. I didn't really want to make an enemy of this guy. No need. I needed people on my side. "It's fine. I've just been very stressed and I've been taking it out on people lately."

He smiled a small smile. "Understandable. We'll get it straightened out as soon as we can."

"I appreciate that." I returned his smile, then left.