Joseph arrived at Bike Palace fifteen minutes late for his job interview.    

The older gentleman who met him at the door rolled his eyes. He stared at the streak of mud on Joseph’s shirt. “You’re late.”  

“There was traffic,” Joseph said, feeling nervous. He held out his hand to shake, but the older man ignored it. “You must be David,” Joseph said. “We spoke on the phone.”  

“No, I’m Marco, the head mechanic. David is the manager, and you should call him Mr. Vincent,” the older man said, then added under his breath, “Disrespectful young people.” He went into the back room.  

Joseph was left alone in the bike shop with the bored-looking woman at the counter. “Do you work here?” he asked, spinning the wheel of a shiny, new bike.    

She mumbled something, but he couldn’t hear her over the sound of the cash register shutting.   

“What’s your name?" he said more directly.

"Maria,” she said, yawning. “I manage the counter and keep the books."   

“Nice to meet you, Maria. I’m hoping to be your new sales associate,” Joseph said proudly.   

Before she could reply, a well-dressed man came from the back room, and Marco followed behind him, glaring. Joseph felt self-conscious about the stain on his shirt.       

The well-dressed man smiled. “Welcome, Joseph! Thank you for coming for an interview. You have a very impressive resume, and I see that you earned excellent grades and earned a certificate in business at school.” 

Maria, the cashier, snorted loudly as though Mr. Vincent had said something offensive.  

Mr. Vincent ignored her. “You’ve met our cashier, Maria Tetteh, and this is Marco Asante, our head mechanic. Marco has worked here since my father started the shop.”   

“My experience was more valuable than school,” Marco muttered as he began to work on one of the bikes.   

Mr. Vincent gestured to a desk in the shop, not far from the noise of Marco’s repairs. Joseph took a seat across from the shop owner. “Why do you want to work at Bike Palace?”  Mr. Vincent asked.  

Joseph wished Marco would stop banging tools around so loudly. It was hard to think. “I recently graduated from school, and I am anxious to use the skills I learned there to help your business grow.”  

Mr. Vincent nodded. “Do you have qualifications to work in a bike shop? Have you experience in this field? Do you know how to repair a bike or work a register?”  

So many questions all at once! Joseph scrambled to come up with an answer to all the questions at the same time. “Yes. I mean, no. Yes and no. My certificate is in sales and business, but I also learned many skills on the computer to make signs and advertisements. I can help you get more customers. Also, I have my own bike, and I’ve repaired flat tires many times.” 

Marco chuckled, distracting Joseph. Why was the mechanic laughing at him?    

“But you don’t know how to repair any other parts of a bike?’ Mr. Vincent asked.  

Marco turned on a loud drill.     

“I can learn any skill you need me to learn,” Joseph said loudly, trying to be heard over the sound of the drill.  

“What?” Mr. Vincent said over Marco’s drill.  

“I said I am a fast learner!” Joseph said a little more loudly.  

“What?” Mr. Vincent repeated. Joseph wondered if Marco was deliberately making that noise to ruin his interview.   

“IT’S NOT VERY HARD TO LEARN TO REPAIR A BIKE!” Joseph shouted over the noise.  

Marco’s drill went silent. It was suddenly very quiet in the bike shop.   

Mr. Vincent studied Joseph, then held out his hand. “I like your determination, Joseph. I would like to hire you. Maria will help you learn how to work the counter. Marco will teach you basic bike skills. If you can do these things, I would like you to help me expand my business as my new sales associate.”  

Joseph had hoped the job would be more focused on what he had studied in computers and sales, but he needed a job. He shook Mr. Vincent’s hand. "Thank you, sir."  

“Marco, please show Joseph around the shop, then Maria, you can show him how to use the register,” said Mr. Vincent. He went back to his office in the back of the shop, leaving the old mechanic, the new employee, and the bored woman alone. 

Maria slammed the cash register shut. “I’m going to take my break now.” She also slammed the door of the bike shop as she left.   

“Is she upset or something?” Joseph asked.  

“There was only one other applicant for the job you were hired to do.” Marco wiped his hands on a rag.  

“Why would that make her angry?” 

“She was the only other applicant,” Marco said. “Now, since you are such a fast learner, take a look at the cassette, derailleurs, and limit screws and reattach this slipped chain.” 

“I didn’t understand any of that.”  

Marco sneered. “Welcome to Bike Palace, kid.”