Pippa got off the bus and followed the crowd of teenagers, all dressed in jeans, white sneakers and some jacket or hoodie with a brand screaming across it, so much for ‘no uniform’.

They streamed through the wide doors open of an old stone building, and flowed into the corridors, or up the stairs as she paused, looking for the Administration Office. She’d been told to report there.

Easy enough, it was on the left, a wooden door with a large glass panel in the upper half, ‘Administration’ in sharp black letters across it. Pippa pulled on the door, then realised it pushed, shoved it and stumbled a little as she crossed from the worn marble of the foyer to the institution-green carpet of the office.

A woman, who already looked tired, even though it was the start of the first day of term, looked at her over her spectacles.

“I’m Pippa Trevilian, it’s my first day.”

The woman’s frown smoothed. “Of course, nice to see you’re properly on time.” She pulled out a folder. “I just need you to check these details are correct, and then Mr Johnson, our Deputy Headteacher, will show you to your form room.”

Pippa scanned the documents, her personal information was all present and correct, then her subject choice and timetable, again, all fine, thank goodness. The last time she’d changed schools (it happened pretty often when your Dad kept switching cities for work), they’d completely messed things up, had her taking Spanish instead of Mandarin, and somehow expected her to be in both English Lit and History during the same period. It had taken the whole morning to sort out, and somehow it had been her fault – spoiler, it wasn’t.

Mr Johnson proved to be a jovial man who reminded Pippa of her dad in one of his rare, relaxed moments.

He pointed out important features such as the cafeteria, loos, and gym, on the way through the building, then knocked on, then opened, another wood and glass door, halfway down a first-floor corridor.

“Ms Yardley, a new student for your class. This is Pippa.” And with an encouraging grin, Mr Johnson was gone.

Ms Yardley had probably been expecting her, she picked up where the Deputy Head left off, without so much as a blink. “Come in Pippa. Would you rather settle yourself first, or get the dreaded introduction out of the way?”

“The second please.”

At Ms Yardley’s nod, Pippa walked in front of the smartboard and faced the class, examining them as they studied her.

She took a breath. “Hi, I’m Pippa, just moved here from Singapore. Dad’s in tech and got transferred out there a few years ago, now we’re home again.” She’d leave Sydney, Tokyo, Seattle, and Dubai out of the discussions for now.

There wasn’t much else to say. They wouldn’t care, and her time was far better used assessing them, working out who to avoid and why, and who to approach and how.

Ms Yardley waved towards one of the desks at the front, the only empty ones. “I’m afraid you’ve got last pick.”

Damn, how was she supposed to study her classmates now?

***

Pippa came out of the tube station and blended with the crowd of workers flowing along the city street. A few people had been brave enough to wear a colour – a red coat, a green scarf, a birght purple beanie – but they were brave specks in the sea for grey and black.

She exited the stream at the entrance to an old stone building, radically renovated with glass and steel. The doors whooshed open as she approached, all but sucking her inside.

Once clear of the entry, she paused, then headed for the reception desk, a broad block of polished granite with ‘Reception’ in gold lettering, just in case it wasn’t obvious.

The man behind the desk looked up with the type of ultra-polished smile that said ‘this is only surface, don’t push it’. “How may I help you?”

“I’m starting work here today, marketing department, my name’s Pippa Trevilian.”

After consulting his screen, the man’s smile warmed a little. “Welcome aboard. I’ve sent a message to Michaela in HR, she’ll be right down to sort out your access and onboarding.”

He waved her to a set of low chairs in the corner, the type that you had to fall to sit down in, and scramble to get up from. Pippa thanked him and wandered over to look at the artwork on the wall next to the seating area.

Michaela, who Pippa had met on video during her screening interview, breezed into the reception area a few minutes later. “Lovely to meet you in person, Pippa! Oh, you’re taller than I expected, people always are.”

Michaela’s smile was warmer than the receptionist’s but felt a little more forced, as if she had other, urgent, things that needed doing, and didn’t have the time for this, but…

Pippa was herded through a security gate and into the lift, then out, into an office area with plants, people in jeans with cups of coffee, and a row of meeting rooms along one wall. Their destination proved to be one of those rooms.

Michaela set down the tablet she’d been clutching. “Now, I just need you to check all these details are correct, and then I can get you over to Alexia.” And Michaela could get on with her other, important, matters.

Pippa went over the information on the screen. “It’s all correct, the glitch we found in the contract is all fine now.”

“Wonderful. Here’s your access card, and this is your employee number, and your email address,” Michaela handed her a card on a lanyard and a sheet of paper. “Your initial login password will be sent to your phone. You’ll be prompted to change it as soon as you’re in the system.”

Formalities complete, Michaela once again herded her across the office, pointing out fire exits, the kitchen area, and the loos. This time she came to a stop at the desk of an older woman with short, dark curls and the most genuine smile of the day so far. This was Pippa’s new boss, Alexia.

“Finally.” Alexia stood. “We’ve been so looking forward to you starting with us, and you’re right on time for the weekly team meeting.”

Michaela, job done, headed for the lifts with a vague wave. “Have fun.”

Pippa followed Alexia into yet another meeting room, this one considerably larger, and already near full of people chatting and laughing. They quieted when Alexia walked in, all eyes turning to Pippa. Great.

Alexia began the meeting. “Good morning everyone, and, yes, we have a new starter. I know everyone in the creative services group has been looking forward to the arrival of Pippa, our new graphic artist, but please don’t drown her on her first day and scare her off.”

There was a ripple of dutiful chuckles as Alexia turned to Pippa. “How about a quick introduction?”

Pippa stepped forward. “Hi, I’m Pippa, I started working in graphic design in agencies, then moved to client-side a few years ago. I’ve been mostly based in Singapore but have moved back to the UK for family reasons and am looking forward to doing great work here.”

Best not to mention the stints in Dubai, Shanghai, and Gibraltar just yet, or exactly what her ‘family reasons’ were. There wasn’t much else to say, and her time was far better used assessing them, working out who to avoid and why, and who to approach and how.

Alexia waved towards one of the few vacant chairs, one right in the middle of the front row. Pippa took it, mentally cursing, how was she supposed to study her new colleagues now?