Dan stood across the street longer than he needed to.
The building wasn't impressive.
It wasn't tall, and it wasn't new. The paint along the edges of the roof had faded unevenly, and the flag in front moved slowly in the warm Saipan wind, like it had nowhere else to be. Cars came and went from the small parking lot, people walking in and out without hesitation, like this was just another place they had to stop before going home.
For them, it probably was.
For Dan, it felt different.
He adjusted the strap of his bag on his shoulder and looked up at the sign again.
Office of the Mayor — SaipanMayor K. Isiah Adamson
He read the name twice, like it might change if he blinked.
It didn't.
Koa stood next to him with his hands in his pockets, squinting at the building.
"That's it?" Koa said.
Dan didn't answer right away.
"…Yeah."
Koa tilted his head.
"I thought it'd look… bigger."
Dan let out a small breath.
"Me too."
They stood there another few seconds.
People walked past them without paying attention. A woman carrying a folder went inside without even looking at the sign. A man in a work shirt came out talking on his phone, already halfway through the parking lot before the door closed behind him.
Nobody looked nervous.
Nobody looked like they were about to do something they weren't ready for.
Dan swallowed.
"I'm just going to ask," he said.
Koa glanced at him.
"You want me to come in?"
Dan shook his head.
"…No."
"You sure?"
"Yeah."
Koa shrugged.
"I'll be right here if you run out."
Dan almost smiled at that.
He nodded once, then turned and walked toward the entrance.
Each step felt slower than the last.
He wasn't scared exactly.
Just aware.
Aware that this wasn't a classroom.Aware that nobody inside knew who he was.Aware that if he walked in and sounded stupid, there wouldn't be a professor to help him.
He pulled the door open.
Cold air hit his face immediately.
The inside smelled faintly like paper and cleaning spray, the kind of smell every government office seemed to have no matter where it was. The floor was clean, but worn in the places people walked the most. A few chairs lined the wall near the entrance, and a counter sat behind a glass window with a small opening at the bottom.
A woman sat behind the counter, typing something into a computer without looking up.
Dan stood there for a second longer than he should have.
Then he stepped forward.
"…Excuse me."
The woman looked up.
"Yes?"
Her voice wasn't unfriendly, but it wasn't warm either. Just normal.
Dan felt his throat tighten for a second.
"I was wondering if… um… if there were any part-time positions here."
The woman blinked once.
"For what department?"
Dan froze.
"…I don't know."
She stared at him for a second, then leaned back slightly in her chair.
"You're a student?"
"Yes."
"From the college?"
"Yes, ma'am."
She nodded slowly, like that explained everything.
"Do you have an application?"
"No."
"You can fill one out."
She reached under the counter, pulled out a thin packet of papers, and slid it through the opening in the glass.
"Return it here when you're done."
Dan took it carefully, like it might fall apart if he grabbed it wrong.
"…Thank you."
She had already looked back at her screen.
He stepped aside and sat in one of the chairs against the wall.
The packet felt heavier than it should have.
He opened it.
Name.Address.Work history.References.Skills.
He stared at the page for a long time.
Work history.
He had none.
References.
He had professors.Maybe.
Skills.
He almost laughed under his breath.
Reading didn't count.
Not here.
Someone walked past him, talking to another employee about schedules and permits and something about a meeting that had been moved twice already. The conversation sounded tired, like they'd had the same one a hundred times before.
Nobody sounded like they were talking about theory.
Nobody sounded like they were in a classroom.
Dan looked down at the paper again.
This is what Dr. Matthew meant.
Understanding something didn't matter here.
You had to belong here.
He picked up the pen attached to the clipboard and started writing.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Like every word had to prove something.
When he finished, he sat there another minute, reading it over even though he already knew what it said.
It didn't look impressive.
It just looked honest.
He stood up and walked back to the counter.
The woman glanced up again.
"You finished?"
"Yes, ma'am."
He slid the packet through the opening.
She flipped through the pages quickly, not reading every line, just checking that everything was there.
"You'll get a call if something opens," she said.
Dan nodded.
"…Okay."
He didn't know what else to say.
So he turned and walked toward the door.
The cold air followed him for a second before the heat outside swallowed it again.
Koa looked up from his phone as soon as Dan stepped out.
"Well?" he said.
Dan let out a slow breath.
"I applied."
Koa raised his eyebrows.
"That's it?"
"That's it."
Koa stared at him for a second, then laughed softly.
"You look like you just got out of court or something."
Dan rubbed the back of his neck.
"It felt like that."
Koa shook his head.
"So now what?"
Dan looked back at the building.
The sign hadn't changed.
The flag still moved the same slow way in the wind.
People still walked in and out like it was normal.
He thought about the form in his handwriting.
Work history: none.Experience: none.Confidence: none.
And still…
"…Now we wait," he said.
Koa nodded once.
"Alright," he said."Guess we're really doing this."
Dan didn't answer.
He just kept looking at the building a few seconds longer before turning away.
For the first time since he'd come to Saipan, the campus didn't feel like the center of everything anymore.
It felt smaller.
Not in a bad way.
Just not big enough to hide in.
And he wasn't sure yet if that meant he was moving forward…
…or just stepping somewhere he didn't belong.