[Serenata] it's now or never, and tonight is all or nothing [Noemi]

Jude stared at herself in the mirror. Or glared would be closer to the truth. The person that glared back was dressed simply but smartly. Dark trousers, crisp white shirt and a dark outer robe. Her hair was neatly brushed back away from her face. Somehow, even though her face was free from makeup, she looked more feminine than usual. That was the aim, she supposed. To conform. Sacrifice her own comfort for her long-term goal. It was worth an hour or two of this feeling, wasn't it? Jude sighed and collapsed heavily back into the desk chair in the room she still occupied in her great-grandfather's house.

All of the advice she'd ever read about interviews insisted that the most important thing was to 'be yourself'. How was she supposed to be herself when she didn't even know who she was? Today she wasn't 'being herself', she was being Juliette. A girl. A tomboy, most definitely, but absolutely a girl. Conforming to society's standard and to the image that Noemi would be expecting.

Reaching across the table, Jude picked up the notes that she'd written to read over in preparation for her interview. Points about Noemi's research, published papers and given lectures were neatly bullet pointed. She'd thought about answers to some of the obvious questions - 'why do you want this?' being the main one. Because it was the only thing she'd ever wanted. The only thing that seemed to make sense and stay constant and be dependable. She couldn't say that though, could she? She didn't want to come across as a raging lunatic.

Reading through to the bottom of the page, she dropped the paper down and got to her feet, concentrating very hard on the location of the meeting. Aparating still required a lot of attention, especially when she was nervous as hell. Her mind was already supplying far too many negative outcomes. Noemi would have already changed her mind, decided she didn't want an apprentice, or worse, forgotten their meeting altogether. She'd get in there and say something stupid, trip over, forget even the simplest things and come across as a complete idiot. "Pull it together," she muttered to herself, clearing her mind of all things except her desired location, and twisting on the spot.

She arrived at the back apparating-friendly entrance of Serenata, wiping the scowl and look of discomfort from her face as she headed into the cafe. This was certainly not her choice of location. She was sure that Noemi had suggested it because it was a more casual atmosphere, but just stepping into the coffee shop made Jude's skin prickle uncomfortably. It wasn't too crowded, but even the three or four extra people in the room were too many for Jude's liking. She was going to mess this interview up... and have an audience to watch her idiocy.

She was early, at least, and it didn't look like Noemi was here yet, so she headed up to the counter to order herself a pot of tea, her eyes lingering awkwardly on the doorway.

Rhythmic thumps echoed in the quiet potions lab as Noemi prepared the ingredients for a long term brew. For now, all she had to do is let them simmer for six hours. Plenty enough time for an interview, she thought. This potion wasn’t even complicated. It was a beauty potion for some old mistress who was dying to keep up her good looks for her sugar daddy. While Noemi frankly didn’t care what the woman needed the potion for, as her fees were high every time she had to make this rare potion, it was interesting. Using the flat of the blade, Noemi dumped the petals of the flower into the murky solution, using a silver stirrer to mix them in completely. Quick wand work assured that if there was a bad reaction, it’d hit the protective shields of her spell and not spread all over the room. Noemi did a quick glance, before heading up to her bedroom and preparing for one of the biggest challenges in her life.

Noemi didn’t need an apprentice. She’d risen up the ranks apprentice-free, and felt as if she was doing very well. Why was she so anxious about having one then? It wasn’t as if she didn’t want one, but she wanted one. Teaching students every now and again was good. She had to work around already formed teacher methodology, and that was frustrating. Potions Masters always had a certain way of teaching their students, and it was evident in the way they operated. She’d watched Masters and their students operate like a well oiled machine, where everyone knew their place. It was beautiful, even if chaotic to another’s eyes and she wanted it very much.

Thats why she was so focused on this interview. And why it wasn’t set at her house. The house was so uniquely the combination of two very different people, and sometimes company found it disconcerting. Serenata had been a hurried choice, after Noemi had shut down the idea of her lab. She took a long shower, dressing carefully in professional looking clothing, taking care not to scare her prospective apprentice with her usual more flamboyant mode of dress. Noemi loved colour and sparkle, and to be honest she would have liked to wear the brightest item in her closet just to make herself feel more confident.

When she did the little two step into apparation, she shook herself off slightly. Entering the shop, she used her wand to flick any remaining dust from the bottom of her gown. Noemi stepped fully into the room, bright grey eyes flicking around curiously. Her eyes kept wandering to the tall figure standing at the counter. Lips turned into a pout about how everyone was taller than her, she walked towards who she thought was her interviewee. “Are you Miss Blythe?” She questioned in her thickly accented voice, a kind smile dancing around the corner of her lips before brightly shining on her face. “I am Gambino. Noemi if you prefer.” She shrugged slightly. “You have ordered already?” Gesturing to the person at the counter, she flicked her eyes at the menu and rolled them. Everything was in Italian, but she doubted it would be as good as if an Italian made it.  Huffing, she quickly ordered at Cioccolata Burrobirra with instructions for the waiter to “Bring both upstairs, if you will.” before turning back to Juliette Blythe.

“We will go upstairs and speak. It is quieter and we won’t have strangers gawking at us.” With a moue of distaste, Noemi shook her head as if she was shaking off the gazes of the patrons of the cafe. “Come.” And she was off, up the stairs and to a small area of seats surrounding a small table. She plopped into the love seat, ankles neatly crossed and she waited to start her very first interview.

Hearing footfalls approaching, Jude turned to take in the approaching witch. It was Noemi, or Mistress Gambino as Jude had been referring to her in her head. She'd already been to a couple of the Potion Mistresses lectures and recognised her quite easily. A nervous smile rose to her features and she nodded, trying to ignore the bubbling discomfort at the word 'Miss'. Such a simple thing, and yet it could often throw her off completely. But today she couldn't afford for that to interfere with her interview. Her entire career hung in the balance here. Mistress Gambino could refuse to teach her, of course, but worse than that, she could spread the word that Jude was incompetent and she'd never get accepted into an apprenticeship. Then what would she do?

Trying to stem her worries, she followed Noemi up the stairs into the considerably quieter seating area, thankful for the privacy. Once there, she hesitated, waiting to be invited to sit before doing so, and then trying to adopt a more appropriate posture than her usual casual slouch. No-one was themselves at interview, she thought silently. Everyone wanted to be the person they thought had the most chance. The person that the interviewer wanted. In this case, Mistress Gambino.

"Thank you for seeing me," Jude said, politely, thankfully sounding a hell of a lot less nervous than she felt.