...

The next day saw Luke walking beside Hannah on their way to the office. He was wearing one of his father's suits; it fit him badly, given his tall father's broad shoulders compared to his slim build and medium height, but it was the best that they could manage. Hannah promised to fix it for him when she got the chance. Under the suit jacket, he had on one of his school shirts, a plain white collared style that they'd decided would do for office wear as well, and a tie that came from the supply of clothes Andy has left in his drawers. Luke regularly raided his brother's cupboards when he needed new clothes. It didn't look like Andy was going to be needing them again.

"We'll have to fix Dad's coats for you come winter. And maybe find you some better shoes." She glanced doubtfully down at the scuffed shoes Luke had been wearing to school for the past year. They were the worse for wear, the sole hinting at coming apart from the upper in several places. "I guess you'll do for today, though."

They walked in silence for a while, each head down in thought, not looking at the drab streets they were passing through. There were many people out on the street, also walking to work. Some wore office attire, like Luke and Hannah, but more were in the overalls and blue collar clothes of the manual labourer. Luke looked at Hannah from the corner of his eye, trying to gauge if now was a good time to ask her what was on his mind. She looked distracted, he decided. Now might be the only chance he would get though, so he decided to plunge in.

"Han, what exactly am I going to be doing?" She looked up in surprise.

"What do you mean?" she asked him. "You're going to be in the government. You do whatever they tell you to do."

"Yeah, but what department will I be in?"

Luke tried to tell himself it was just his imagination when she looked uncomfortable. He waited for her to answer, looking with a sigh at the crowd of people around the bus stop instead. It would be a squeeze to fit them all on an empty bus. The ancient bus he could see approaching, belching dark clouds of fumes from its exhaust, was decidedly not empty.

"It might be best if you wait until you see David. He can tell you better than I can." She gestured to the crowd. They were on the edges of it now. If he hadn't known better, he would have thought that she had deliberately held him off. But there was no arguing with her in public. It wouldn't do to cause a stir, especially on his first day in employment. There could be anyone in the crowd around them. 

He bit his tongue and bided his time as they elbowed their way to the front of the crowd and shoved their way onto the bus. It was lucky that he was with Hannah, or he would have been left standing on the footpath. The crowd jostled furiously even within the bus, vying for positions where they would be able to hold onto something rather than falling against their fellow passengers every time the bus hit one of the innumerable potholes in the roads of this part of town. The silence around them was strange to Luke; he was more used to the hustle of the footpath than the bus. His walk to school was always a little rowdy with street sellers trying to tempt passersby with their wares, with school children running around each other and vying to make the most noise. Here, in the world of adults, all was quiet. It was something else that would take a little getting used to, Luke thought to himself.

When they pushed their way off the bus, Luke wanted to pursue his conversation with Hannah. As soon as they were out of hearing of their fellow passengers, he tried again for information.

"How do you know him, then? David?"

"I work with him," she responded, giving him a strange look that he couldn't interpret. Her tone suggested it was a stupid question, but her cheeks were flushed slightly.

"But if you work with him, why can't you tell me what I'll be doing?" They were approaching the building as he asked. It loomed above him in all its dirty, grey, eight storeyed glory. There was a flow of foot traffic pushing them into the doors. Hannah pulled him out of this human tide and turned him to face her. Her face was serious, worried.

"Luke, you can't ask questions. There's a reason why we never talked about work at home. It's not good to question things. It gets you in trouble. When you're in there, you do what they tell you to do, whatever it is. Do you understand me? You don't question anything you are told while you're inside that building. And you don't discuss it with anyone. Am I clear?"

Luke nodded.

"OK then. Let's go get you started."

They walked into the building, and Luke's working life began.