“No problem, I’ll catch you up. Olivia, this is Allison and Avery.” He gestures to the girl standing off to his left and the tall blonde next to her, and they each give a little wave. “And this is Alex, Andy, and Aiden.” The guys wave and nod.

Avery, Allison, Alex, Andy, and Aiden? What the hell?

“Are you all related?” I suspect the answer is no—aside from Ellis and Aiden none of them look alike at all. Avery has blond hair cropped into a pixie cut, and Allison has long black braids with gold twisted through. They’re gathered up in a thick ponytail and swing at her shoulders. Alex is short and stocky, with a mop of messy brown hair, and Andy is a tall, skinny ginger. Probably not related. But it’s just so strange that everyone who works here has a name that starts with A, like one of those reality-show families that discriminate against twenty-five letters in the alphabet. Everyone except for me and Ellis, of course.

Everyone looks confused. “No, why do you ask?”

“Just—” I feel stupid for even bringing it up. “I know you two are.” I nod to Ellis, and Aiden, off to my right, gazing out toward the water with a smug look on his face. So much for knowing someone, I guess.

“Nope.” Ellis unfolds a paper in his hand, lays it on the stump next to him, and reaches down for a little hammer I hadn’t noticed, hanging by a little leather ribbon off of a rusty nail. He pulls a nail out of the top of the stump and slams it into the paper with one quick hit. I flinch a little with the bang. “We go for a certain aesthetic here,” Ellis says. “For our visiting friends.”

Friends.

“Everyone can take your spots.” He points to the girls. “You’re in The Grill.” The two girls give each other a high-five that rings with familiarity, and head up the stairs. “Andy, you can unload the cages from last night. Your first pickup isn’t until ten.” Andy nods. “Alex, you’re in the gazebo.” He turns toward the back of the building, and heads toward the customer—I mean, visiting friend—counters, where the river trip sign-ups happen.

“You’re on boat duty, New Girl.”

“I thought today was orientation?” We’re all just doing our own thing, thrown to the wolves—I mean, visiting friends?

“For you. Everyone else is old news,” Ellis says. “Don’t look so scared though—you’re with me and Aiden, you’ll be fine. You’ll be running this place by lunch break.”