'Aren't you a little nervous?' Ashley asked, 'I've never worked a night shift anywhere before.' Brie chuckled as she watched her friend check her ridiculously large bag over one more time. They'd talked about bringing snacks and phone chargers but somehow Ashley's bag was bursting at the seams.
'What's there to be nervous about? It's a museum. And a history one at that, it's not like we're taking care of the world's more precious jewel or something.' Brie pointed out.
'I guess.' She replied, biting her lip.
'We'll have fun, I promise. And it's the only night shift we have to do.'
'They just want to get out of paying their actual employees extra.' Ashley laughed.
'Exactly!' Brie replied, 'You just know they were thinking about things like this when our tutor approached them about taking some student volunteers on.'
'I guess it's ok though, it's a museum, it's not like a for profit business.' Ashley sighed, 'And it beats flipping burgers or something.'
'It really does. I did that in the summer after high school and honestly, anything is better than a night shift in a fast food place.' Brie shuddered to emphasise her point.
'I didn't know you'd done that.' Ashley commented, hoisting her bag onto her shoulder, 'Ready to go?'
'Sure.' Brie picked up her more moderate bag and continued, 'I don't like to talk about it, there's a lot of stuff from there I'm not proud of.' Ashley noticed her friend looked a little sad mentioning it but didn't want to push her too much.
'We all have those times.' She told her, trying to lighten the mood. Brie still seemed deep in thought for a minute before shaking it off.
'Yeah, it's in the past now.' Ashley still wondered what Brie could be referring to, knowing it was only a few months earlier. But they'd only been friends since starting university five months ago and although they were close, Ashley was still cautious.
'So, you think we'll be able to have a good look around the place tonight?' Brie suggested.
'I hope so. I know we had a little tour but it was so busy and he took us around so fast, I didn't really get to see properly. I'm looking forward to being able to take my time and look at things I want to look at.'
'You're right, there's always so many people around! I can't wait to stop and look at everything properly. Like the Roman exhibit they just got in, I've always been interested in that stuff. But it seems like everyone is, I never get to spend time there.'
'I know what you mean, I love the Egypt section but that's always full of people.'
'You want to imagine being an Egyptian Princess?' Brie laughed, nudging her friends arm with her own.
'Hmm maybe more like being with an Egyptian Princess.' Ashley smiled. She was still getting used to having a friend she could be so open with, it was brand new to her. Other straight girls she'd been friends with had been visibly uncomfortable even with a little joking around but Brie was unfazed.
'Ah. Well, Cleopatra was quite something.' Brie replied.
'True. You think about doing it with any historical figures?'
Brie laughed, 'Not a question I've been asked before! Didn't everyone smell though? Like hygiene wasn't so sophisticated. Still, if there was a clean and fresh Roman soldier, I might be interested.'
'Oh really, a soldier?'
'Yeah, someone with a bit of muscle, skilled with a weapon.' They both burst out laughing. They were still trying to pull themselves together when they arrived at the museum. It was half an hour before closing so there was still some people around.
'You think we just go through to the staff room?' Brie asked as they crossed the foyer.
'Excuse me, last entry was half an hour ago.' A stern voice called from the reception desk.
'Oh, sorry, we're not...we're the volunteers, we're covering the night shift.' Brie explained to the middle-aged woman stooped behind the desk. She peered over her glasses at them disapprovingly, obviously not believing their explanation.
'Hmm hmm, sign in.'
'Sorry, it's only our second time here.' Ashley explained as Brie wrote their names.
'And they're leaving you here over night?' She woman exclaimed, standing up straight for the first time.'
'Yeah, volunteering here is part of our university course.'
The woman shook her head, 'I don't know what this place is coming to. You might as well go through to the staff room to put your stuff away.'
'Thanks, we will.' They kept the serious looks on their faces until they'd crossed the foyer and they lost the battle.
'Maybe she's jealous.' Ashley suggested, trying to catch her breath, 'Maybe she's never been trusted with the place.'
'She's like ninety! She probably isn't getting paid either!' They made their way through an almost hidden doorway between exhibit rooms and found the empty staff room. All of the workers were probably out in the museum making sure everyone left. They both put down their bags and got comfortable for the short wait for everyone to leave. It was almost like waiting for Christmas now they were there. Now they were inside, the idea of having the whole place to themselves was daunting but amazing. As people started filing in to collect their stuff they got a few odd looks but the manager soon came to see them.
'So girls, ready for the night shift?' He wiggled his eyebrows in a way that Brie found disconcerting but she forced a smile.
'Yep, all ready to stand guard.'
'Great. It'll be an easy night. Just walk around at least every hour or two, keep an eye on the cameras in between and if you see or hear anything weird, give me a call.'
'Isn't there like a security team or something though?' Ashley asked, not liking the idea of having to call this creep if something was wrong.
'There is but they never al get the night off at the same time like this, so they're taking the opportunity to go out. I don't think they'll be much use to anyone in a few hours.' He laughed in a way that made both girls skin crawl. Brie made a mental note to watch him leave so they knew he was really gone.
'Do we need keys or anything?' Ashley asked.
'No it's ok, we'll lock up when we leave and you'll be here until the first staff come in in the morning. Don't worry though, there's fire exits everywhere as you saw on the tour. But as long as you guys don't start a fire...' He trailed off with another creepy laugh.
'I'm sure there's no risk of that.' Brie insisted.
'I hope not.' He nodded, 'So, have a good night, call if there's any problems, anything at all. Use whatever you want in here, kettle, microwave.'
'Oh thanks, we did bring some food.'
'Make yourselves at home.' He told them, checking his phone and becoming distracted. He wandered towards the door and just when they thought he was leaving he turned back, 'And watch out, you never know which ones might come alive.' And with a final uncomfortable chuckle, he finally left them alone.
The girls waited a while before they spoke. Brie finally let out a breath she'd been holding since he walked in, 'Thank God, I thought he was going to offer to stay with us or something!'
'I know, he such a creep.' She shook her head, 'So, everyone's gone now, right?'
'I think so. Let's go explore!' Giggling and hurrying out of the room like they didn't have all night, as though they'd never been to a museum before.