Tasha opened the door to her office, gesturing for Piper to take a seat in front of her desk. She sat in her own desk chair and let out a deep sigh, laying her hands on the desk. 

“That’s about the gist of our little funeral home.” She said kindly. “Do you have any questions for me?” 

Piper thought for a moment. 

“So, who exactly, is my boss here?” She asked. 

“Well technically that would be Alex, our general manager. But, if you have any questions or concerns you can always come to me. Nichols is also a very good source.” 

“Can you tell me what duties everyone around here has? Nichols does removals and embalmings. So does Poussey do that as well? Do I need to be able to do that? Because I don’t have a license for it…” Piper asked cautiously. 

“No, don’t worry about that.” Tasha chuckled. ”Alex, Nichols, and myself are the ones who embalm. Nichols and I went to school for it. Alex learned from her mother. Lorna does removals but she has a knack for cosmetics and went to beauty school so she does that as well. Poussey doesn’t have a degree so she sticks to removals and other small things that need done. You’re on the same level as Poussey if that helps you see what responsibilities you’ll have on the job. Again, because we aren’t a corporation, we’re a little bit more relaxed on rules. If Alex, Nichols, or I see some potential in you, we may very well take you under our wing and give you some mentoring in embalming and funeral directing if you had any interest in that.” 

Piper perked up. 

“I’ve never really thought about it but, seeing it definitely attracted me.” 

“Well I’m happy to hear it. Welcome aboard.” 

Piper watched Nichols unzip the black body bag containing the large man from the apartment. He was bloated and purple. His face was so badly swollen that his eyes were closed. 

“It’s like seeing a train wreck right?” Nichols commented, throwing on a gown. “You wanna look away so bad but you can’t.” 

“Yeah, really.” Piper said in disgust. She held a clipboard in her hands, observing the body. 

“Hurry up with that ICA, that guy smells like the world’s nastiest fart.” Lorna said from across the room as she curled a woman’s hair.