Superhero

Chapter 7

Addison called in for work again and grabbed a chocolate bun as a last minute snack. Jeff was busy arguing with a fussy middle-aged woman. She watched, nibbling on her bun as she sat at the table.
"I want to speak with your manager," the woman insisted. "How come you no longer want to give me a Kitty Kat plate? I have fifteen stickers! What's the hold up?"
"The promotion's over, ma'am," Jeff explained politely. "You can no longer redeem the Kitty Kat plate."
"But I have enough stickers!" The woman argued. "I demand to see your manager!"
"I am the manager!" Addison chimed in suddenly, getting onto her feet. The woman looked at her in surprise. "And he is right. You can't redeem a plate because you're too late!"
"You? Manager?" The woman snorted. "Who are you kidding? You're not even in uniform!"
Addison silently went to the back room and slipped the polo shirt on. She stepped out and gestured to herself.
"What about now?" Addison smirked. "My shift's just not here yet."
"You've got to be kidding me..." Jeff muttered, shaking his head.
Addison shot him a warning glance and turned back to the woman. "I'm sorry ma'am, but the promotion is no longer available."
The woman frowned and took the bag of stuff from the counter before storming out. The two workers watched in disappointment.
"People like this actually exist?" Jeff asked, turning to Addison with wide eyes. "Seriously, I kept telling her. The promotion has expired!"
"She's a Karen," Addison shrugged. "That's why she's like that."
"Who's Karen?" Jeff asked, much to her surprise. "You know that woman?"
Addison chuckled. "You see, a Karen means... a woman like this. They're definitely wrong, but they don't admit it, and demand to see the manager. They don't like seeing other people succeed in life, and would do anything to ruin them."
Jeff nodded, a confused expression on his face. "So basically a hypocrite?"
"Exactly," Addison nodded. "But they demand for managers even when they're wrong."
"I see..." Jeff nodded slowly. "Sorry, I live under a rock."
"I can see that," Addison chuckled. "Actually, I don't actually know why the term Karen exists. Like... I feel bad for all the normal people who are named Karen. What did they do?"
Jeff snorted and went to the back room to get changed. He came out again, stuffing his uniform into his bag. Addison watched, shaking her head.
"Why don't you fold it?" Addison asked, frowning at him. "That's gonna backfire, ya know?"
Jeff groaned and pulled the polo shirt back out again. He folded it, using his torso and knee for support. He folded it up and then easily put it in his bag.
"See?" Addison pointed out. "Was it hard?"
"No..." Jeff sighed, zipping his bag up. "Actually I have more space like this. Maybe that's how you girls stuff so much stuff in one bag?"
"That's exactly how we do it," Addison chuckled. "You have no idea how much things I stuffed inside that one little backpack."
"Yeah I noticed..." Jeff chuckled, making his way to the food warmer. "You even stuff your food in there, I don't know how."
"Well, you have food in there too," Addison pointed out.
"Yeah but my bag's bigger than yours," Jeff argued. "And I have very little things."
Addison rolled her eyes and laughed. "Yeah right. Then why's the bag bulging?"
"I have books," Jeff said with a frown. "You go to college too, right? You should know how much books we need to carry, right?"
Addison nodded in agreement. "Of course. It's taking a toll on my back."
"Same here, Dietitian," Jeff chuckled, grabbing some chicken pies. "Also look! I'm getting chicken pies this time! You say that sausages aren't as healthy, right?"
"Well, whatever floats your boat," Addison shrugged. "At least sausages doesn't give you diabetes. They're tasty, especially the cheese stuffed ones."
"That I have to agree," Jeff chuckled. "But I don't feel like sausages today."
Addison shrugged. "Fine by me. But yeah. Those chicken pies are really good too."
Jeff then made his way to the SlurpSlurp machine, filling his cup with all the available flavours. Addison shrugged. It's not like he's gonna listen if she tells him how bad it is for his health to drink it all the time.
He eventually came to the counter to pay for the food he bought. Addison scanned them for him, and handed him his change and receipt.
"Have a nice day, SlurpSlurp," Addison smirked. "Again, don't drink that everyday!"
"The last time I drank it was two days ago, not yesterday," Jeff frowned. "Stop telling me that!"
"Well, don't say I didn't warn you," Addison chuckled. "Anyway, bye-bye."
Jeff waved and left, making the welcome tune blare into the shop again. Addison stretched her arms and decided to take a walk around the store, checking on the stocks while she's at it.

Addison placed a roll of thermal paper into the receipt printer. She threw the old roll away and pressed the key to print out a new receipt for the two waiting women.
"Thank you!" Addison said, handing the receipt to the older woman. She realised how much the two ladies looked alike. "Are you two sisters?"
"This is my daughter," the older woman said with a chuckle.
"Oh I'm sorry," Addison said sheepishly. She kicked herself, since she had heard that one before with her own mother too. "You two look very alike."
The mother laughed while the daughter glared at her mom. Addison found that relatable.
"Same thing always happened to me too," Addison added with chuckle. "Anyway, have a nice day!"
The two ladies left and Addison couldn't help but laugh at what just happened. She sighed and sat down again on the stool when her phone suddenly vibrated. She took it out to see a text for Fiolina.
Fio: Smth came up
Fio: I can't come an hour early to chat with ya
As much as Addison thought she was annoying, Fiolina was still a fun person to talk to.
Add: Awww
Fio: Sorry girl
Fio: But don't worry
Fio: I'll be there in time for my shift
Add: Okay
Addison put her phone aside and yawned. It was getting late, and there were still two hours of her shift left. There weren't many customers now since it was way past peak time.
Usually there wouldn't be any customers now, save for one or two people coming in to get a late night snack like chocolate or bread for tomorrow's breakfast. Or some people would just come to get beers for a party.
Then two teen girls came in, evidently just being dismissed from the tuition centre nearby. They got themselves some SlurpSlurp, giggling about a cute guy from school. Addison chuckled, remembering her time during high school. It wasn't that long ago, only been a few years.
Addison took her phone out again and started watching some videos. She didn't have anything left to do, no customers, no stocks to arrange, nothing new to see around the store. So she decided to just play with her phone since that was the only thing left to do besides stare into the abyss.
Until a new customer walked in.