𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐂𝐇

𝟎𝟐. 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐲𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭

𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝐬𝐭, 𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟒

The mall made way too many sounds when there weren't any shoppers left to muffle them out with shallow conversations. The merry-go-round in the food court never shut off at night and if you held your breath you could hear the haunting tinkling of the loud music box chime from the Hot Topic at the other end of the building. But even without the noisy air vents rattling above your head, it was always freezing in the froyo kiosk.

You always found a way to manage. Nothing but sweaters and long-sleeve layers all summer long. But as soon as the security guard walked by and told you that they finally locked up the building for the night, you shrugged off your apron and tossed your little paper hat in the corner before hopping up onto the counter and tugging the thick long-sleeve wool abomination up over your head.

After throwing it in the general direction of your work locker, you pulled the last unused froyo cup out of the empty dispenser and turned your attention to the toppings counter to start piling it high. You didn't get paid nearly enough to deal with Shadyside assholes putting out their cigarettes in the soft-serve buckets, but making off with a jumbo cup of toppings at the end of your shift made up for it.

Gummy worms, Oreos, mini marshmallows, and peanut M&M's. The world was your oyster and you were a hungry pearl.

You popped a few stray rainbow sprinkles into your mouth as you waited for Heather to swing by on her way out. She was once your babysitter, even though you were practically the same age with only six months between you. Your mom didn't care if her child was being watched over by another slightly more competent child and Heather was put in charge of you all the same.

Of course, that was before she got her own place on the other side of town and your mom's weekend trips turned into week-long vacations, then two-week and month-long getaways. Now you rarely saw either of them.

Closing the kiosk wasn't really closing. All you had to do was lock up the register and stuff your tips into your bag. Scrubbing the ice cream scoops was reserved for the opening guys, whom thankfully you've never had the displeasure of meeting.

You were about to grab the cookie dough scoop when all of a sudden the main floor lights shut off with a loud and hollow clap. No matter how many weekends you spent in this godforsaken mall, the scheduled shut-off always scared the bejesus out of you. Kicking your legs underneath you, you waited patiently for your eyes to adjust to the neon lights emanating from the Radio Shack across the floor. Once, you would have thought it was spooky. Now it was just Friday night. Unless, of course, someone decided to sneak up behind you from behind.

"Can I have a bite?"

Squealing, you whipped your head around to glare at Ryan as he laughed at you with his entire weight leaning against the countertop next to your thigh. You had half a mind to smack him upside the head, but your hands were full. "Not. Funny."

Ignoring the venom in your tone, Ryan nudged you with his shoulder. "C'mon, sharing is caring," he said, eyeing the bowl of goodies in your hand. With a playful frown, you begrudgingly plucked a gummy worm by the tail and dropped the whole thing into his mouth like a baby bird. With his mouth full, you were blessed with 30 seconds of blissful silence. But nothing that good ever lasted too long.

With a cartoonish swallow, Ryan stuck out his tongue to show you the gross greenish-red color that the worm had stained him. "Since when do you take closing shifts?" he asked, turning around to not-so-secretly start picking chocolate chips out of your cup.

You pretended not to notice, glancing either way down the corridor to try and spot Heather emerging from the darkness. "Since my mom decided to extend her trip through November. Me, myself, and I need to pay the electric bill this month."