I was working my normal shift at the mall, bored as always. I leaned forward on the counter, setting my chin in my hand. I traced circles onto the smooth countertop with my finger. You'd think that working at a mall would be more fun, but it's not when you work at a music store that hardly anyone goes into anymore. I sighed, my eyes slowly starting to close.
I get broken out of my daze when I see people actually coming into the store. Four guys to be exact. I perked up a bit and said my usual welcoming.
"Hi. Welcome to Cay's Music. Let me know if you need anything." I put on a fake smile and leaned back forward onto the counter. The four guys all nodded at me and searched through the store. I watched them wonder through each section, playing with my fingers as I did so.
"How much is this? There's no tag," one of them said in a thick accent, holding up an old Red Hot Chili Peppers album. I squinted my eyes to see it from across the room. He held at up, his long fingers tapping on the front cover.
"That one's 7.89," I said, returning to my leaning position. He gave me a small grin and turned the CD over in his hands.
I watched him as he kept looking from left to right, his gold curls swaying too and fro. He turned his head back to me. I thought he was thinking of stealing it until he came to the counter and set the album down in front of me.
"Will this be all for you today?" I asked, typing in the code since it didn't have a tag.
"Yup. Mind if I chill for a minute while my friends pick out what they want?" he asked, placing his arms on the counter. I leaned back and sat up straight.
"Sure, I guess. Do you want a bag for this?"
"Nah, that's okay."
"Okay." I handed him the CD as he handed me the money for it.
"Keep the change."
"This is a 20 dollar bill."
"I know. Keep the change."
"Oh. Uh. Okay." I stuffed the money into the cash register. The guy looked behind him to see his friends still looking at various albums.
"My name's Ashton, by the way," he said, still looking around.
"Gemma," I said, rearranging some things on the counter like I've done all day.
"Pretty."
"Thanks."
He stood up straight when one of his friends called out, "Ash! Let's go!"
He grabbed his CD and gave me a quick smile.
"See ya later, Gemma."
I nodded him off and watched as him and his friends ran off into the mall. That's when I noticed that the lights above the entrance were blinking red. Our alarm system was broken, so it really doesn't help.
My eyes went wide as I quickly rushed out from behind the counter. I ran out into the mall, trying to find the crew of guys, but I had no luck. They were long gone. I sighed and walked back into the ancient music store.
This place can't afford to get stolen from. At least that Ashton guy didn't steal. He even gave me a huge tip. That's gotta count for something, right? As much as I complained about hating this old place, I would hate to see it shut down. But it looked like that's where it was headed.
...
My shift ended awhile before the mall closed, so I decided to go to the food court and get some Chinese food.
I sat down at an empty table by myself and started eating. I was starving to say the least. Since I was one of two people that worked there, I didn't get many breaks to eat during the day.
