The Stockers (Completed)

5. 150-173

DAY 150, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY

T: There you are.

H: Yeah, here I am.

T: Good morning.

H: Good morning. Why are you waiting outside?

T: The manager isn't here yet. They have the key to open the doors to go inside.

H: But it's freezing.

T: Trust me, I know. This coat isn't doing much for me in that regard.

H: It looks cool, though.

T: Thanks. I bought it on sale too.

H: Nice.

T: Anyway, I expect the manager to be here any minute now.

H: So we just... wait?

T: Yeah. Is it your first time starting at 7 AM?

H: It is.

T: Well, welcome.

H: Thank you for having me.

T: Get ready for the most hectic one and a half hour of your life.

H: Oh, I don't think I'm prepared for that.

T: Doesn't matter, we're going in anyway. Learn from doing.

H: Great. What's going to happen exactly?

T: Well, it's Saturday. This means there's going to be a big-ass truck in this very street in about ten minutes after 7.

H: Okay...

T: In that time all the pallets that we need gone are put outside. With the stuff on it of course. The pallets we need come from the truck and will be brought in.

H: How do they get to the stock room?

T: That's a very good question. We have a... thingy... I don't know what it's called.

H: A teleportation device?

T: I wish. It's like a forklift truck but way less fancy. There's no seat. You just pull it.

H: Oh.

T: Yeah. So you take that thing and you put a pallet on it. Then, you have about a foot's length wiggle room between the pallet and the shelves on either side of it.

H: Are you kidding me?

T: Now, slow and steady wins the race. Little by little you can drag the whole construction back to the stock room. And then the puzzle begins.

H: I don't like how that sounds.

T: You can receive anything between five and fifteen pallets. The more you have, the neater you have to place them. If any of them are crooked there's a big chance not every one of them will fit.

H: Oh, god. I don't have to do that, right?

T: No, probably not. Moreover I hope I don't need to do it.

H: Have you done it before?

T: Yeah, multiple times. One time there was a pallet full of cardboard that needed to go with the truck back to wherever it goes.

H: And then?

T: It went absolutely flawless the whole time, even going around the corners.

H: But...?

T: When I got to the last aisle, something fell off the pallet. Mind you, this pallet is taller than me. Way taller. I didn't even realize it was slipping.