I Never Buy New ~ SKZ AU ~

Closing Shift

*buzz buzz buzz*

I wake up to the sound of my alarm. It's noon. Walking into the kitchen, I decide to eat an apple from the bunch my mom dropped off a few days ago. I see my phone flooded with texts and memes from my friend, JJ. Thirst traps, old people saying crazy stuff, cute animals, the usual. 

Today I go into work, the closing shift. If you've ever worked retail, you know how annoying the closing shift is. Organizing the floor after mobs have come into the store and made a mess of every rack and shelf, closing the registers, and cleaning the disgusting floors and restrooms. Unfortunately, I don't work at a department store or a cute little boutique. My shift is at the thrift store down the street from my house. A dusty, hot, loud thrift store; full of interesting people. Yesterday, a woman was singing Player's Baby Come Back at the top of her lungs like she was the only person in the store. Honestly, she wasn't too bad. A bit pitchy, but not the worst. It was just strange she sang partly in English and partly in a language I think she made up. 

My shift is from 4PM-12AM or 1AM, depending on what needs to be done. I don't get to enjoy most of my day, so I stay up most of the night after work. My sleeping schedule is all kinds of screwed up. Waking up at noon or 1PM or 2PM and staying up until 5AM or 6AM at times. It's not ideal, but I can't complain too much. I get a pretty good discount and get to see all the new items stocked. The supervisor, Tracy, let's us get first dibs on the nice stuff, she's close to my age. A few years older but chill none the less. But our other supervisor, Mary, is a hard ass. If anything is out of place, she can sense it like a bloodhound and will let you know how she feels. Knows no filter and doesn't care about being liked. I can respect it. 

To make the most of my time before my shift, I catch up on YouTube videos, TV shows, texts, and of course watching the memes JJ sent me. She sends the weirdest stuff. I eat whatever I can find in the fridge or can make quickly. A sandwich, leftovers, ramen? I see a plate of leftover lasagna my mom make two nights ago and eat that while watching What We Do in the Shadows.

I look at the clock and it's already 3:15PM. I need to get ready, nothing makes me more anxious than being late. I typically leave my apartment at least 10 minutes early. I'd rather leave too early so I can have time incase I can't find a spot to park, need gas, or if just about anything unexpected comes up. Luckily the store is just a 4 minute drive from my apartment. Today I know Mary will be there, so I'd rather get there earlier than needed so I can get my shit done. 

I put on minimal makeup, mainly just focusing on my eyes because I know my base will melt off within an hour at the hot store. I wear my contacts to work rather than my glasses. When I first started here, I wore my contacts because I broke my glasses. I got a new pair, but I just don't want to hear any comments from my co-workers. Negative or positive. I usually put my hair in pigtails to keep the hair off my neck and to also avoid looking bald in a ponytail. Dangly flower earrings, plain red t-shirt, and jeans. And of course my apron that says "I never buy new" 

The clock now reads 3:43PM, I start my car and roll down the windows to let the hot air that had been building up escape. It is very hot where I live. Today is 101F, it is an understatement to just say it is hot. I live in a rural town with a population of 9,000? Well, maybe 10,000 now, who knows? I'm able to live on my own because rent is incredibly cheap, my mom gave me her old car, and living expenses are cheap in general. Plus, I only live here months at a time. 

I'm a student, so I only really live here 4-5 months out of the year. The rest of the time I spend at university. Luckily, I have a full-ride. I don't have to worry about tuition, housing, or even my meals. It's all included in my scholarships. I keep this job during the summers and breaks to save as much money as I can before going off to school. Surprisingly, for a thrift store in a random small town, it pays well. And my budgeting skills are pretty good that I can save enough money without over working myself. I do have a part time job at university, but that's not all that relevant right now. We'll talk about school when it comes up.

I rent my place out to my friend, Honey, while I'm away at school. I trust her to take care of the place and not destroy it. (And yes, her given name is Honey, her parents have an overwhelming love for beekeeping.) She goes to the technical school 20 minutes away. Her family home is across the country, not sure why she decided to come here, but she enjoys it. I actually met her when I was touring this technical school after I graduated high school. Nursing wasn't for me, so I didn't go, but she loves it. Her excitement and bubbly personality really attracted me to her. She was always bright eyed and interested in really anything. Though I usually don't approach people, I knew I'd regret not hanging out with her when I had the chance. We went off exploring the tiny campus, and I asked if she had ever been roller skating. She hadn't, so I invited her to come out with JJ and I to the roller rink. (The roller rink is the only fun place in town.) She enthusiastically shouted yes. At this time I was still living at home and jobless because I had just graduated. She let her parents know she wanted to go out with me skating, and they just let her go. (Personally, my mom would never, she'd say only if she drove me or just flat out no. But I guess her parents or just naturally more trusting of people.) Honey came back to my house so I could grab my skates. I had a few pairs of skates and to my surprise, she was the same size as me. She borrowed a pair and my mom dropped us off at the rink to meet JJ. 

As expected, JJ and Honey got along instantly. Both loud, JJ a bit more crude and Honey more naïve. Honey was terrible at skating. And lucky for her, I brought knee pads and wrist guards for her. She put them on and freely just fell and tried her hardest to skate. I can really appreciate her commitment to it though she had a huge bruise on her thigh the next day. That day is one of my most precious memories with her and JJ. And to this day, we're still the best of friends. 

I get into the car at 3:48PM and drive to work. I'm there early and clock in. Today, I'm assigned to the men's and infants' section and a register. What that means is that my main priority is cleaning up the men's and infants' sections that are right next to each other. And I have a register assigned to me, so if the lines get long or the main cashier needs to go on break, I stay at the register. I basically just have to bounce back and forth between the two areas. The section is a mess, so I try to quickly organize my section to prevent work from piling up at the end of the night.

********

It's the end of the night and the store is now closed. It's 9:30PM and the last customer has finally left the store despite our closing time being 9:00PM. I go back to my section and pick clothes off the floor, hang them up, and hang items on my rack that don't go in that section. After cleaning my section, it's now 10:30PM. Now all I have left are the clothes on my rack. I roll the rack to around the store and finally clear it. Mary rolls out 3 racks of new items to put on the floor. We all quickly grab handfuls of clothes and clear the racks as fast as we can. We finish and it's 12:05AM and can finally go home.

Mary does a bag check and opens the doors for us to leave. Usually when we leave, it's quiet and empty in the parking lot besides our cars and a few others. Tonight, it could hear laughing across the plaza. In the darkness, I could see and hear what seemed like a group of guys. Just goofing and running around. They must have a messed up sleep schedule like mine to be so energetic this late. Regardless, I get in my car and leave. In my mom's old car, one CD is stuck in the player. Jon B's album Cool Relax. It's a great album, so I can't complain. Just as Don't Say ends, I get to my apartment.

I quickly get inside and shower. I look around the kitchen for something to eat, but I'm too lazy to get anything ready and just eat fruit and chips, plop myself on my bed, and scroll through memes on Instagram. (Yes, I'm the type to watch TikToks on Instagram so I don't have to download the app.) JJ has since sent me 22+ memes, and I watch every one of them.

I put my phone down and grab my laptop. I start to work on a track I started a few weeks ago. It's a moody track with lots of piano and soft bass. I add soft whispers in the background to give depth to the sound and something interesting. The only person that has listened to my music is JJ, she says she likes it. But she's biased, she knows I'm sensitive and might cry if she said she hated it. But I really only work on this for myself. I don't plan on showing it to more people or posting it anywhere. My confidence would plummet if people shitted on it.

I'm pleased with it for the moment. It's now 3:30AM, and I decide to watch YouTube videos for until I fall asleep.