Rachel

Dr Hamori

It was slightly past ten. The boss had not arrived at the time he had promised. Neither was he here now. I stood outside pacing up and down not entirely sure of what to do except to listen to the music that was still playing on in my earphones. I paced. Up and down, and back up and down again. I didn't care that the shop assistants in the shops adjacent to mine were constantly looking at me wondering what the hell I was doing. I've never cared for people like that. Curiosity, once killed the cat, was what I longed to whisper to them up close.

I got thirsty and went to grab a drink from the supermarket. Realising that I had already spent quite a bit of money since I left the apartment I decided that the supermarket prices would beat the prices of these quaint little downtown cafes and beautifully decorated restaurants. How right I was. Being greeted this early in the morning by the staff of a Japanese-owned supermarket was not something I was entirely familiar with. They were all dressed up and neatly lined up in two rows by the store front, ready to bow and greet their customers for the first twenty minutes of their work shift. It was pretty cool, actually, all these smiley faces looking at you and throwing a hearty good morning greeting in with a gentle bow at the waist as you walked by them.

Following the name tags on the aisle, I found the juice rack in no time. Choosing from among the racks and countless rows of juices that they sold, I finally picked one that had more natural ingredients than many of the other more elaborately designed ones which boasted nothing but fake sugars and flavourings. For a mere $2.99, that carton of juice would probably last me a couple of hours into my day at work. Which works out to be economical compared to the astronomical prices I would have to spend on one drink from the nearby eateries. I'm not calculative. It's just that with this rental to pay out each month, I've had to watch what I spent my money on with my previous day job. It's carried over to this job now but it can be a very healthy habit for my pocket. So, I'm just gonna go with this for a tiny spot of a saving plan for awhile.

I made my way to the cashiers by the entrance. As I was paying for my drink, I looked out over the atrium and thought I saw someone standing outside the shop where I was at not too long ago. He seemed to be looking at his watch a couple times. Great. On the one day that I was actually punctual, the boss is late. Now that I've stepped away to get a drink, he would probably think that I was late. Just my luck.

I thanked the cashier and hurriedly stuffed the change into my pocket. Running across the atrium, I stopped beside the man who was now bending down unlocking the bright shutters with a mad bunch of color coded keys that was secured onto a keychain that doubled as a utility knife on one side.

"Hi, good morning!"

He looked up and looked again at his watch. "Do you know what time it is?"

"Yes, Sir! I was here by 9:30 this morning. But I got thirsty and just stepped into the supermarket to get myself a carton of juice."

"Ah, I see. I thought you were late since I was standing right outside waiting on you so I could show you how to unlock the shutter," he replied as he pulled on the shutter for a bit. "It gets a little tricky once it's up to here." He motioned to his knee. "The flooring on the basement is a little uneven and has been since this mall was up many years ago."

"Here, let me try," I had worked in a basement coffee bar before and their shutters had the same problem. I was also trying to get on his good side, after all, no one likes to start their day off on the wrong foot. I heaved the shutter up past the level of my mid-thigh. It creaked, squeaked and groaned as it went up. But then after a while, it decided to finally behave and be quiet, sliding up all the way nice and tight in the roller system.

"Oh, you're good at this!" The boss exclaimed and beamed.

"I try my best, Sir."

"Well, I have to apologise for running late. My niece was caught in an accident early this morning and I have had to send for the doctor."

"That's alright Sir, not a big deal. As long as I wasn't late."

"You're right. I'm usually early too, sitting upstairs balancing the accounts some mornings. Now, listen, Darren, tomorrow you would have to be here and open the shutters by yourself. I have something on in the mornings but I would most probably be here to relief you for your lunch break."

"Sure, Sir! Is there anything I have to do before the store gets open? Like could you show me where the vacuum is or how to work the register?"

"You sound like a great employee already! I've never had someone like you work for me. I'm pleased that you interviewed. Showing initiative is the best way to gain your boss's trust!"

He walked in and turns on two small switches. I followed two steps behind, watching as he flicked the light switches on. "These ones are for the racks by the sides. Just flick them on, and then...turn these on." The center of the shop started to light up.

"I got it! So just these here and those there? Cool."

"And this one is to control the music system. The equaliser would be on your computer screen usually ticked away on the sidebars. What kind of music do you listen to? You can bring some of your own if you would like that. We don't really limit the range of music, just nothing that might cause heart attacks with swear words or incessant yelling would be great."

"Sure, Sir, I'll see what I can bring with me tomorrow but mostly, I listen to Acid Jazz, a little bit of Drum N Bass and Jazz Vocalists."

"Sounds good! Our clientele are mostly working adults, and if you would just take a look at some of the cards that we have in store when you have the time, that would be awesome. You need to know what kinds of card to recommend to our customers. But other than that, just balancing the till at the end of your shift. Sounds cool with you?"

"Yes! It sounds great!"

"I have to leave you to your own devices. Call me if you need something, I'll most probably be at the bank but I'll be back by maybe, 12?" He handed me a name card that read Dr Hamori with his number written below his name.

"Sure, Sir." He's a doctor? Oh.

"See you later." He picked up a stack of letters, straightened his bow tie and then disappeared round the corner, up the escalator.

Work was pretty easy the rest of the day, batches of customers came and left with purchases mostly around 11:30 till 12.

At 12 sharp, Dr Hamori strode in, smiling. "I was watching you from across the fountain while having my breakfast. I'm pleased to see such a high level of service while you were serving our customers. I have decided to increase your hourly rate to $15."

"What? Pardon, I mean, sorry? $15 an hour? Aw, that's so awesome!"

"Yes. $15 an hour because you have proven your worth. And besides, food here so costs so much more than if you work out of town."

"Wow! Thank you so much!"

Dr Hamori smiled. "You're welcome," he replied and walked around the shop. "Everything is spick and span. I like you already!"

"Thank you, Sir!"

He smiled from across the shop and said "Call me Randolph."

"May I?"

"I really don't see why not. Oh and before I forget, I own shops upstairs on the second and third level. On the days I can't come to check on you guys, you will have to communicate with your colleagues upstairs if you need to go to the bathroom or to get your meals. Our stores should never be shut for any reason during its operational hours."

"Yes Sir, I remember you telling me that."

He walked over and opened the cash register. "The numbers to the shops upstairs should be in here somewhere..." He rummaged around in a pile of old scraps of paper and looked pleased when he finally found the piece of paper with the shops numbers on it. "...the girl on the second level is Rachel and the one who tends the shop on the third is Vanessa."

My eyes widened at the mentioned of the name Vanessa. I gulped,"Vanessa?"

"Well yes, her name is Vanessa. She's my niece." He smiled.

"That's a...gorgeous name..." I stuttered.

"Thank you. Because I was the one who threw in that name when her parents were fussing over which name would be best for her."

"Vanessa..." Holy shit.