You know, some kids have normal jobs, at Starbucks, or baby-sitting, or dog-walking, and they most definitely don't work on Friday evening.
But, guess where I am now? At The Mystical Mother Earth Shoppe (which is pronounced shop-ee, no matter what Victoria says), working the 4:30 to 6:30 shift, no less. To phrase it in plain English: I HAVE NOT FLIPPING LIFE.
The Mystical Mother Earth Shoppe is not your average tourist trap. No, no, it's for certified whackos who believe in fortune telling, poultices and brews, voodoo and other crazy crap. Out customers are kinda hippies mixed with Darth Vader and Lord Voldemort.
So, why do I work here? I'm desperate for cash.
Since Friday afternoons are kinda lazy, I'm just sitting here, sipping chai tea, reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It's all good until Alaina calls me back, saying that we have a delivery. And its a big one.
Alaina is another employee. She's 18, and slightly insane, but pretty cool. She technically has black hair, but she dyed it all sorts of colors, blondes and purples and greens and blues and pinks all weaving in and out in an explosion of color on her head. And her mom was ok with it. Crazy, right?
Anywho, I walk back to find boxes towering over my head, with all sort of ridiculous labels. For example, the 3 boxes I pick up have labels that read, "Mistress Zhou's Herbal Tea," "Crystal Balls: Medium," and "The Legend of Port Au Prince: A Beginner's Guide to the Art of Voodoo [paperback copies]"
These boxes aren't exactly small. I struggle out of the storage room the main store, and, in the doorway, I bang into a stack of bricks (I don't know why they were there, I think it has something to do with the aura of the room, to 'add solidity to our lives' or something, I'm not sure), and fall, spilling the teabags, crystal balls, and voodoo books everywhere.
I check my self for injuries first. My leg will bruise up, and the palms of my hands are slightly scraped, but I'll survive. Then I move on to the tea, crystal balls, and books. The tea is fine, but it scattered everywhere, so it'll take awhile to pick up. The crystal balls aren't broken, thank gosh, I would have had to pay for them with my salary. The books are a little crumpled, but still sellable.
I am about to stand up to get a broom, when I bang my head on a shelf. That does it. I let loose with the worst swear words I can think of, cursing my job, my life, that flipping shelf, and those stupid whacko products. I am so worked up I don't hear the wind chimes that indicate a custumer has arrived. I don't stop my rant until I hear a slightly amused voice say, "Uhhh, anybody back there?'
Oh sh1t. Thats not good. I stop abruptly.
I stand up, this time watching the shelf, and say in my perkiest store assistant voice, "Welcome to the Mystical Mother Earth Shoppe. What can I do for you?" I groan. "Oh god, I sounded like a reccorded message. So, what do you want?"
The guy, who's about my age grins. "Uhhh, Milly Rider? She comes here alot? Buys lots of herbal cremes and stuff? Wears a blue headscarf most of the time?"
"Yeah I know her."
"She is having a vigil with her 'friends on the other side'." He puts finger quotes around friends from the other side. "So, I'm here to get-" He looks down at his hand. " Uhhh... 'Sagebush Poultice: For Sensitive Auras' for her."
I nodded my head. "Did she run out already? Good God, she bought the jumbo pack last time she was here. It boggles my mind how quickly she goes through them."
