Sunnydale Mills

Day 027

Lena shows up to work, as usual, still parking farther away from the store out of habit. She knows it's not really necessary since they get a bit over 20 c͏̵͠ù̵́͢s̷͘͢͝͞ţ̶̵ą̴̛͠͞n̴͢à̢m̶̵̧̢̡o͏̧ų̧́ŗ̷̸̛͡s̷̵͢͞  on a good day. A typical day is usually deader than death itself. People probably visit the cemetery more than they shop at this Clearance Darcy's store.

The music playing over the intercom sounds like vaporwave since time seemingly slows down when working in a dead retail store. Lena sits on the stool behind the cash register, reading her textbook to study for an upcoming exam. Preston is laying on the counter beside her book, with his legs creating the perfect arch for her to place her book underneath. He lazily tosses a hacky-sack ball in the air above his head, occasionally missing the hacky-sack when it comes back down, hitting his face a few times. When it finally lands on the floor beside him, he sighs in defeat.

"Can you pick that up for me?"

"Pick it up yourself. I'm busy," Lena flatly responds without looking away from her textbook.

Preston shifts his head over to look at her with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah, sure... I call bullshit on that. You're just being an asshole."

"Actually, Preston," Lena flips the page in her book before leaning her chin on her palm, "I'm studying for an exam. You're the one who isn't busy, so get it yourself."

Preston sits up, looking down at her book as he hugs his legs. "What do you study, anyways?"

"I'm working on my masters of none of your freakin' business."

"Jeez, I only asked an innocent question," Preston teases, "I'm bored out of my mind, so the least you could do is show some common courtesy and just engage in some small talk with your co-worker."

"You could also show me some common courtesy and leave me alone while I study."

"You should be working."

Lena looks up from her textbook to glare at Preston. He smirks.

"Oh my gosh, I actually got her to look at me," Preston mockingly grabs his chest, "I never thought she'd give me the light of day!"

"Don't you ever shut up?" Lena asks with an annoyed pout.

"Yes," Preston lays back down, "when I'm distracted with my hacky-sack..."

Lena groans as she rolls her eyes, leaning over and picking up the fallen hacky-sack. She tosses it on Preston's chest, and he flinches with a quiet 'oof' as she goes back to her studying. Preston stares at her for a moment before he continues to toss the hacky-sack in the air. After three throws, it lands on the floor again, and Lena immediately facepalms.