target boy ≫ l.h. [on hold]

2%

-luke.

i rearrange the boxes of cereal on the shelf quickly and carefully, cursing at the trouble inducing little boys running out of the aisle laughing at my stressed face. of course they had to knock the entire shelf of lucky charms and honey nut cheerios over and make one of us clean up their mess.

"luke, i need you to clean up a mess in the candy aisle, a few kids kinda trashed the place," kerry, my boss, shouts through the earpiece clipped on my belt. in her eyes, i'm basically the janitor, cleaning up messes and spills, but i can't complain, she's my boss.

i finish off fixing the cereal aisle and make my way to the candy aisle, only three down from where i am now. i spot the same kids running out of the candy aisle and i curse under my breath, wondering what kind of parents let their children commit such felonies like this.

it's been a long ass day.

i let out a grateful sigh when i notice there are only a limited amount of bags of twizzlers on the floor, so i bend down and pick a few up, but the childish laughs of the two boys run past the aisle screaming and shouting make me drop the bags suddenly.

as i run out of the candy aisle to catch the boys, a small frame bumps into me and stumbles to regain balance, looking up to me with a 'what the fuck' face. my heart stops beating as i prepare myself to be yelled at.

"i'm so, so sorry, ma'am," i apologize quickly. the customer stays silent for a moment before responding almost incoherently.

"it's alright," she whispers.

"it's just been a long day, you know?" i run my hands through my hair. "if i were to give you a life changing piece of advice, it would be, don't work at target."

i take in her long brown hair hidden under a baby blue beanie, black all time low shirt, skinny jeans, and combat boots. she's cute, and her green eyes mesmerize me with their elegance.

the rest of the conversation is a blur to me, and before i know it, she's grabbed a bag of chocolates and put them into her basket.

"nice meeting you, target boy," she says and smiles at me, almost sarcastically, as she picks up her basket and walks out of the aisle.

i smile to myself, almost in a trance, before i shake myself out of it and turn around, calling to her as she walks away, "come again soon, cassidy i prefer cass!"

once she's gone, i start picking up the twizzlers that are still on the floor, smiling to myself like an idiot. she's pretty, and she likes all time low, and when she was walking away, i got a good look at her ass. that was nice too. i really hope she comes again soon.

"luke!" i hear kerry yell behind me. she's actually out of her office, which almost never happens. "i need you to clean up some toys in the bike aisle. some kids threw barbies around there and tried to run them over. i don't really understand what happened, just go clean it up. thanks buddy," she says and turns on her heel to go and yell at another employee.

"bitch," i mumble under my breath, then cover my mouth quickly like a kindergartener.

i lean down to pick up the last two bags of twizzlers, setting them down nicely on the shelf, and look down to see that my name tag is on upside down.

of course it is.

i quickly adjust it and start walking to the other side of the store where the bike aisle is, cassidy i prefer cass on my mind the whole time.

"what's up with that stupid smile on your face hemmings? see a hot girl somewhere?" brent, a fellow target employee asks as he passes me. the only things he cares about are beer and boobs.

i'm so lost in my thoughts about cassidy that brent has to shake me to get my attention.

"damn, you're whipped," he laughs, slapping me on the back really hard. "get 'em tiger," he says jokingly.

"brent, your microphone is still on, i can hear everything you're saying," kerry's voice sounds through the earpiece in brent's ear. the annoyance is clear in her voice, but this isn't something new - it's something she'd come to expect with brent. "get to work," she says, and before she can say anything else, brent shuts his earpiece off.

"nice one," i laugh, and he shakes his head before walking off to do whatever the hell kerry assigned him to do.

after i finish picking up the decapitated and limbless barbies off the floor next to a kid's spiderman bike, i check my phone and it happens to be the time i get off work. i practically run to the team members' break room and change out into a pair of black skinny jeans and a black muscle shirt, throwing my clothes into my locker and walking out of the store. i pull out my phone and dial a number i know by heart, knowing he would answer on the third ring.

"hey ash, i just got off work, wanna hang?"