DAYDREAM, ROBIN BUCKLEY

FOUR

"Oh, crap, oh, crap, oh, crap," Wendy mumbles to herself, weaving in and out of shoppers in order to arrive at her job as quickly as possible. Her alarm clock didn't go off this morning, meaning she woke up thirty minutes later than usual and had to arrange a ride with her father, who was less than pleased to help her.

      Wendy takes a short cut through the food court, almost colliding with some poor blond kid hurrying away from Scoops with mint chocolate chip on a waffle cone.

      "Hey," Robin calls from the register, "where's the fire?"

      Wendy's face burns, bouncing on the balls of her feet and throwing nervous glances at The Gap from where she stands. "W-woke up l-l-late. G-gotta go!"

      "Okay, okay. Wait! Wanna help me with decoding some top-secret Russian communications at lunch?"

      Eager to get to work, Wendy nods, throwing out a "Sure!" before racing away from the beaming girl. As she reaches the store, she catches Lindsey standing near the back with an unamused smile on her face. She halts in front of her, eyes wide and mouth moving far quicker than she ever thought it could. "I am so sorry, Linds. It will n-n-never, ever, h-h-happen again, I-I promise--"

      "Relax, will you?" Lindsey asks, glancing behind the girl at the customers piling in. "You're late, whatever, we'll talk about that after everyone is gone." Wendy nods mutely, turning on her heel and beginning to move to the cash register to start her shift when Lindsey grabs her hand. "Nope, you're not on register today, you're going to help people find dressing rooms." Wendy blinks in confusion and horror at the news. Lindsey stares at her incredulously. "Go, Wendy. Now."

      Wendy nods rapidly, taking hold of the keys that Lindsey thrust into her hands a second later. She turns on her heel, narrowly dodging a table clad with jeans on her way to the back. As she stops in front of the vacant rooms, her brows furrow in confusion, her mind brought back to what Robin had said to her earlier. "Secret Russian communications," she mutters to herself, letting out a shaky breath. "Okay. Totally normal. Probably fake. Should be fun. Not weird at all."

      Max Mayfield rushes into the store with a brunette girl beside her, taking the attention of Wendy immediately. The duo laughs loudly, flitting around the store as they search for something to buy. Lindsey sends her a look from the front of the store; watch them. If they knocked something over in their excitement, Wendy would have to be the one to pick it up. If they stole something, Heaven forbid, then Wendy would need to report them.

      But Wendy knew Max and she wasn't worried about the latter so much as the former.

      "Hello, g-girls," Wendy greets, grinning at them as they admire some of the stores more... unusual options. "Would you l-l-like to try on some c-clothes?"

      The brunette gapes at her, her eyes drifting around the store for a moment before she leans forward and whispers, "right here?"

      "No, no." Max laughs awkwardly, widening her eyes at her friend as a silent 'shut up' before turning back to Wendy. "We would like to, actually. In the," her eyes dart to the brunette's," dressing rooms."