NEWSIES: The Ultimate Modern AU

How Race... Raced

Albert zoomed through the stock shelves, stopping to pile pots and pans onto the golf cart while Race climbed a ladder of a shelf. Once again, a busy workday where Race was assigned pots and pans, at least today he had Albert to keep him company. "Albert?"
"Huh?" Albert looked at his phone while he sat in the drivers seat.
"Do you think we'll always be stuck in this job?" Race asked, squinting at a receipt and then the shelf.
"Eh why do ya care? It's not like we is going anywhere."
"Do you want to always work here?"
"It's not terrible but I mean- it's pretty shit. Why? You wanna go work in some fancy ass office?"
Race threw an oven mitt at the boy, "Oh shut the fuck up no. I don't know, I'm just sick of pots and pans, what if we..." he looked down the isles, "worked at a trampoline place? We could just vibe there the whole time!"
"Yeah that could be fun... better than pots and pans!"
"EXACTLY!" They reminisced at the thought for a minute then moved on.

They kept gathering items before they headed back to the station. When they arrived at the packing bench, Race looked at his receipt. "For fucks sake I missed and item. Be right back, don't miss me to much!" He sarcastically blew a kiss as he left.

He boarded the golf buggy, and accelerated down the towering shelves, looking at the receipt then up at the stock. He kept muttering the missing item to himself; 'non stick oven mat. Non stick oven mat- what even is that?'
He pulled up at the misc section and began to rummage through, pulling out all sorts of weird kitchen items. Flamingo cups, cringe couple aprons, avocado themed egg holders, jars. Low key basic items that only a qUirKy 20 year old would buy for her first apartment, or a 14 year old for their birthday party.

Finally when reaching the bottom, Race found the mat. It was a sheet of silicone that was about five millimetres thick and flimsy as all buggery.  He waved it in front of his face, confused. He considered its use and then shrugged it off.

Heading back to the station, he passed Elmer on his own cart, heading the opposite way. They stopped to have a quick chat about their stock and dumbass items that shouldn't exist. "Yeah tell me about it! What the fuck is a 'gorillamoo'?" Elmer laughed.
"I bet you half my earnings I can get to the back wall before you..." Race challenged.
"Ohhhhh they don't call you Race for nothing, it's on."

They lined up their buggy's, getting ready to head up to the back wall. Staring each other down, they started, racing towards the finish line. Race took the lead, swerving some boxes that fell behind them, cans going everywhere. Elmer hunched over his wheel, laughing and cursing Race. Taking a shortcut he swerved in front, overtaking and letting out a WOOP of joy. Just before he reached the finish line a tower of boxes fell in front of him and he quickly hit the breaks. Race came to a hult and looked at Elmer. Hesitantly, they looked behind them to the pathway they had just drove up, cans, boxes and shit everywhere. "Well fuck me-"

They got back into their carts, and hurried back to their station. Race was a nervous giggly wreck, he knew he was going to get fired for it. "ALBERT GET YOUR ASS IN THIS SEAT NOW!"
Albert looked up from the pot lids he was stacking. "What the- why?"
"JUST GET IN!"
Albert pranced on over, before he could even sit down Race accelerated, forcing him forward with a jolt. "Jesus Christ why the race Race?" He smirked at his joke.
"Well looks like we're gonna work at a trampoline place now..."
"What the fuck? How? Wha-"
"Don't ask." He smirked, looking towards the messy isle that was a racetrack five minutes previously.
Looking in the same direction, "oh shit..." Albert muttered under his breath examining the mess. "Trampoline Park it is then."

They spat on their hands and high fived, spluttering with laughter and freedom as they ran out the door accompanied by Elmer. Mr Weasel shook his fist behind them which made them laugh harder as they ran down the road back home. Elmer thought about how the others would react and laughed as he pictured them all wide mouthed and jaws on the floor.
"What do you think of trampoline Parks?" Albert asked him.
"What? I mean- they're cool?"
"Good."
"Why?"
"That's where we're going. We'll hand in a resume tomorrow." Race panted between steps which made Elmer laugh as he imagined them doing backflips and jump splits all day long. It was any child's dream. They were going to have some fun.