I wipe my hands on a towel and hang it to dry over the sink basin. Just as I pivot to leave, I hear a deep voice calling my name from behind.

"Gabriel, don't you leave yet! I've got a paycheck for you!"

Out of the employee room doors comes my boss, Robert. He's a short and stout man, like a teacup, or rather a barrel. His hair is almost gone but he has an impressive salt and pepper mustache to make up for it.

"Thanks, boss," I say, taking the sealed white envelope from his chubby hand.

"Call me Bob."

He smiles and tucks a pen behind his ear, staring at me like he's waiting for me to say it.

My eye squints ever so slightly.

"Thanks, Bob," I say, just to appease him.

He flashes a bright white smile before heading out to the dining room. His teeth couldn't be more fake.

"Such a nice man," Jonathan says to me from the dish washing station. I'd love to know how he got there so quietly, and without me noticing.

"Oh, here," I untie my apron and toss it to him, "maybe you can ask Bob for more than one dish apron."

Jonathan doesn't say anything, he just turns around and starts scrubbing dishes like his life depends on it.

He is still very serious with me, but has smiled a total of two times since I first met him. Or, perhaps it was a muscle twitch, the whole gesture did feel a bit robotic.

When I make it into the employee room, Arnold is sitting hunched over onto the folding table, just lifelessly lying there.

I freeze in place, moving my eyeballs from left to right, just to make sure nobody is here with us. My brain can't decide if it would be better if someone was here, or if it would be better if nobody else was here.

"Um... Arnold?" I gingerly ask, trying to jog my brain on the training we did about emergencies.

Coupled with the fluorescent lighting that sometimes flickers enough to give someone a seizure and his age, this doesn't look good. 

"Meditating," he responds calmly, not a single bone or muscle moving in his body.

My shoulders relax in relief when I hear is voice, which is muffled and weak, but nonetheless there.

"Got it," I say with my finger in the air, taking a mental note for next time. Quickly, I grab my things from my locker and leave.

When I finally make it outside, the crisp air is a welcome change of scenery.

Being couped up in the kitchen all day is terrible. Now, more than ever, I crave the smell of fresh air. Never in my life would I think this day would come.

The dinner rush is about to begin inside, so I am relieved my shift is over. I overheard Katie asking Sadie if she could stay for an extra hour.

Sadie's face looked unhappy and worn out, but she nodded "yes." Part of me wished she would have said no.

Curiousity strikes me and I decide to walk past the diner, just to see if Sadie is still inside. Instead of making my usual left, I turn right.

I scan the window slowly, observing each waitress and waiter and patron until I finally spot her.

She's taking an order, her eyebrows squeezed together as the customer talks. Her hair is pulled into a high ponytail, but her bangs are still down, slightly long and pushed to either side of her face. I like how it looks on her.

"What are you looking at?" Another voice comes up from behind me, this time female, and I jump.

"Who are you?" I turn around to face the body with this voice. We are the same height, at eye level. My brain catches up to my eyes, and I realize that it's Shannon.

"Stay away from Sadie," she says with a straight face, her tone sounding like a threat.

"Maybe don't come up to random people on the sidewalk like that," I offer her this advice while rubbing my temples.

Shannon narrows her eyes as her face changes in front of me, a look of disgust and anger taking over. Her chin slowly tilts up, like she's silently telling me to fuck off, but she's really just getting a better look at me. Sizing me up, maybe? We'd be a perfect match.

"What do you have against me?" I raise my eyebrows, absolutely intrigued to hear her answer.

"I just don't like you," she says with a shrug. She's tapping one foot like it's the only distraction keeping her from beating me to a pulp.

"You don't know me," I remind her, narrowing my eyes right back.

"I've seen enough of you to form the opinion that I don't like you," Shannon crosses her arms and tries to look behind me, "I am taking Sadie home."

"Great," I tell her.

"It's a shame you work here," Shannon adds. If it was supposed to burn, it doesn't.

It's a shame you exist, I think to myself.

Instead of saying that out loud, I scratch my head and think again for a moment.

"You know, I am so surprised Diego even thought about hiring someone as rude as you. I'm going to go talk to him about that."

Shannon gives me a glare that could break skin, but I turn my back to her and start walking towards the thrift shop.

"And you've got an hour, Sadie's working overtime!"

Once I'm out of eyeshot, I pull out my phone and text Sadie.

Sorry I missed you at work today

The walk between the diner and the thrift shop is only a few minutes long, which is much better than the eight to ten back to my apartment.

I pull the door open, and there is nobody in the store when I arrive, just Amelia at the register. She places her elbows on the counter when she sees me, resting her head on her hands, "Ah, there he is. Looking as dreamy as ever."

"You sure?" I take a look down at my outfit. A dirty white t-shirt and normal blue jeans, with a black pair of restaurant-approved vans shoes.

"I am sure," she says while looking my body up and down, a certain glaze over her eyes.

When we made out at the party, it was nice. It was really, really nice and I was not expecting it to be like that at all. There was some sort of chemistry that opened up.

I thought about it for a few days after. Part of me wanted to do it again. In fact, part of me wanted to do it right now, just looking at her. But I bite my tongue and change the subject.

"When did you start working here? Or are you just here for fun? I feel like I am missing something."

"Four days ago. I'm always shopping here, so I thought why not. I've worked retail for years," she says, "plus if you're here now, maybe I'm here for fun, too."

Diego comes hustling out of the back room, a few shirts draped over his arm. Amelia's attention pulls away from me like she's bored, or rather annoyed that Diego ruined our moment.

"Hey man," he says to me, "slow day today."

"That's a shame. But, I do have a bone to pick with you," I tell him as he walks past me on his mission to hang shirts.

When he hears the second part of my sentence, he stops and turns to look at me, like the shirts just aren't important anymore.

"Shannon," I say once I have his attention.

Just the mention of her name makes Amelia gasp.

"Do tell," Amelia darts her focus between Diego and me.

"I'm just curious, what is she like here? The few times I am here when she's working, she looks at me like I am the worst person ever."

I lean against the counter, and I feel Amelia's eyes fixed on me.

Diego shrugs and goes back to hanging the shirts up that he carried out.

"She's average. Shows up on time, is proficient with the register... not great with inventory and tagging, but that's okay. I do most of it."

I nod slowly.

"Interesting... because she seems like a real shitty human being," I say it, the words just come out like that.

Diego stops mid hang and looks at me, his face pale like he's seen a ghost.

"What did she do?"

"Nothing," I admit with a casual shrug, "nothing at all."

Relief washes over Diego's face, "I thought I was going to have to fire her."

I bounce the heel of my shoe off the toe of the other a few times, hesitating a moment before I speak, "you should."

Diego goes pale again.

"Seriously, dude?" He hangs all of the shirts together on the rack and saunters over to me, "I cannot do that."

"Why?" I ask, beginning to bite my nails.

"Stop that," Diego pushes my hand away from my mouth, then continues, "because I can't afford to lose an employee."

"What if I took her spot until you find someone else? She's part time, right? What's her schedule like?"

Diego looks like he seriously considers this, but shakes his head, "I believe you when you say she's a bad person, but I can't let her go right now. Christmas is next month. Black Friday is this week. It's like, the busiest time for small businesses coming up."

On one hand, I completely understand. On the other, I want this small piece of Shannon's life to be ruined.

Maybe more than I want Sofia's life to be ruined.

"I like the idea of Gabriel working here," Amelia chimes in with a wink in my direction.

"Of course you do," Diego says over his shoulder, heading back to the shirts he abandoned previously.

When he goes back to the rack, the setting sun casts a sliver of light that highlights him. The one amazing thing about his shop is that it is almost entirely windows.

We all stand in silence for a moment, and Amelia and I lock eyes like two friends not allowed to talk during class.

"I think you should have this coat. I thought of you immediately," Diego says as he pulls a denim jacket out of the middle of a rack, "It's a Levi's denim sherpa jacket. It's yours whether you want it or not."

He pulls the hanger off and balls the coat up in his hands, tossing it to me from across the floor.

"You have one almost identical to this," I tell him, confused.

"And it would look way better on you," he says.

"No, I think it looks better on you. It's your vibe," I toss the coat between my hands, getting ready to throw it back to him.

"And it's your vibe, too," he tells me with a knowing glare.

"Fine," I finally say, slipping my arms through the sleeves.

At some point I will try and pay him, and he'll decline, so for now it's a charity donation.

I turn to face Amelia, resting my elbows on the countertop so I can lean in. I look at her with a half smile and catch her eyes batting innocently when she notices me.

"Is it weird that I want to kiss you?" I whisper.

Amelia doesn't hesitate to lean in and meet me, pressing one quick kiss to my lips.

"Sorry, that's all I'm allowed while on the clock."

She smiles sweetly.