☕︎ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒇𝒕

8 - ʟᴏᴠᴇ ɴᴏᴛᴇ

ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ'ꜱ ɴᴏᴛᴇ: i hope everyone had a merry christmas and a good new year, or happy holidays if you don't celebrate christmas/celebrate something else! 💗

☕✩°｡ ⋆⸜ 🍂✮🤎

- ᴅᴇᴄᴇᴍʙᴇʀ 7ᴛʜ, ᴛʜᴜʀꜱᴅᴀʏ

*ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴘᴏɪɴᴛ ᴏꜰ ᴠɪᴇᴡ*

yesterday was, for lack of a better word, fucking rough. i really, really don't want to go to work today...i tried to get people to cover my shift, but it was all pointless. no one bothered to step on my behalf even though i've covered and saved several people's asses. the double standard is crazy...

"should i call in sick?" i asked reina over the phone as i paced around the living room of my apartment. could i even afford to do that? or, better yet: would funahashi senpai even believe me? he saw me yesterday and he'll get all suspicious since i was in tip-top shape the last time we talked.

"no..." she answered with a small sigh. "it's too late to bail out. not only will you get into trouble with funahashi, but with the company as well," she stated. "trust me, if i could take your place, i would." i told her about the photo that the hooded man left behind as well. this whole thing left me sick to my stomach. then again, i could always just storm into perk & pour and quit.

it'll be like ripping off a bandaid.

but...that will also tarnish my resume. "i know, thank you, reina." i whispered. my mind is scattered and i can't pick up the pieces. there are only so many options i could do at a time like this, but some of them lead me to a dead-end. should i really go to work today? "i should probably let you go. if anything else happens today, i'll keep you in the loop." i added.

"you better." reina awkwardly laughed.

"alright. bye-bye." reluctantly, i ended our call and looked at the time. i have some time to get ready, but i'm not going to be happy about it. luckily, i don't have to work a closing shift until the ninth, but i still want to see if i can somehow get out of it.

when i finally arrived at perk & pour (sadly, i had to walk again because my car was refusing to start), i noticed that funahashi senpai wasn't behind the counter. he must still be in the building though. after all, employees cannot leave until the person next shift comes in and taps them out (this rule does not apply to closers). "senpai must be in the back..." with that thought in mind, i hurried to the back of the shop and— as expected— i found him by the lockers, gathering his stuff. "hi, i'm here." and on time no less.

"i can see that," he replied. i had to stop myself from muttering a small 'bitch', so instead, i turned on my heel and went to go return to the front of the shop when funahashi senpai stopped me by asking, "did reina tell you that you're closing on the ninth?"

i turned back around. "yes, she did."

"good." funahashi senpai responded, having finished grabbing his keys. "now..." he trailed off. "today isn't a closing shift, but you will be staying here an hour or two after dark," he warned me, and the ominous statement made me think of the other night or rather, the photo of me that was left.

"does...this mean i will get strange customers?" i inquired, but it was sort of a dumb question, wasn't it? rewording it: "well, do you guys usually get strange customers around at night?"