Transformers ( Bayverse ) - I Bleed When I Fall Down

16 - Bad TIming

    Fay groaned as her alarm clock went off early in the morning. It was only 7 a.m., but that was early by her standards. She would sleep all day if she was allowed to. It didn’t help that she’d had trouble falling asleep last night. And trouble staying asleep. She felt watched all but one of the times she’d woken up. An examination of her bedroom confirmed she was alone, and she was coming to ignore it now.

    With a sigh, she slipped out of bed, getting ready for work, her black slacks and white button-down shirt as much of a necessity to her uniform as her plain black tie and name tag. It was a dull thing, but it identified her as part of the team at the grocery store that she worked at. Unfortunately, she’d been drafted from working in the deli to working at the register, which meant long hours of standing, repeating the same things over and over and saying them with a smile.

    “Hi, did you find everything you’re looking for?”

    “Do you have a store advantage card?”

    “Do you have any coupons?”

    “Do you need any help with anything on the bottom of your cart?”

    “Your total is, blah, blah, blah.”

    “All right, you saved whatever amount and there’s a survey at the bottom. If you fill it out, you have the chance of winning a fifty dollar gift card.”

    Every phrase. Every time. It was painstakingly long and complicated, and it included standing during customer surges for hours if necessary and pushing off your break until it passed. Fay could fake it with ease, the cheery tone and smile, everything. It just got tiring saying the same things over and over . . . But they were low on cashiers and a few of the deli clerks with seniority go to stay in their department while the fresher clerks were drafted to the front end of the store.

    It sucked, but time passed quickly. That was a small blessing in itself. With a swipe of the dark lipstick that gave her the bravery to face the day, she grabbed her things and made her way out of the house. Charlie was already gone for work. Charlie had a real early morning shift. She started at 3 a.m. and worked for ten hours. She also got paid a higher wage.

    Twenty minutes after she’d walked out the door, she walked into the small-town grocery store. Well, not exactly small town. It was a chain within the state and a couple of it’s neighbors. It was a decent place. The layout was fairly easy to follow. She passed her old station in the deli as she went to the back room, putting her things away, getting ready for her shift, time card in her pocket.

    On her way up front, she swiped her card at the machine, then placing her finger in the pad, so it could take her reading. The match was an 81, higher than usual. In winter, it only averaged in the fifties to sixties. Fay’s circulation wasn’t the greatest, so her body was a bit chilled when it got to her extremities. Summer helped with her blood flow, but not her mood. It was a win-lose situation.

“Get a grip, Fay . . . It’s just six hours . . .” She mumbled, not exactly happy with the fact, but it was liveable, anyway. She started at eight . . . She’d be done by two . . . That wasn’t too bad with a half hour lunch . . . right?

    The beeps rang in her ears as she rang up item after item, store advantage cards and coupons. It was a double coupon day, so of course, it was ridiculously busy. And they were short staffed, so people working in grocery stocking the shelves were being pulled up to bag or work registers. It was mechanical as she swept through the paces, bit by bit.

    It was finally starting to slow down, a rush of customers finally beginning to cease. Only one person was in her line now as she handed the previous customer his receipt.