"The American superstore. One-stop shopping for everything you could ever want or need. Do you want to be thinner? Fatter? Happier? Sadder? Are you looking for friendship? or solitude? Or even love?"
Hearing the announcement from his office, Faustino sighed tiredly as he lifted his coffee mug to his lips and took a sip,”Seven a.m, only seven a.m,” he muttered, looking at the door as it was knocked,”Come in,” he called out
The door then opened to reveal Dina,”We have a meeting in five minutes, don’t miss it,” she stated and left before he could respond, leaving the man to sigh once more
Looking up at his clock, he felt his eyes begin to feel droopy,”Just five minutes,” he mumbled, leaning down and falling asleep quickly on his desk
..
"All right,campers, listen up. I've got an important announcement. This is your garden variety generic decongestant. ” Dina started, holding up a packet of decongestant as everyone except Faustino sat in the break room,”And this is crystal meth, okay? The tweakers use this to make this. So stop selling them this, so they can't make this," She told them, earning blank looks from most
"That guy told me he had a really bad cold." Cheyenne defended herself, her hands deep in the cheese ball bucket she held
"He was buying 35 boxes, Cheyenne. That should have been a red flag, okay? Use your noggin." Dina responded, tapping her head lightly with her finger as she sent a glare in Cheyenne's direction.
"Let's thank Dina for that helpful tip of the day. Thank you, Dina." Glenn said cheerfully, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet.
"Am I the only one that thinks it's weird that she’s walking around with a bag of crystal meth?" Garret said, concerned laced in his voice as he looked around the break room, though he earned no reply
"Anyway, I am so proud to welcome two new angels to our Cloud 9 family. Why don't you introduce ourselves? Okay." Glenn said,gesturing for the two men to introduce themselves.
One of the guys stood up nervously with his hands in his pockets,."Hello, everyone. I am Jonah. And Iam, I am excited to be here. This is gonna be fun, so."
As he sat back down the other male stood with excitement,"My name is Mateo Fernando Aquino Liwanag, and I'm here to make something of myself. Spread my wings Whoop! See how far I can fly,”.
"Yeah, I, too, would like to see how far I can fly. So" Jonah said,standing up again just to say a few words.
"Saved it." Amy whispered under her breath, rolling her eyes lightly at Jonah's struggle to do something so simple
Suddenly, Faustino cruised into the break room with a mug of coffee,”Did I miss it?” his heavy spanish accented voice carried throughout the room, gaining everyone’s attention
“Yes, you missed the important announcement,” Dina told him as the man walked over to her
“My apologies, I fell asleep,” He defended poorly, taking a sip of his coffee as the woman rolled her eyes in response
“I’ll fill you in later,” Dina told him, and gave Glenn a gesture to continue
"Now, I used to end these meetings with some wisdom from the Good Book.but then someone reported me to corporate." Glenn said, glaring at Dina who stood to the side of him
"Heck yeah, I did!" She replied to his accusation, "Look, I'm a Christian too, but in these four walls, my bible is the employee code of conduct." She hit the employee code of conduct as she spoke, making it clear to Glenn where she stood on
“Don’t you carry meth in yo-”
“That’s beside the point,” Dina cut her friend off as Faustino’s lips quirked up at her reply
“We all thank you for it,” Glenn continued sarcastically
“Yeah, you’re welcome,” Dina said harshly, hands on her hips
“I pray for you, Dina,” Glenn shook his head
“I pray for you too, Glenn,” Dina told him, shaking her head as well
“No, I’m praying right now,” Glenn stated as if trying to beat her prayer
“I’m praying so hard,” Dina replied, their antics causing Faustino to sigh and share a look with Amy as he took another sip of his coffee
“I’m praying harder than you, I know how,” Glenn said, and there was a small moment of silence before the man opened his mouth once more,”Welcome, Welcome to Cloud 9,” he welcomed the two new team members of the store
“We got new employees?” Faustino asked Dina who shook her head as she rolled her eyes
“God, you sleepy caffeinated man,” Dina muttered, raising a brow at the man,”You’re lucky we’re friends,”
As the employees left the break room, Jonah snuck a few glances at the unnamed man who spoke with Dina. Nothing but fascination and a smile on his face.
..
Walking down an aisle with Garrett, nothing but the unnamed man in his head, he suddenly wondered,”Hey, do we have any kind of training? I've just been wandering from one department to another, trying to look like I have purpose,” he told the man in the wheelchair
“It works better if you carry a box,” Garrett told him, tossing him the box he held,”There you go. See? You'll learn as you go,” he said, nodding at the boy
Fumbling with the box in his hands, Jonah asked,”Who’s that um guy who wal-” he tried
“Look, man, only a couple things to remember: always show up on time, don't steal, and stay on the floor supervisor's good side. Also don't annoy, anger, nor bother Clover,” Garrett advised
Looking at the man gaped, Jonah called after him,”The fl... who's the floor supervisor?”
Garrett sighed, pointing at Amy,”Now, I gotta get another box,” he told Jonah before rolling away
“A-and who’s Clover?” he asked, and scrunched up his face,”Is clover a person?” but Garrett was long gone,
Walking over to Amy, Jonah put his box down,”Hey, can we... can we start over? I'm... Jonah, as you know. And you're Ramona-”
“Nope, that is not my name,” Amy cut him off, looking at him with an annoyed expression,”I just don't like random strangers using my name like we're buddies,” she told him
“Right, like how hookers don't like to be kissed on the lips,” Jonah compared, causing the woman to raise a brow at him
“Did you just compare me to a hooker?” Amy questioned, noting in her head to converse with her brother about this later
“No,” Jonah swallowed slowly, hoping she wouldn't take offense
“You look bored. Let me help you with that,” Amy stated, holding up an object Jonah had never seen before,”All electronics are supposed to be 25% off, but our POS system is down. So you scan, hit "reassign," "enter," "override, yes," "reduce 0.25," "enter, yes, yes." she instructed as she showed him what to do, only to look up at him and see him looking in an entire direction
Glancing over quickly to see what caught his attention, she saw her brother helping a customer,”You are not paying attention,” she said, causing Jonah to avert his eyes from the man he still didn’t know the name of
“I'm sorry. Go ahead,” Jonah mumbled, taking a quick glance at Faustino who was now sipping his mug
"Confirm," "enter, yes." Got it?” Amy questioned him, though he still wasn’t looking and quickly looked back at her
“If I guessed your name, would you tell me if I was right?” Jonah changed the subject, causing Amy to roll her eyes before they heard a squeal
“Take this,” Amy muttered, passing him the pricing machine and walking away
“I’ll make a list,” Jonah mumbled
..
Faustino was walking with Amy around the store as they talked. It was normal for both employees and customers to see them chatting while walking through the store.
The twins usually found time during work to talk to each other about work and personal things. Faustino also tended to not like separation from Amy which was rooted from their childhood. That was the very reason he had this job at cloud nine, besides being an author of two best selling books, just to be close with Amy.
“Oh, also mami is making tamales tonight incase you wanna come, bring Emma,” Faustino told Amy, not including Adam who he didn’t care that much for
“Maybe I will, you know Emma misses her, uncle Flower,” Amy teased knowing her brother only let the nickname slide when it came from his niece
“Don’t test me, Amelia,” Faustino warned playfully, nudging her with his hip as she laughed
"Hey!” a voice suddenly called out towards them, causing them to turn and find Jonah,” I figured it out." he said, waving at both of them
“Who is that?” Faustino questioned, looking behind him in confusion as he didn’t know if the white male was speaking to him
“New guy,” Amy rolled her eyes, as Glenn walked their way
“Kinda cute,” Faustino mumbled, tilting his head at the guy as he watched him twirl the device in his hands
“Compared me to a hooker,” Amy said, causing Faustino to raise a brow,”Hey, Glenn, we need new shelf flags for the end caps, but we should check the DCPs first, because last time-” she began when suddenly a crowd of customers ran towards the electronic section,”What is Happening?"
"Could it be a race riot?" Glenn asked, looking at the twins "It's so hard to tell in the early stages. Could be the rapture, but then why am I still here?" he muttered to himself as both twin left to check what was happening
"Hey. I am killing it over here." Jonah said brightly, seeming almost too sure of himself
"You're only discounting everything 25%, right?" Amy questioned, finding it hard to believe so many people rushed over for a 25% discount
"Yeah,” Jonah nodded, showing her the device as he began his process,"scan, "reassign," "yes,”
"Reduce," Amy interrupted, earning a confused look from the man
"Huh?" Jonah mumbled in confusion as Faustino shook his head with a sigh
“Stupid, gringo,” Faustino muttered, taking the device from Jonah’s hands softly
"Reduce 0.25. Reprice 0.25? That would change everything to 25 cents,” Amy told Jonah as Faustino began to fix the problem,”Shut it down! Shut it all down!" she yelled to the employee’s, running to the front to stop the massacre
“Hey, gringo, a little help?” Faustino voiced, gesturing for Jonah to help stop the costumers from buying the merchandise
“Oh, right, sorry,” Jonah mumbled, immediately going to work before he stop,”Gringo,” he whispered with a smile, feeling fluttery that he was given a nickname, even though he had no idea what it meant
"If you sign up for our Heavenly Shoppers program today, you'll save 15% off your purchase, which would drop your price to 22¢."Cheyenne smiled, ringing up a customer while Amy frantically ran through the store and tried to stop customers from leaving with multiple electronics for only 25¢ each
"Sir!" Sandra held out her hands in front of her, grabbing onto his cart, "I'm sorry, but you're going to have to put some of these tv's back. There's a limit of one per-"
"I already paid for these!" He shouted, shoving his cart forward,"Get out of my way!" he shouted pushing her away, only to be met with Faustino who glared at him
“Look, chico, I know it says 25 cents but that’s because a dummy messed with adult toys. Now put the fucking tv’s back before I drive my foot up your culo (ass),” Faustino snapped, scaring the man who instantly began to put the tv’s back
Turning, Faustino quickly helped Sandra up to her feet,”Are you okay, niña?” he asked her softly, his demeanor completely different from before, reverting back to the softness he usually carried
“Y-yeah, thanks Clover,” Sandra thanked the man with a small smile, earning a soft nod as the man then turned and began to stop others from taking more merchandise as he tried to also fix the prices simultaneously
..
"There's no need to identify whoever it is whose fault this was. We can all learn a lesson here." Glenn announced his attempt to prevent the blame falling to Jonah, failing as everyone already knew.
"Would that lesson be not letting Jonah reprice inventory in the future?" Mateo asked mockingly
"It might be, yes,” Glenn stated, making a quick glance to Jonah who downcast his eyes in embarrassment,”All right. Punctuality. I do not tolerate it,because I do not tolerate it in myself. I am an angry man, so I get places early..."
“Another coffee?” Amy questioned, as her brother walked into the break room with a new steaming mug of coffee
“I think I deserve it after the afternoon I’ve had,” Faustino mumbled, side eyeing Jonah as he sipped his coffee
“Touche,” Amy muttered, leaning her head on her brother’s shoulder
“Hey, who’s that guy?” Jonah asked Garrett, motioning to Faustino and Amy, the male who was still half glaring at him
“Oh, that’s clover,” Garrett told him, causing his eyes to widen
“The person you told me not to annoy or anger?” Jonah asked, nervous with the fact this ‘clover’ was somewhat glaring at him
“Yep,” Garrett mumbled, popping the ‘p’, a smirk on his face as he noticed the way Faustino half glared at Jonah,”It seems like you did just that,”
"Let's always remember, the customer is always right!" Glenn cheered,adjourning the meeting with his false statement
..
"Attention,shoppers. Even a big box store has to close, and it's about that time. You know,when Pandora closed her famous box, there was only one thing left inside- hope. I wonder what will be left inside of this box. Could it be Grace? I hope not. If you're Grace's parents, please pick her up at customer service." Garrett’s voice echoed through the speakers as Faustino found his way to the customer service
“C’mon, chica, Mommy’s waiting at the cafe,” Faustino spoke softly, taking the little girl’s hand after it was offered to him and took her to her mother, the woman and child leaving before someone suddenly shouted
"Everybody get down on the ground, now! Get down, get down, get down! Touch the ground! Or get out! All right, calm down. Do what I say, and nobody gets hurt." The shrouded figure stood on top of the checkout above Cheyenne, waving about a gun as he spoke.
Raising a brow, Faustino noticed the familiar voice and shoes that Bo wore earlier,”Bo?” he whispered, not moving to the ground
"Now,I'm gonna start killing somebody every minute, unless you agree to marry me, Cheyenne. Hit it!"
As Bo started to dance, Faustino walked over to his sister and Jonah, though he didn't bother a glance at the white boy,”I don’t understand relationships,” he muttered
“Well, it’s hard to understand them when you’ve never been in one,” Amy joked, causing Faustino to roll his eyes,”But they aren’t your average relationship and Bo’s not an average guy,”she told him
"Heard you want to walk down the aisle. Your baby needs a daddy, we've been banging for a while. All right, I pay the consequences of my actions. Don't try to change me 'cause I'm a man of action." Bo rapped,"When all these people gonna learn? We're gonna get burned, just waiting for our turn. Yo,#BlackLivesMatter, y'all. Okay, if you like what you heard and saw, I'm currently seeking representation in all areas. Also,Imdo modeling, so I'm just throwing that out there. All right, peace St. Louis." Bo cheered, turning to leave after his incredible performance.
"Bo!" Cayenne shouted, pretending to have coughed, catching his attention
"What? Oh, my bad, yo. Cheyenne Tyler Lee, wil1 you marry me? or are you gonna be, like, a dick about it?" He asked, kneeling down on one knee in front of her.
Suddenly all the lights turned off but instead of a deep darkness filling the store, it was illuminated by the glow of hundreds of glows in the dark stars.
Faustino looked up, his eyes glancing widely above as he felt his inner child begin to awaken,"What is this?" he asked, his voice just above a whisper, awe filling his words
“Moment of beauty,” Jonah mumbled from beside him, causing the latino to turn to him,”I heard you like stars and I guess I just wanted to make up for all the trouble I caused you today,” he indirectly apologized
“Crazy, gringo,” Faustino muttered, his face emotionless as he looked away from the boy
..