My name is Richard, i live on Earth. currently, i am working my closing shift at the grocery store.

I have always been an average college student taking basic course. My grades never really did anything for me. They were good enough to get by so I never needed to try much harder than I had to. I can’t stop thinking about how i feel. Like i am wasting my life

"Richard!" A voice from behind breaks through my thoughts.

"What?" I turn around to see a tall lady dressed in business attire approaching me. Her hair is tied back into a bun and her expression is serious as she looks down upon me.

She's probably about six feet tall. She's wearing a black skirt that reaches just above her knees, and a white button up shirt tucked into her waistband. Underneath the shirt is a dark blue vest that goes over a white undershirt. The sleeves are rolled up to reveal her forearms.

Her shoes are also quite revealing. I can see the toes peeking out from underneath the hem of her skirt. By the way, she is my boss.

"You're supposed to be on break." She states again, walking closer to me.

"Oh, yeah, sorry ma'am," I say, putting away some items in on the shelves. I pull out another item and set it on top of the shelf. "We just had another delivery come in, i wanted to get the pallet emptied as soon as i could."

"Are you sure? You haven't taken your break yet. You’ve been on shift for almost 6 hours" She asks, examining the clipboard before her.

"Yes ma'am, we dont have many people working tonight. I know you dont want the pallet sitting out unworked." I reply.

"I suppose not..." She mutters. "Just don't overwork yourself. "She turns and walks off towards her office.

"Thank you ma'am." I call after her.

The woman stops and turns around with a smile. "It's no problem. Go ahead and take your break now."

"Thank you ma'am," I reply, smiling back at her. With that, I head towards the break room.

"That was a nice thing to do there, Richard." I hear her say behind me.

"I'm just doing my job ma'am," I answer.

As far as bosses go, she is pretty good. She cares about her employees. You disrespect her…you wont last long here. We, have gotten a good understanding with eachother. She knows i don’t slack off.

With that, I enter the break room. It's empty...for now. I sit down on one of the couches and pull my phone out of my pocket I begin reading a litrpg short story, the latest i added to my To-be-read list on Royal Road..

"Richard! You're done already?" I look up and see one of the other employees. He's a bit shorter and much skinnier than me. His hair is black and curly and his eyes are a light brown. We both go to the same college together. I've known him since middle school, but he's only recently started working here.

"No, boss lady told me to take my break." i said "was hoping to get the pallet emptied. "My friend says with a chuckle.

"Ah, well. I'm going home anyway. My shift just ended, but good luck getting the rest of the work done." He smiles and leaves.

With this time alone, i read the entire short story i continue sitting for the rest of my break. I sip on a bottle of water while i read. it was not a short break but 30 minutes goes by fast when you read a good book. an litrpgs are my favorite aside from the cross-worlds genre.

I decide that it is close enough to the end of my break that i can get back to working that pallet.

As i start to put things onto the shelves, a thought occurs to me. Why do I love reading so much? What is it about these books that make them so great?

As soon as those questions come to mind, another question pops up: why does everyone else hate it so much? Why do they think fantasy stories are stupid?

For me, they bring me a sense of wonderment.

A feeling that makes me feel as if everything is possible. That magic exists and that dragons could exist right alongside humans.Elves,dwarves, and all kind of fantasy creatures and elements. But this is Earth. the real world and those books are sadly just stories.

I push my thoughts away and focus on the task at hand. I finish the rest of the items off that pallet and take it to the front doors for someone else to put back on the truck.

After that, I go back to the breakroom and grab another drink of water, then head back to the store. As I walk in, my boss calls out to me.

"Richard! Come to the breakroom." She tells me.

I follow her and she sits down at one of the tables. After sitting down beside her, i wait to see what she wants.

"Well, I must say, you did an excellent job today." My boss begins. "Not only were you able to handle all of the work without any issues, you also helped out on a number of tasks. And it's not often that I find someone who works hard and takes breaks when needed."

"Thank you ma'am." I reply with a smile.

"Now I understand that you're still in college and need to studyt. However, I'd like you to consider your future here. You seem to be a good worker and the customers have been happy with you. I really don't want to lose you."

"Yes ma'am. Thank you." I nod and look down.

"But before you agree, I would like to warn you that if you slack off, it will not be tolerated. I mean it." She sternly looks at me.

"Yes ma'am, I'll try to keep up." I assure her.

"Good. I'll give you something extra on your paycheck tomorrow." She stands up and leaves me.

Like i said a good boss. She recognizes effort when she sees it. Most people are to lazy or simply do the bare minimum. I just want to do well at my job. I didn’t care to much in school. However this is life. I was luck i had such a good boss. She cared about her employees and wanted them to succeed. To her, quality employees were more valuable than even her role. I was happy she always noticed my effort. Gave me a sense of satisfaction.

With nothing else to do, i head back to work. I begin unloading the remaining pallet.

It seems to take a long time. But no sooner am I done than one of the other employees walks up to me.

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

"So Richard, how do you like working here?" He asks.

"I'm enjoying it. Alot of work, not much pay. But it isn't to that hard." i say with a grin.

"Hey, I work here too. And believe me, it's a lot harder than it appears." With that, we both laugh.

It seems like the conversation is over, but it wasn't. "Well, I guess I should let you get back to work." He says. "Just wanted to stop and chat with you. See you around."

"Bye." I wave goodbye and return to my duties. It is almost closing time when I hear footsteps coming from behind. When I turn around, my boss is there.

She nods. "You know, you've worked very hard since starting here. I hope you continue to do so."

It sometimes annoys me when she compliments me. I just feel like working hard should be normal. But, i dont complain. I don’t usually work hard. When i do no one compliments me. Here i do get the compliments. It is nice to see that my effort isn’t the stereotypical retail slave-labor experience.

"Thank you ma'am," I bow my head slightly. " I know my shift ends in about 30 minutes. mind if i do some quick shopping before i leave?" i ask, turning to face her.

"Go ahead. Just make sure you don't forget your timecard." She shakes her head. "And remember, if you have any questions or need anything, call my cell phone."

"I won't forget ma'am." I say with a smile.

"Good. Now get going. I have a few things to attend to myself." With that she heads back to her office.

With nothing else left to do, i finish with the latest pallet. I begin to shop. I dont have much money but enough to buy some essentials.

Most people would say i am weird. I know its not the healthiest, but i generally by foods that don’t go bad easy. Sometimes i am to tired to cook, so if i had fresh food it would likely just go bad. Between work and classes, Stuff like instant noodles and canned foods just work for me. At the very least i try to get most of my basic food groups. Meats, grains, fruits, ect. I cringe at how bad my sodium intake could be.

My first goal is some canned soups. I go around the store loading my shopping cart navigating to where i know the canned soups are. i look on the shelf where the canned soups are and i look over it to see what types we have in stock. We are a small grocery store, so we don’t have nearly as many options as one of the big stores like Walmart.

"Excuse me." A voice interrupts my thoughts as a woman approaches me.

"Yes? Is there something I can help you with?" I ask.

"Ma'am, I was wondering if you had any cans of vegetable soup?"

I show her on the shelf. we have a vegan vegetable soup, and a beef broth vegetable soup. I point them out to her and tell her they are on sale 3 for 2 dollars. She places three of each onto her shopping cart. "That was easy." I think to myself.

"Do you have any veggies?" The woman asks.

"Fresh or canned?" i ask.

"Canned, please. I don't like fresh vegetables." She answers.

"Yes, we have canned corn, carrots, peas, green beans, lima beans, spinach, and squash." i say just giving a basic list "they are in the next aisle over. "

"Sounds good. Thanks." She say as she walks away.

I shake my head thinking about how clueless some customers are. Asking me if we have soup when it is right next to her. As for the canned veggies…maybe she is just not familiar with this store.

I continue looking over the soups. we have a small selection. but we have about 30 types of soup. I select 3 cans of beef stew. 2 cans of chicken and rice, 4 cans of vegetarian chili, 1 can of clam chowder.

I turn to the opposite side of the aisle and grab 2 cans of chicken breast and 1 can of spam.

after this i look in my shopping cart to see what ive collected so far.

-3 cans of beef stew

-2 cans of chicken and rice

-4 cans of vegetarian chili

-1 can of clam chowder

-2 canned chicken breast

and 1 can of spam.

I decide i want to get canned fruits next. I work my way over a few aisles to where the canned fruit is located. I notice the canned peaches are on sale. I pick up two cans. "Excuse me." A voice interrupts my thoughts once again.

"Yes? Can I help you?" I ask.

"I was wondering if you have any canned pears?" the same woman from the soup aisle asks.

I look at our stock and find that we only have one can.

"Sorry we only have this one left in stock." i offer it to her.

"That's fine. Thank you." She replies.

I try not to think disrespectful thoughts. People are just like this now a days..sometimes not seeing something right next to them.

I also grab 2 cans of fruit cocktail for myself before i head to my final stop.

my last stop will be the granola bar section. I scan through them all and grab some peanut butter and chocolate flavored bars, as well as some oatmeal raisin ones.

I look through my shopping cart and list all of the items ive gathered so far

-2 cans of chicken breast

-1 can of spam

-2 cans of peaches

-2 cans of fruit cocktail

-1 boxes of chocolate granola bars

-1 box of peanut butter granola bars

-1 box of oatmeal raisin bars

-3 cans of beef stew

-2 cans of chicken and rice

-4 cans of vegetarian chili

-1 can of clam chowder

And 2 cans of chicken and rice

I work my way up to the checkout and grab a bag of teriyaki beef jerky, adding that to my cart. Damn my sodium intake. One of these days when i have more time to cook, maybe i will get real beef instead.

The cashier notices my shopping cart has some unusual items I realise that one of the older employees named Sarah is working the register tonight.

. "Richard, why do you purchase these?" she asks. "I don't think the people around here eat this much canned food."

"Well Sarah, i just prefer foods that dont go bad easily. May not taste the best, but they wont expire fast." I reply.

She looks at me blankly for a moment, before continuing with the transaction.

"Mind if i put the items in my backpack?" i say.

"No, certainly." She replies.

i pull off my backpack it is a black waterproof model. I place the items inside and zip it closed.

Once done she hands me my receipt and i head out.

I remember to punch out before i head to the door

I walk outside not noticing i dropped my name tag. I begin to cross the street when my boss finds my name tag on the floor in the store. She comes outside calling my name.

I am crossing the street when i turn to see her standing in front of the store. My boss yells "Hey Richard!"

I look ahead and realize she called me by my first name. For a second i wonder what's going on.

"Uh, yes ma'am?" I answer.

"You forgot your name tag." She says.

I look down at my chest and notice its gone. I never noticed it was missing until now.

It is then i don't realize that a car is driving right towards me on the road. It is too late for me to move out of the way and the vehicle hits me.

My boss is looking in shock as i get hit by the car.

I am screaming but no sound comes out.

I feel myself getting thrown into the air and land on my back, my head strikes the ground hard.

The driver of the vehicle stops and gets out. The man leans over me making sure i am still conscious. My boss is running over shouting.

"Are you alright?" She asks me.

"I don't know" i try to say. i notice i can't move. i am having trouble speaking. all i feel is pain.

"He's bleeding pretty badly," my boss says to the driver.

"Ma'am. i don't think im going to make it." i weakly say.

My boss turns to me and sees my eyes are glazed over. "Yes you are. You will make it." She reassures me.

I notice she has tears starting to well up.

"I cant.. feel anything." i try to say again.

She puts her hand to my forehead and feels my pulse.

"Your heart's beating strongly." She says. "But you're not breathing."

She takes my phone from my pocket and calls 911.

"Boss?" i say.

"Yes, Richard?" She answers.

"I... don't think i will be able to come to work tomorrow," i say apologetically.

My boss is crying. I notice my vision is fading.

She realizes what i mean. I know i am dying.

"Oh Richard, i'm so sorry." She says between tears

"Thankyou for letting me work for you." I say.

She starts to notice the blood pooling around me.

"I won't forget you boss." I tell her. I never got to say a proper goodbye.

I feel myself losing consciousness.