“Look, Sonny, I get it, I really do.”
Sonny pushed his bangs out of his face, looking up from the sidewalk in front of him to the speaker. Chuck was walking backwards, a half filled water bottle getting juggled back and forth between his hands. Sonny watched the bottle as it rose several feet in the air, looping suddenly at the top of its arc, and came down into Chuck’s opposite hand, all while Chuck continued staring straight at him, not glancing at the moving bottle once.
“I’m sensing a rapper’s girlfriend moment here.”
The bottle stopped, standing upright on Chuck’s palm. “Dude?”
“Becky, look at that BUTT.”
“Dude. Yes, I get it, but.”
The bottle began its arcing journey again.
“If you’re going to get a job, it should be something that you learn from. And considering your weird obsession and college goals…”
“I’m not obsessed.”
Chuck stopped walking backwards, though the bottle kept moving in its flipping arcs, hand to hand.
“Sonny. Bro. Friend. Pal. You spent every weekend for a month on the catwalk at the store for that science fair project. You were twelve, sitting there sipping soda and writing numbers and diagrams in a notebook. Dad STILL looks at pictures of your project when setting up new displays.”
“Its just… the way my brain works. And no offense, but your dad is INTENSE. I don’t want to work for him. And there isn’t any other grocery store in town since Lockpath shut down!”
As an emphasis to his point, Sonny thrust his hand out to the side in flourish, pointing across the street where the empty building in question had sat.
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP.
The two stared at each other for a moment, blinking in time with the loud beeps of a truck backing up, floating to them across the street. As one they turned their heads to look in the direction Sonny was pointing.
The lot was surrounded by a three story tall chain link fence, swathed in thick white plastic. The beeping, as well as a variety of crunching and machinery noises, came from beyond. A large sign plastered across the fence gave the name of a local construction company, and proclaimed,
‘Soon to be a new location of Thaymark Grocery and Home goods. Grand Opening June First.’
Below that was a smaller sign, held on with duct tape. ‘Interviews this Friday at 9:00 AM. Positions needed, Courtesy Clerk, Cashier, Stocker, Warehouse. All Shifts’
“Shit.”
Sonny nodded. “Yeah, shit. Think your dad already knows about this?”
Chuck shook his head. “Nope. I’ll text him.”
He tucked the bottle into one armpit, and pulled a phone from his pocket, tapping away.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“That said, I don’t think he’ll be too worried. He’s barely been able to keep the store stocked of staples the last couple years, and thats with a lot of people making the hour drive to Pencil to hit the Thaymark and such there. Shauna’s hardware store, now she might be in trouble.”
Sonny slowly lowered his arm, still staring at the sign. “So… it wouldn’t seem, you know, disloyal? If….”
Chuck’s tapping fingers slowed, then stopped. “If… Sonny, no. You told me yourself just how badly they treat their employees, how much they have destroyed competition when they move into new towns.”
“Yeah, but if there’s one thing they’re good at, it's managing supply lines. You DID say I should go someplace where I could learn something useful.”
Chuck’s phone made a sound like the crack of a bat hitting a baseball, and he glanced back to the rectangle in his hands. “Yeah, dad says he found out a week ago. Not worried, he can devote shelf space to smaller demand products hes had to mostly ignore in favor of name brand standard stock. Says you should work there as, and I quote, a corporate spy, get him the sales flyers so he doesn’t accidently compete with their sales.”
Sonny stiffened. “That was a joke, right.”
Chuck laughed. “Yeah, right after he said, not that Sonny would go for that. Kid’s so straight the Boy Scouts would use him as an arrow.”
His face grew wistful, and Sonny looked away with a blush. “Dad’s not wrong about that, unfortunately.”
Trying not to stammer, Sonny replied as nonchalantly as he could manage, which wasn’t very. “At least you finally figured out why that kiss at Jimmy G’s birthday party felt so wrong for me.”
“Yeah.” Chuck looked back down at his phone, then snapped his head up with an exclamation. “Hey! If they put in a full sized clothing section, I might not have to order new binders online. Bonus.”
Sonny smiled, looking back at his friend. “I tell you what, I’ll see what I can find out Friday. Now let's get moving. I have to get home and work on my resume.”
A sudden motion caught Sonny’s eye as light glinted across the street. A large round mirror lifted up just over the fence. From his angle, Sonny could see a partial reflection of the inside, trucks and bare dirt. The perspective was confusing, but it looked like the mirror was being hoisted on a large pillar sticking up from a large hole being dug as foundation for the building. It twisted left and right in the wind, and then held steady for a long moment, the sun reflecting directly at the pair, bathing them in light. Squinting, Sonny thought the reflection looked a bit like a glowing iris, the mirror an eye, and a shiver ran up his spine, the feeling of being watched.
As quick as it came, the beam was gone, the mirror sinking below the fence again, as Sonny blinked away the bright purple spot floating across his vision.
“June first though?” Chuck mused out loud. “That's barely two weeks away. How do they expect the building to be done by then. And that mirror, looks like the one they mount in front of every store, with that banner with the cheesy line on it, right?”
Sonny nodded, still blinking. “Yeah, ‘Our most important customer.’ They put it over the entrance at every store, aimed down to reflect the shoppers as they walk in. Weird they would have that out on a construction site without the building there.”
“Yeah, weird.” Bottle forgotten under his arm, Chuck turned around to walk normally, and the pair continued walking.
Sonny fought the urge to turn around several times, his mind imagining that mirror poking up again, watching him as he dwindled into the distance.