His dreadful day at work is finally coming to an end. Just a few more minutes till he can depart and head home. Just a few more rowdy disrespectful customers borderline hurling insults at him. Just a few more commands from a shitty boss telling him off for not being capable of doing the job of 2.5 employees while also telling him off for taking seven minutes instead of five to take a shit. He’s counting down the seconds excited now that only 100 are left.
“Just two more customers… I can go after two more customers!” he tells himself trying to keep his composure.
For whatever reason he’s the only cashier standing at the cash register at noon when there should be two. His boss, despite repeatedly telling him to just holler if there are too many customers, is sitting in his little ventilated office just typing away at his PC. Whenever he "helps", he’s always standing in the way acting like he’s completely incapable weaponizing his incompetence. Whenever Shen calls for help, he has to deal with the “Why didn’t ask for help earlier”-spiel expecting his little slave worker to predict the influx of customers coming in at all times.
“I’m sorry Shen, but I’ll have to ask you to stay another ten minutes if that’s okay with you…”
"If that’s okay with you" makes it seem like he has the option to decline. It’s never okay but if he doesn’t do as told all he’ll get to hear about is how ungrateful he is despite being taken in by these oh-so-kind family-owned business when it’s oh-so-hard to get a job these days. Shen can feel something boiling over. Though he usually would just keep to himself and do as told, he can’t help but feel like he has to fight back.
“No. I’m sorry but I have something planned for today,” he replies. Despite all the scrutiny he faces whenever he is even slightly out of turn, he cannot be arsed to give a shit. He simply decides that now’s the time to clock out.
“But I need you to take over. Emilia is on break and I have to go!”
“I don’t care.”
He beelines straight for his bag practically running out of this stupid kiosk with his boss telling him all about how he could fire him and how hard it would be to find a new job. Shen can come in the next day anyway without worry because they’re constantly understaffed and cannot afford to lose their little black sheep that consistently gets beaten around for being the naive new guy despite working here for far longer than half the employees and almost being employed for a year.
“What does Nikolay even do as a job? I never really asked or did he skirt around that too?”
Usually he’d walk straight home without hesitation or a moment taken to rest or shop. Today he feels a little peculiar. Even though they’re supposed to meet in just a day, Shen can’t help but feel the need to meet him now. There’s something tugging at him. There’s no harm in contacting your friend, right?
“He couldn’t be harrassing some random homeless people right now, right? But the guy he was harassing was also a dickhead consistently getting on my nerves coming in either stoned out of his mind or so violently drunk that he’d have to be talked down to like a child. Who cares about those fuckers?”
He stops in his tracks for just a few seconds.
“Was I always that vulgar? Or is that something only Nikolay would say?”
Across the street is a small café that he’s always been interested in. He’d walk by on his way to and back from work just to take a quick look and pass by. Since his parents were always pestering him to do something. By the time they were home from work they’d want him home too. The only time he gets off is when his dad is off to go barhopping with friends as if he’s still a first year in college while his mom scrolls away on her phone. He can skirt by by making up excuses for university but even that occasionally isn’t enough.
“Might as well check it out…”
The inside looks rather cozy. There’s just one employee manning this whole operation but it seems as though they’re doing fine. The shelves and the decorations give off the vibes of a retreat deep in a forest unbothered and untouched by urban disharmony. Even the seats and tables share that earthy design.
“Hihi. Anything you’d like to order. The menu’s right here and you can rest over there. We don’t have all that many customers around this time,” the lone employee says with haste as if they’re trying to do anything to hold onto the one customer they have around.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“I guess I’ll take a seat and scan through the menu,” Shen replies slightly taken aback by the barista.
While he’s walking away, the barista is the one looking at him as if he’s the weirdo. She seems like the chatty kind of person that could spend an entire day talking at people. Though she attempts to keep herself busy, some days are just that boring and uninspiring that she can’t help but shoot a few quick glances at Shen every other second. The fact that he’s reading a book is off-putting to her until she suddenly starts blushing.
“Huh? What’s her problem?”
It finally clicks.
“How old do you think I am?!”, he asks, shocked and babyfaced as ever.
“14? Maybe 15?”
“I’m turning 20!”, he reprimands her. “And I’d like a coffee! Black! Thank you!”
“I do have to card anyone who asks for smokes and drinks where I work thay may look under 25 but it still stings when it doesn’t happen with others. And she was expecting me to play games on my phone, wasn’t she!”, he thinks.
She sheepishly hands him his cup of coffee strangely a little too embarassed. It’s nothing worth talking about yet she’s still embarassed.
“So you’re under 18 huh?”
Shen has assembled all pieces of this puzzle. A relatively new employee at this coffee shop that likely hasn’t ever had a job before. She believed him to be younger than her and thought it was odd why a kid would come in acting the way Shen does with a bag carrying his laptop only to read a book.
After a pleasant time at that café, he heads further into town to buy a new mug. His old one for some reason is starting to crack leaking for whatever reason. He’d get scrutiny if he were to just throw away that mug and use another cup. He’d get scrutiny if he were to use one of their mugs. He’d get scrutiny for buying a new one. He’d………
A few years ago he got his favourite little mug after starting his dreadful job. It was some sort of celebration to showcase that he had just gotten his first paycheck. Surprisingly, his parents haven’t touched that bank account of his though they have fought over it several times. His celebratory gift also brought him quite the trouble as they had plenty of things to say about how unkind the world is instead of celebrating with him.
“They’re such petty assholes. I didn’t ask for a lesson. I asked for a hug or a ‘good job’.”
As he begins browsing, he can’t help but think of Nikolay.
“Should I get him a cup? I barely know him so I have no idea what I should do with him… But he was overjoyed with that keychain.”
Shen catches himself almost giggling away while surrounded by others.
“That stupid face of his was the best thing I’ve seen in years… Didn’t know anyone could be THAT expressive.”
He decides to go for two mug cups with matching designs. One of the cups seems all kinds of wild. The orange sun and the chaotic triangles leading away from them are placed about disorderly. Some triangles face the sun while others face away. ‘Shine with Chaos’ says the sun with a soft little derpy face. The other mug is that of the calm and collected moon lightly smiling. Several perfectly placed rays lead away from it.
“Burns of chaos and rays of order, huh? Guess who’s who…”
Many more motivational cups and plates catch his eye. He knows they’re just trying to make him spend money by enticing him with cute designs. He’s starting to wonder just what his apartment looks like. Would he keep it the same so no one would suspect that he’s just an imposter wearing the face of a deceased stranger? Or would he change and adjust his living space according to his own wants and needs.
“Maybe he’s like a crazed scientist keeping all kinds of research notes scattered around? Or he’s like a supergenius working with dozens of USB-sticks and air conditioners to prevent overheating? Could it be even bigger than that? A whole operation that he’s recruiting people for?”
He ponders for a second.
“Nah. How could he know so little about himself then? He sounds sincere enough even if he may be lying about some things… Sounds too sweat to lie with that stupid face of his,” he tells himself. Shen smirks as he heads out of the store.
“Should I pick up some food? I haven’t even had lunch yet and it’s almost 5 pm.”
He hesitates.
“I’m in trouble, right? They’re probably going to find all kinds of ways to punish me, right?”
He hesitates a little more before heading off to whatever happens to be the closest fast food place.
“I’m already in trouble anyway soooo…”
Fried noodles and something fizzy… It’s not something Shen would usually pick. The only issue would be getting this past his parents and their oppressive air. Since he doesn’t want to bother the neighbors, he’ll just hurry along inside just hoping to slip past them. Maybe they somehow haven’t come home yet?
“Pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, for your life…”
Shen turns the key and slowly opens the door. Unfortunately for him, they’re both him with his father already getting hammered. He’s surprisingly silent just watching TV. Shen doesn’t even get a reaction as his eyes remain closed. His mother is silently scrolling away on her phone blank and a little downtrodden. It’s not even 6pm on a weekday and this is what he has to go home to.
“Yep. Just another day,” he tells himself.
While he’s sitting at his desk slobbering away at his noodles, he looks at the two mugs he had bought. Burns of chaos and rays of order… A slight chuckle escapes his lips as he continues eating his noodles.
“I wonder what Kolay’s up to…”