Nina woke up on Monday morning to her beeping alarm clock. As she felt around for the off button, she couldn't help but think, Do I have to go to work today?, but of course the answer was yes. She got up and sleepily walked over to the bathroom. The apartment she shared with her best friend Jackie was quiet. She turned on the sink, brushed her teeth, and washed her face. After that, she sprayed on some of her favorite perfume. It smelled light and fruity, just like she loved. Before walking back to her room to choose her clothes, she peeked her head through the door of Jackie's room. She was still asleep, though she usually would have been awake. "Jackie?" she asked quietly. Jackie moved her head to face Nina. "Huh?"
"Oh, you're awake? Do you know what time it is?"
"No", Jackie admitted. "My alarm clock doesn't work, remember?"
"It's eight thirty-four", Nina said. Jackie cursed under her breath. "I gotta get up!" Nina left to her own room to decide what to wear. She settled on a pair of skinny jeans, that were pretty tight, a red button-down shirt, and yellow flats. She rushed over to the bathroom to do her hair. Since she was in a hurry, she quickly combed through the knots and left it down. "Almost done?" Jackie asked, appearing at the doorway. She was already dressed. She had on black sweats, a purple T-shirt, a black hoodie, and light brown Uggs. Her curly hair was tangled, but not too tangled. Nina stepped out and said, "All yours." She decided to put her makeup on in her room instead of waiting for the bathroom. She applied a quick coat of mascara and some shiny lip gloss. Then she went to the kitchen to make her usual breakfast – toast with strawberry jam and coffee. She took two slices of bread and popped them into the toaster.
Nina worked in a supermarket, as a cashier. Not much of a job, but it payed well enough and was only a 5-minute drive from home. As she entered the store, she spied her manager talking to her friend Johanna. He looked pretty angry. She walked in and pretended not to notice them. Soon enough, the manager walked away and Nina turned to Johanna. "What happened?"
The blonde eyed her and finally said, "He's mad that I missed my shift yesterday. I mean, I could honestly care less what he thinks, but I cannot lose this job." She sighed then added, "Nice shirt." She smiled and turned on her computer. After 10 minutes, the store finally opened and people started coming in. Nina stood there, waiting for her first customer. It was a lady, maybe 50 years old or so, with reddish hair and too much eyeliner. She was pretty short, and a bit on the heavy side. She started to load her items onto the register. Laundry detergent, body wash, fruit punch, broccoli crowns, fresh peaches… "I believe these are three for five", she said placing bottles of mineral water on the register. Nina scanned them to make sure. "Um, sorry ma'am, but those are regular price."
"What you talkin' about?" the lady asked. "There's a sign! It says three for five!"
Nina sighed. "Well, my scanner says otherwise. Maybe you were reading a sign that was meant for another product."
"Oh, please!" the lady yelled. It was already causing a small crowd to gather, watching them bicker. "I'll bring you the sign right now!" She stomped off to bring the sign. Nina turned to look at Johanna, who was busy watching the woman tearing the sign down from the shelf. After a few seconds, she was back. "Here it is, missy!" She shoved the sign at Nina, who was already aggravated. Nina snatched the sign. She stared at it. "This sale is for Mountain brand mineral water. You bought Fizz bran mineral water! Next time you walk into a store, read the signs carefully!" Nina shook her head. "Do you still want to purchase all of that stuff?" She pointed to the pile of groceries the lady had intended on buying.
"Keep it!" the lady said. "I'm not coming here anymore!" She commented under her breath as she walked out. Nina was so done, and it was only 9:15.
"You should have been at the store today", Nina shouted to Jackie as she was taking pff her coat after a long day at work.
"Nina? You home?" Jackie yelled. She came out of the room to greet Nina.
"Yea. I said you should have been at the store today."
"Why?" Jackie asked, confused.
"I had this argument with a woman about mineral water. Can you believe it? Ah, New York City…"
