Hello people. This is an idea that had been on my brain for a while and I've been working on it for a while now. The main problem I thought was that, just how Persona games start out slow, this story will also start pretty slowly. This first chapter is mainly an introduction and I tried to keep it how a Persona game would go. (Even the name, I tried to keep how a game would behave with it.)
Anyway, please enjoy this slower chapter.
"You're going to like the area. It's nice and quiet, a better place to raise a family one day."
"Not like I really have a say right now. You guys need me, I bet. It'd be too quiet alone," I said, staring away from the window. The woman beside me, my sister, continued driving but flashed a smirk. "Plus there'd better not be a family anytime soon."
"I mean… I think we could survive without you," she began, flashing a smug grin while fixing her sunglasses. It was her first time driving today since I was exhausted. "I can't wait to see them again…"
My phone remained silent like usual but I unlocked it and began to look through a random app. My sister sighed and I quickly put it away.
"Sorry. Didn't mean to dampen the mood. I'm doing my best, you know," she said. I nodded.
"It's still bullshit though…" I began, leaning against the cold door. I saw her smile fade and I tried to change the subject. "I get cranky when I'm tired… Especially when our new roommate didn't bother to help much."
"Don't be that way. He's helped us more than he ever had to. Just give it the year; things will be back to normal before you know it… Just don't get in trouble at work," she said, smiling. I nodded with a smile, closing my eyes.
After hours of unloading the truck for the last time, I crashed onto the couch. My arms were a bit sore but it wasn't anything too bad. I nodded out of habit as I held my phone at my ear.
"Yeah, I'll be there… alright, see you tomorrow. Thank you," I said, as the call ended.
"Who was that? Your new boss?" my sister said, handing me a paper plate and placing a bottle down before sitting down beside me.
"Yeah, just confirming I can go tomorrow to fill out some paperwork," I said, looking around. "Heh… I never expected you to be a homeowner, Steph. It's great though."
"Right? It's so calm around here compared to where we grew up," Steph said, staring forward. She raised a glass of wine and raised a toast. "To a new chapter."
"A new chapter?... Sounds like an excuse for you to drink," I said, raising my bottled water up towards her glass. "Hard to think you're educating the future minds of America."
We spent almost a half hour joking around like we had all our lives. Eventually, the front door opened and he walked in. Steph stood up and headed towards him as I sat forward.
"Hey guys, sorry I couldn't help much. Brought some dessert though," he said, looking around. "It's so much roomier than I remember, even with all the boxes."
"How was work?" Steph said, giving him a quick kiss. She grabbed the box of cookies. "We got pizza, I'll grab you a plate."
"Work was good. New city, same problems to solve," he said, sitting on an adjacent couch. "Thanks for doing everything. It's easier for you to get a day off than me. There's already some scandal we have to deal with. It's weird how some people snap so suddenly."
"It's fine, I live here too, after all," I said, standing up. "I have to be at work at 8, I'm gonna get to bed."
"What? My brother sleeping before midnight?" Steph said, as I nodded. She sat beside him as I grabbed my bottle.
"A long day of filling out forms, I don't know how people can do that," I said, waving slowly. The man beside her laughed.
"You get used to it," he said, grinning. "I'll probably be up around then, do you want some coffee?"
"Uhh… Sure," I said, walking away. I faked a yawn. "Just black is fine. 'Night guys."
My room was just like the rest of the house; covered in brown boxes aside from the small, twin size bed I had. I plopped down onto the bed and sighed.
"A whole year with him here, huh…" I said to myself. I tossed my bottle in the air and caught it. I closed my eyes.
"Whatever, I'll survive…"
"Does everything truly seem right?"
I looked around the empty area. I walked forward slowly.
"Where am I…"
"You've seen it, haven't you?"
A small table with a glass ball came into sight. As I approached it, the ball filled itself with dark clouds. I reached out for it but my hand stopped against a glass wall. A man sat behind a desk a little to the side. He looked normal enough aside from his strange, long nose
"My, it's been quite a while since I've had a guest. Welcome to the Velvet Room," the man said. He moved his hand outwards in a sweeping motion. "Please, take a seat. Our time is limited."
"What is this? Where am I?" I said, sitting down across the table with the glass ball.
"This place exists between reality and dreams, between mind and matter. You're safely asleep in your world but alas, none have come here that haven't had an important journey ahead of them," he said. He blinked his wide, bulging eyes before continuing his speech. "I am Igor, proprietor of this room. Do you think about what you can control in your world? Are you meant to be a mere pawn in the game of life?"
"I… I don't understand," I began, holding my head.
"Time surely flies in human dreams… It truly fascinates me… Heed my words for now. We will speak again soon."
My phone rang. I jolted up in a cold sweat as I heard a knock on my door. I wiped my face with the front of my shirt.
"Come in," I said, as I swung myself to the side of my bed. My sister walked in, holding a cup of coffee. She sat beside me. "Hey, you're up early."
"I'm the only one that doesn't have to work today so I wanted to see you guys off," she said, handing me the cup. "Plus I know that you say you like coffee black to sound manly but you drink it sweeter than I do."
"Thanks," I said, grinning. I struggled to keep my eyes open. It felt like I didn't sleep at all, let alone 7 hours. I stared into the beige cup with the intent to drink it for its caffeine rather than taste. "Hey, any chance you could iron my shirt?"
"Sure, go take a shower. Were you that hot last night? You're drenched," she said, standing up. I did the same, while opening the box with most of my clothes. "Probably some box could be blocking the AC vent, it's kinda warm now that I think of it. Black or red today?"
"Black," I said, tossing her the black uniform. I grabbed a random t-shirt, underwear, and my work pants. "Thanks."
"Don't mention it," she said, with a warm smile.
We both headed out the door as I sipped on the hot cup of coffee. I stopped short as she continued to the kitchen. She sat beside him at the granite counter, where he was drinking his own coffee and nibbling on some sort of croissant or something, I wasn't sure. He gave me a wave with his occupied hand.
"Hey, aren't you going to be late?" he said, looking back down at his phone.
"No. I'm not even working today, payroll starts on Mondays," I said, opening the bathroom door. "I gotta shower, see ya if you have to go."
"Yeah, I should get going," he said, kissing my sister. He looked at me for a second before heading towards the door. "Can you start parking on the grass? We'd look bad heading to work with dirty cars."
The door closed behind him and I rubbed my forehead, throwing my clothes onto the sink. I went into the bathroom and stared at myself in the mirror. I forced a smile to my face; for her, I would.
I opened my eyes and turned the car off. I looked around at the few cars in the parking lot of my new coworkers and employees. An older woman walked towards the building as the time neared 8 in the morning. I had a message from Steph but I locked my phone and began walking towards the building. I managed to catch the door swinging shut as a boy with a mop bucket looked at me in confusion.
"Hey, I'm supposed to see Bob?... Is he here?" I asked, closing the door behind me. The boy nodded and waved me to follow.
"You're the new manager? Not what I imagined," he said, as we walked. He seemed nice enough. He stopped at a door. "Hey Bob, new guy's here."
"Hello sir, how was your move?" The older man said, standing up. He shook my hand and disappeared for a second, bringing me a fold out chair. "Take a seat, I'll try to make this quick for the both of us."
He moved the mouse around and handed my the keyboard.
"Just need you to fill out the last parts. This is our transfer form for our district and we just need new addresses and things like that," he began. I began typing. "I heard good things about you from your old boss. We have a few assistant managers here so you won't have as many duties but we also have a lot more customers daily than you guys did. She did tell me you had a name you like to be called?"
"Uhh… Just Riley. I prefer that," I said, as he nodded. "She told me. You guys make double what we make each day. Thank you for taking me in as an RM."
"My boss wasn't too happy for me to take in another but eh, screw her. Ana highly recommended you, said you're a hard worker who knows our systems and upholds them," Bob said, with a smile. "Your situation isn't the best from what I've heard but I will do my best to help you out… As long as you understand how we work."
"I understand. I will do my best. I think I'm done," I said, reading over the form. "When do I come in tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow… Come in at 12. That way you get to experience both shifts. I will have the rest of your schedule by then. Any requests for days off?" he asked.
"Either weekend day. Whenever possible, I don't mind. My sister is a teacher so it's the only time we have to spend time together," I said, looking around. "But I don't mind. Just whenever it can happen."
"I will do my best. Well, that's really all I need from ya today. Sorry we can't bring you in today, I hope you don't live too far from here," he said, as he extended his hand again.
"I live like, 10 minutes away, it wasn't too bad. I'll see you tomorrow then," I said, shaking his hand again. I grabbed my keys and stood up.
"One last thing," he said, as I turned back around. He tossed me something. "Probably want keys, right?"
"Keys would help, yeah," I said, putting the set in my pocket.
"So how's your new boss?" Steph said, sitting beside me. We were taking a break after setting up most of the living room. I shrugged.
"Seemed nice. Older guy who apparently stresses our district manager out with his custom rules. Does teaching summer school suck?" I asked her. She shrugged as well, raising her legs onto the couch.
"Yeah… But at least it's paid and it guarantees my job there," she said. "Remember what Nate said about that scandal he was dealing with?"
"That's good though. Who actually wants to be a teacher?" I joked. She raised her cup with a smile. I stood up and moved towards the kitchen counters. "What about it? Hey, do you want the pantry how we used to have it?"
"There's nothing wrong with teaching," she said, yawning and nodding to my question. "I just heard about it online. A guy running for office was caught with a gun as he entered his office building. Apparently that ruined his chances while he goes on trial."
"Take a nap, I'll finish up. I'll probably work on my room when he gets home," I said, as she lowered her head. I began unpacking a box of dry and canned foods. "At least no one got hurt."
I started putting the items how we had them a few months ago. I slowed down after a few items and donned a faint smile.
"Remember how Mom used to make us finish our cereal if we accidentally left the box open and it got all stale? Can't believe someone would make me hate sugary cereal…" I said. I looked over the counter. "Steph?"
After opening a box from her room, I came back towards the sofa and placed the blanket over her. Her room was almost completely set up. It made sense she'd be sleepy still. I headed back to the kitchen but turned back when I heard rustling.
"Yeah… I remember."
I spent the next couple hours getting my room together. While I very willingly downgraded to a simple twin sized bed, I liked the setup better now. I sat on my bed and turn on my TV for some idle noise.
'Is it pathetic I only have my sister to talk to now?' I thought to myself. I laid back and stared at my phone. I had a few texts from my parents that I put off replying and usually forget until Steph reminds me. I was terrible at reply to people in the first place. I gripped my phone tightly and closed my eyes for a bit.
The scenario never stopped haunting me.
...
I have no idea how long my eyes were closed. Someone knocked on my door.
"Hey, I made you some dinner," Steph's voice said, muffled through the door.
"I'll be right there," I said, standing up. She mentioned we could be on our own for dinner but I never expected my sister to cook… I opened my door. "Sorry, must've fell asleep."
"It looks nice in here," she said, stepping in. She held a plate and a bottle of water. It smelled good but it smelled different, that was for sure. She noticed me staring and her eyes brightened. "I tried making curry. I thought it came out good… I read that it goes well with coffee too, if you want me to make you some."
"Uhhh… no thanks... that sounds pretty gross, to be honest. I'll be alright, I shouldn't stay up too late tonight," I said, grabbing the plate. We both sat on my small bed and giggled before taking out her phone, quickly taking a picture of me holding the plate. "What the heck?"
"Mom wants pictures of her son, you know. You rarely take any so the responsibility falls on me," she said, with a smile. She began typing a long text as I began eating. "Is it good?"
I nodded with a mouthful. She smiled, resting her back against the wall. It was good; the coffee idea sounded insane… people actually ate this with bitter coffee? I guess I'll never truly be a food expert.
"When do you start work?" She asked me.
"Tomorrow at 12. Isn't tomorrow your paper work day?" I asked her. She nodded and moved closer to me.
"Except mine will be a little longer than yours. Now smile," she said, holding her phone out and taking another picture.
"You are so annoying." I said… But with a smile.
As I walked into the restaurant, almost every employee stared at me. It felt like being a new kid in school except if the new kid was going to be your boss. Bob met me at the front register.
"Good morning, Mister Riley," he said. He told me to place my thumb on the finger scanner and registered me. "In a little, I'll raise your access level so you can do what I pay you to do."
"Cool, where do you want me?" I asked, as he led me through the store. He introduced me to a few people as he showed me where some important stuff was located. He gave me a slip of paper as we returned to the middle of store.
"Those are your codes. The 4 digits are for the alarm, the 8 digit code is for our safe, try to remember them and get rid of that paper. Your accounts for inventory and the registers are still the same except they won't work at your old store if you ever need to go back," Bob said. He handed me a laminated sheet. "We usually keep the daily plan here; I will have you coordinating for the drive thru for the day. I want to see what you're capable of."
"Alright, sounds good," I said, putting one of the headsets on.
The store ran the same as I was used to aside from bigger orders. The morning employees were usually faster so everything ran smoothly. Whenever something was incorrect, I caught it and quickly fixed it. My new boss seemed content with me so far. This job wasn't rocket science but it took awareness and patience, which I learned to have over the years.
Once three o'clock came around, the openers left and I was moved to work the grill. As it was slower, one of the other managers finally spoke to me.
"Hey, how is it so far? You're an RM, right?" the blond boy said, as he continued to work. I nodded as I checked around for what I needed to cook.
"Yeah, I got promoted a bit ago. I barely learned to take inventory before I had to leave," I said, as he nodded in understanding.
"I bet the district manager wasn't too happy about that. We have so many RMs now," he said. "Did you get to many any other managers?"
"No, just Bob and you," I said as he stood beside me and put a pair of gloves on. "You're making sandwiches?"
"Do I seem slow? I'm not that bad," he said, with a smirk. "My name's Justin. You probably won't need to do inventory much. You'll meet Deivon tonight, he's Bob's right hand man; him and I usually split the month."
"Bob said he might bring me on once a month. Not that I look forward to waking up so early," I said. We both worked idly and quickly as we talked. "Who else is there?"
"There's Rachel and Diana. They're our shift supervisors. Diana was an RM but she stepped down a while ago when she went back to school. Aside from us, there's Diane who's another RM," he said. "It's nice to finally have someone I can relate with."
"What? Everyone else is old?" I asked. He stared at me in confusion. "Like… Way older than 22?"
"Not really. Seems like you're right in the middle," he explained. "Just interests-wise. You just seem like a video game and puns guy."
"Well, I get mad at bad puns but I do play video games…"
"Well, guess we'll half get along then," he said, with a smile.
Closer to five o'clock, my boss came and handed me a sheet of paper. My eyes scanned it as he spoke.
"Tomorrow, I need you to close with Rachel. She's fresh off of training so I want someone to make sure she is alright," he began. I nodded. "Plus, it'll let you see how the late night runs."
"Alright, no problem," I said, nodding. He gave a wave to the remaining people and said his goodbyes.
I was left as the only manager until another boy my age came inside and clocked himself in. I walked over towards him.
"Hey, you're the new guy? Name's Deivon," he said, shaking my hand. A bit formal but I nodded. "Bob told me a bit about your situation. Everybody's pretty chill here, I don't think you'll have any problem once you learn where everything is."
"Yeah, that's the hardest part of going anywhere new," I said, as he began to walk away.
"Hey, can you clock them in while I go count the safe?" he asked, as a few crew members walked my way.
I nodded and waited. Most people showed up on time and I introduced myself. Most seemed to have heard about me. The last person showed up a few minutes after 5; she placed her thumb on the scanner.
"New guy, right?" she asked. I nodded and authorized her clock in. "Cool. I'm Camille. Bob asked me to babysit you."
"Really? He never said anything about a babysitter," I said, as we walked towards the back. Deivon stopped me once we passed the door. "Verify?"
"Yeah. So, how you liking this area? Must be pretty boring compared to where you used to live," He asked. I shrugged and nodded.
"I guess. We just moved here yesterday. I haven't gotten a chance to see anything. My sister says it's calm," I said, signing the paper with the shift change as a witness. "Hey, no offense but how old are you?"
"I get that alot. 21," he said, as the girl from earlier stood by the door.
"Justin said I'd be around the middle… When he said you're Bob's right hand guy, I expect some older guy," I said, as he laughed.
"Nope, just some wannabe Miami thug who lives with his mommy," Camille said, with a smirk. I stifled my chuckle.
"Oh, it's gonna be one of those days with your sarcastic ass," he said, tipping her black visor down slightly. "You're here till 10 today?"
"Yeah, I close tomorrow. Someone just wants me to live here," she said, looking up at Deivon and then at me. "So are you gonna help or just sit in the office?"
"It's too early. Maybe tomorrow I'll get to know the office more," I said. I turned back to Deivon. "Imma get back out there."
"I'll be there in a sec, let me just get myself organized, I can't work in this clutter," he said, sitting down on the chair.
Camille and I walked towards the center of the restaurant again. She took her place in the front counter as I moved back towards the drive thru. Some people stared at us with varied stares. I grabbed a paper bag and began taking the reins again, despite most of these new people not even knowing my name.
Another 5 hours later, I said my goodbyes to my fellow manager looked around. I checked to make sure the doors were locked and called my sister as I went out the front door. I stood around the front area and asked Steph if she needed anything while I was out just as I had everyday since I got a job and car. Once I hung up, I heard a familiar voice coming from behind me.
"Aren't you a good son?" Camille said. I turned to face her as she took out her own phone.
"Brother," I corrected her. "Waiting for your ride?"
"No. I walk home," she said, stretching her arms.
"Do you want a ride?" I asked, she looked at me strangely. She laughed.
"Man, I like you. It took Justin like, two months to finally ignore that rule," she said. She nodded. "Thanks, new guy. I really appreciate it."
"No problem, no one wants to walk after working anyway," I said. She took of her visor, reminding me that employees don't have permanent pony tails. "Just don't tell the district manager, I don't need to piss her off anymore."
"No one needs that," she said, as we walked to my car. I unlocked the door and she got in quickly. "I didn't expect you to be a Mercedes kinda guy. I guess managers do make the bit bucks."
"Yeah, maybe sixty promotions later, I'll be able to buy one from this millenium too," I said, smirking. "Sorry about the mess, crap from my sister's boxes from the move."
"Oh, I was wondering why there was a random pair of panties…" she said, laughing. She was… Something else. "You're closing with Rachel tomorrow, right?"
"Yeah, why?" I asked, beginning to drive. She shrugged, yawning as she covered her gray eyes from an oncoming car's high beams. "The hell?"
"We can do this again tomorrow. I close 4 times a week and throw in a 5 to 10 to get 40 hours," she said, brightly. She looked out the window so all I could really see was her black hair in front of darkness. "If you don't mind, that is."
"Sure, I won't make you walk home at 1:30 in the morning."
"Good, at least you kinda care."
We continued making small talk as I followed her confusing directions to her house before heading home.
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