Molly's First Day
I learned a lot of things my first day on the job. It was a small shop that sold computer accessories and software mostly, but I knew I could wing it in most situations, especially once I got some training. What I didn't know was that getting a job through Muffy and her father meant I likely wouldn't receive much training because of how much he would over sell my skills. This led to problems, but again, I learned quite a bit.
I started my day like any other teenager, late. James woke me up, otherwise I would've been late to my first day of work. So I get ready in super speed, somehow pulling myself together in ten minutes and throwing on the uniform they gave me. I biked over to the mall, parked, and went into the mall. I had to use the map to find the place, but I finally got there and introduced myself to this Porky Pig looking manager. His name tag said PAUL, but I was to call him Mr. Smith and ONLY Mr. Smith.
"My name is Mr. Smith and you will report to me, and only me, at the start of your shift. If you have any questions, come up to me and say 'Mr. Smith, I have a question.' Is this clear? Good. Ed said you'd be great for us. That's your section," he said, pointing to a wall of computer games. "You'll do great."
For starters, it was clear that I should phrase my questions that way, but nothing else was clear. I was thrown onto the floor within seconds of arriving, and Paul, sorry, MR. SMITH, could care less that I actually did have a lot of questions. My knowledge of computer games was limited. The only thing I knew was something James found out: A game that works for one computer in one country won't always work on yours. This was after he bought the European version of a game on accident from an online vendor.
Beyond that whole region thingy, I knew nothing, yet here I was responsible for the entire games section. Lucky for me, the place was dead quiet for two whole hours. I walked the aisles, trying my hardest to make some sense of what I was looking at. About all I learned was that there were two sections, one for PC and another for MAC, and both had a lot of simulator and tycoon games.
This told me next to nothing, and sure enough, I had a guy come in about two hours after I'd started who needed my help. The exchange went something like this:
"Hey, can you help me look for a new game?" he asked. I shrugged, not knowing then I was supposed to say something all Retail back at him, then I followed him over to the PC games. He picked up a tractor game, "I've played this one to death. Do you have any that are a lot like it?"
"Is this one different from that one?" I asked, pointing to a game next to the stack he'd pulled from. He shot me a glance as he started to take in our roles were about the same (except he knew more about this than I did), then explained how the stack I pointed to was just an earlier version of the game he had.
"They're the same. I want something different," he said flatly, almost angrily. I'd been going to public school enough to know I'd just started on a downward spiral with this kid. I was pissing him off FAST.
"Well, okay," I said, buying time, though I actually had no clue what to do. I scanned the covers looking for tractors or something, and my eyes fell on a cartoonish farm. I held it up, "What about this?"
"That game is for babies. I want a game like THIS ONE, that is NOT an earlier version of the game," he said, stern and sure of himself.
Now this is when it got interesting. I took note of a woman nearby. She looked like she was eyeballing the printer accessories we carried, but I quickly realized I was mistaken. She was with him but trying to be the good mom of a teen boy by staying back. She was listening though and getting irritated about my lack of Help. Soon she was behind him asking him if I was doing anything.
"She doesn't know what she's doing. I told you I should go to [some game place] instead," he pouted.
The woman looked up to me, "Well why aren't you helping him? Why can't you answer any of his questions?"
"Because I just started two hours ago and have no clue what this is," I said with a smirk. "Look kid, I tried. Maybe you could help me and we go through these things together. You've already taught me that game has older versions, but what about this one? Why is it for babies? My brother watches cartoons in this style all the time and thinks it's the bomb."
"You can't really do anything," he said, turning the case over in my hands. "Look, you fill orders for people. I want a true farming simulator. Look, in this one I can drive a tractor. I know there's a tractor simulator but what I want is another farming thing, but not one for babies because I actually want to do the work."
"Okay, let's look together then. Ma'am, is that okay? I could really use this guy's help," I said, seeing his mother was still giving me The Stare.
She scoffed, "Whatever," and turned on her heel. She headed back to the printer stuff as the boy led me to the start of the games.
This kid did what my manager wasn't going to do, and that was walk me through games. They had ratings kind of like movies, but he wasn't allowed to get any M games because they were like R-rated movies. He could get T-rated games, but only with his mom's permission. There were so many different types of games too, something I didn't notice until he started walking me through.
Finally halfway through, he picked up a blocky-looking cover that I thought looked weird. Then I noticed it wasn't even a disc but a card. I raised an eyebrow and he noticed, "Oh, it's just that I've heard a lot about this game but never really thought about. That looks like wheat, and I know that's a cow. I don't think I can drive anything in it, but I guess I could keep playing that one when I want to drive."
"That sounds like a good idea," I agreed, not really knowing what I was talking about but going with the flow. The kid looked happy too, so I pushed him, "I think that's something you should try. If it works for you, come back and tell me about it. I think I can keep this up."
"Yeah, you're not that bad other than not knowing anything," he grinned, lightly punching my arm before rushing over to his mom, "This is the one I want."
"It's just a card! How does this even work?" she asked, glaring in my direction.
I shrugged, "It's probably like a phone card but online. You go to the site, type in the code on the back once you scratch it, then it goes through."
"This better work or it'll be your last day here," she spat, making a bee-line to the counter. Paul took over, sorry, MR. SMITH, took over, checking out the boy. He "reminded" me, rather told me for the first time, that only he uses the cash register. Then he complimented me on a good sale and disappeared again.
No one else really came in that day, or the next. It was boring, but I looked at things online and talked to James for help, so I was picking up on things. I even used my employee discount to get a game, the kid's game he complained about. I thought it was cute and played it whenever I was off and didn't have homework. I was back on the next day and started looking for similar games when the kid came in with his mom.
"Hey, good call on this. It was easy to get, and it's so much fun! You can build whatever you want. I've got a real farm now, plus I built a house with it. Thanks," he smiled.
"No problem. Oh that other game, this one?" I said, plucking a copy off the shelf, "It's pretty cool too. Simple but good a for a girl like me."
"I'm glad you like it," he nodded, going back to his mom. They left the store, but Mr. Smith heard and nodded to me. He was actually pleased with me.
That job didn't last long because it was too boring, but it was a good start to things. That first day really made all the difference. Wherever that kid is now, I hope he's having fun. I know I am, but I still like "baby" games. Sorry, kid, girls just wanna have fun.
~End
Theme 73: Trying Something New, Theme 209: First Job, Theme 53: Video Game
Themes from my Updated Infinite Theme List. See my deviantArt profile for the full list
For "At The Mall," a new collab series. See my profile for more info.
One-Shot 12/100 for 2017.
A/N: I tried to keep it vague, but the game the boy found was Minecraft. I personally love Minecraft, namely because it is so versatile. Some people farm, others build, that guy fights monsters, and that chick over there builds fancy redstone stuff (electrical things, from computers to printers). I'm a builder person myself, plus I like to just explore sometimes. It's a fun game, and I recommend it for any age groups. Also if you loved Lego, you'll probably like Minecraft because it's pretty much the same thing.
As for the store, I didn't really have anything in mind. I'm assuming a place like this exists but who knows? Maybe Radioshack? *shrugs* I just thought it would be a cool start with the premise of "Molly gets a job through Muffy and her dad." I plan to do more just like this, by the way, and other writers are on board for the At The Mall collab series. Keep an eye on the main list or check out my community for our collaborations to see the others.