Here's a little crack fic I got the idea from after a customer of mine said that the ridiculously long lineup i had must have been a conspiracy.
Enjoy this little crackfic!
He leans back against the counter of till number four. The store was dead. Like dead-dead. There isn't customer a sight, and hasn't been for the last five minutes, and even then, it was only a single item. Surely there has to be someone who wants groceries at 9 o'clock on a Saturday night.
But apparently not.
With all his cleaning has been done, overstock has been put away, and if there had been any baskets to take back to the front door, he would have done it, anything to give himself something to do. His coworker, Janice, was at courtesy, with Paul, the night manager of the store, getting ready to do some cash pickups. Thus leaving him alone on the floor after Alex had never showed up.
It was going to be a long two hours.
Jackson hands the wad of cash to his supervisors, joking about being robbed, before the two walks off to the cash office, leaving him completely alone. Not a soul to talk to. He walks away from the till, taking a closer look at the newest special olympics auction piece, this time, it was a painting of a pastel dog wearing glasses. It was an interesting painting, real eye catching, but he wasn't sure if it'll be something he wanted in his apartment.
His head whips around when he hears the bang of a basket hitting the belt. Walking back to his place, he greets the older gentleman and starts to pack the groceries into the man's bag. He concentrates on the customer before him, hands him the receipt before looking up; his jaw drops.
Behind his next customer was a line-up. And not just any line-up, one that curved and ended up two tills behind him. "Wha- how? When did you all show up?" He questions, looking over his shoulder at the the tail where another customer is adding herself to the line. Instantly, he picks up the phone and hits the pagers, "All trained staff to the front please" and starts packing his currant customer's order, waiting for the announcement to be made a few seconds later.
But no one shows up. His supervisors were busy counting money, while Dillon and Jason from produce and dairy must be too busy stocking the shelves, or were determined to ignore him, like usual to come to his aid.
He works as fast as he can to get the job done, but the line keeps getting longer. He's pretty sure that this has to be some kind of conspiracy against him. His customers must have known that he was alone up at the front, met up and agreed to go up all at the same time. This happens so often that he's pretty sure that's what happens.
The clock feels like it's ticking by slowly as he hastily packs the grocery bags, and his supervisors never show up until the line was far past the alcohol isle. Both Janice and Paul grab some customers each and hop on a til to help him out, clearing the people out of the store within five minutes.
Finally the last customer was gone and the store was dead again. "You okay Jackson?" Paul asks, looking up at the boy's six-foot height.
He nods, not use to the rush on his own just yet, only being a cashier for the last few months. "Just, where did they all come from?"
"There must be a bell?" The older man laughs walking off to stalk the shelves before the store closes.
Meanwhile outside…
"Did you see his face!"
"He was scared shitless!"
"I can't wait for the next meet-up!"
"I hope that same kid is there next week so we can get him again."
"My favourite part is when they panic like that."
"Especially when no one shows up for backup!"
"Next week I'm going to get my sister in on it."