Author's Note: After re-watching Parks and Rec, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Superstore, I thought it would be a fun idea to write a story about the Glee kids working at Sheets-N-Things. This takes place in an AU. Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or the workplace comedies this story is based on.
Chapter 1: Welcome to Sheets-N-Things
"Hey, did you guys hear? Mrs. Schuester hired two more people for the seasonal positions. I heard the the chick is a total babe," Noah "Puck" Puckerman announced as he entered the employee break room at Sheets-N-Things.
Puck and the rest of the Glee kids got seasonal jobs at Sheets-N-Things. The only ones who weren't working at Sheets-N-Things over the summer were Mike, Tina, and Artie. Mike and Tina got jobs as camp counselors for a performing arts camp, while Artie preferred to play Halo over the summer.
"From 1-10, how hot is she?" Finn eagerly asked.
"I heard she's a solid ten! I just can't wait until I can pounce on her."
"Puck, you are so disgusting!" Mercedes insulted who was reading a magazine across the room, "I can't believe I even dated you."
"Well, if you ever want to ride the Puckasaurus again, I'll be happy to take you back," Puck smirked.
Mercedes scoffed, "take me back? In case you have forgotten, I dumped your ass!"
"She's right," Kurt joined in.
"Shut up, Kurt!" Puck shouted.
"Was with all the yelling?" Rachel asked as she walked into the break room.
"Mrs. Schuester hired two people, and according to Puck, the girl is hot," Finn filled in the brunette, "so he wants to bang her."
Rachel rolled her eyes,"Noah, don't be so vulgar."
"Whatever, you guys are all a bunch of hypocrites!" Puck exasperated. Everyone's eyes widen in shock that Puck actually used hypocrite correctly. "Yeah, I know what that word means. You guys scold me when I admit that I want to bang a chick because she's hot. In reality, you all want your future boyfriend or girlfriend to be hot! "
Kurt pondered over what Puck said, and he was kind of right. He would want his future boyfriend to be good looking, like that boy from Dalton Academy who came to the store last week.
"Yeah, we want our potential partners to be attractive, but that's not the only thing that matters," Mercedes pointed out.
"Yeah, Mercedes is right. Physical features aren't that important to me," Finn agreed, " I mean, I dated Rachel."
"Ouch!" Kurt commented while Rachel glared at her ex-boyfriend.
"That came out wrong. I meant like I didn't date you because of your looks. I actually liked your personality, well not your entire personality because I didn't like how controlling you were when we were dating," Finn stammered.
"Finn, do yourself a favor and just stop talking," Kurt urged the quarterback, "you're making it worse."
Finn looked over to his ex-girlfriend and found a familiar pair of brown eyes scowling at him with a passion. He quickly turned his head to avoid Rachel's piercing gaze. If they were still dating, he would have been in so much trouble.
"Anyways like I was saying before all your losers interrupted me, I have dibs on the chick, so all the dudes here better back off," Puck warned.
"Back off of what?" Howard Bamboo asked as he walked into the break room.
"Nothing that concerns you, Howard!" Puck snapped.
Before the conversation could continue, Terri Schuester, the manager, strutted into the break room, holding a clipboard with this morning's announcements and assignments.
"Good morning everyone!" Terri greeted her staff.
"Good morning!" Rachel exclaimed while the rest of the employees responded in a lethargic manner.
"Don't you all sound excited to work this morning," Terri sarcastically said.
"Sorry Mrs. Schuester, but we're just starting to get used to waking up early during the summer," Finn explained.
"Well, I need all of you to be more energetic! I can't have a bunch of zombies working in my store. I only hired you guys because it was cheaper to hire a bunch of seasonal employees," she muttered the last part.
"I'll be happy to share my smoothie recipe. It's filled with vitamins and nutrients that makes you energetic," Rachel offered.
"Even here she still manages to be the teacher's pet," Kurt whispered to Mercedes.
"I think you mean the manager's pet," Mercedes responded.
"That smoothie sounds good, but I can't use the blender at my apartment because I have trouble reading the different settings," Howard mumbled.
"Howard, this isn't the time to talk about your blender," Terri scolded.
"Sorry," Howard frowned.
"Before I was interrupted," Terri shot a dirty look at Howard, "here are today's announcements. We will receive our shipment of the new Summer Breeze candles today. It's part of Sheets-N-Things' season promotion line, so corporate want us to really push people to buy them. In other news, I hired two additional people for the summer. Their paperwork has already processed, so they're going to start their training tomorrow."
"I'll be happy to train them, Mrs. Schuester," Puck smirked, "preferably the chick."
"You?" Mercedes scoffed. "You can't even fold bed sheets!"
"Hey! I'm not only one," Puck countered, "Finn can't do it either!"
"Dude, don't drag me into this."
"Mercedes makes an excellent point. I need my competent staff to train the new employees, and Puck, you are not qualified," Terri chastised.
"Why can't I train them?" Howard asked. "I've been working here the longest."
"Howard, I said competent staff are going to train the new employees."
"Oh," Howard lamented. Sure, he couldn't fold bed sheets as well as the other staff, but he tried his best. Except for that time when he accidentally reduced the price of all towels by 25%, he hasn't botched anything in awhile.
"Now that we got that out of that," Terri continued with her announcements, "here are today's assignments. Mercedes and Kurt, you two will be cashiers. Finn and Rachel, you two will work the floor. Noah, you are in charge unloading and stocking the Summer Breeze candles. And Howard, you will be in Guest Services today." Terri looked around the break room and placed her hands on her hips, "well, get up and start working!"
"I can help you here, ma'am," Mercedes called a customer over. The customer walked to Mercedes and started to unload her items from the basket and onto the counter. "Did you find everything you were looking for?" She started to scan the customer's items.
"Yes, I did."
"That's great! Do you need a bag?"
"Yes, please."
Mercedes grabbed a plastic bag and placed the items inside the bag. "Your total $25.56." The customer handed Mercedes $30. She processed the transaction and grabbed the change from the register. "$4.44 is your change. Thank you and please come again!"
"So what do you think the new employees will be like?" Kurt asked Mercedes from the next register over.
"I don't know. I hope they're cool."
"I hope one of them is cute and gay," Kurt stated.
Mercedes chuckled, "I didn't know you were looking for a little summer fling."
"I'm not looking for a fling. I want a boyfriend," Kurt frowned, "I'm tired of being single."
"I hear you. The last guy I dated was Puck. I didn't know what I was thinking!"
"You were desperate," Kurt teased.
Mercedes glared at her close friend and then burst into giggles, "you're right, but it still hurts when you said it out loud."
"These towels are a little bit more expensive, but it's worth it because they're so much softer than the cheaper towels. Feel them," Finn prompted the customer he was assisting.
The customer felt the towel. "You're right. Are these 100% cotton?"
"Let me check the tag," Finn said, "yes, it's 100% cotton."
"Do you know if these towels shrink in the dryer?"
"Um, we use these towels all the time at home. My mom does the laundry, and from what I've seen, the towels are still the same size."
"Hmm," the customer said as she inspected the towel she holding. "I guess I'll take it."
"Awesome!"
"Thank you for all your help," the customer said as she walked away.
"Happy to help!"
Finn was about to re-fold the towels, but he spotted Rachel walking towards the soap aisle. He still felt terrible about what happened in the break room this morning. He wasn't trying to insult her. He was actually trying to compliment her, but he used the wrong words.
"Hey, Rachel," he called out to her.
Rachel turned her head to Finn's direction. "Yes?"
The quarterback made his way towards his ex-girlfriend. "I feel bad about what I said this morning."
"Finn, it's okay. I kind of overacted to it. I know you meant well," Rachel assured him.
"Just know that I do think you're pretty, Rachel, but that's not the only thing I liked about you. You're talented, smart, and forgiving," Finn grinned."Even though we're not a couple anymore, you're still one of my friends and you're important to me."
She smiled warmly at him, "thank you, Finn. You're important to me too. I'm glad that we can still be friends."
Even though their relationship was short lived, she had no regrets. They met in the auditorium while the Glee club was performing "You're the One That I Want." When she heard the quarterback sing for the first time, Rachel was immediately smitten.
Rachel was vocal with her feelings. She made it clear that she wanted to be with him, but Finn was resistant. He was one of the most popular boys in school, and he was already dating the head cheerleader. If he left his girlfriend for Rachel, his popularity would have diminished. As time passed, his feelings for Rachel grew. He broke up with his girlfriend and confessed his feelings for the brunette, and they became a couple. It was the perfect ending to a high school romance, but it didn't last.
While they were dating, Finn and Rachel spent most of the time arguing about what they wanted to do with each other. Rachel wanted to watch her favorite musicals and community theater plays with Finn, but he would rather watch sports or play video games. It's not like they didn't try to take an interest in each other's hobbies. Finn tried watching Funny Girl with Rachel, but he just couldn't get engrossed in it. Rachel attempted to learn how to play Call of Duty, but she got confused and kept getting killed in the game. In the end, the two decided to end their relationship and just be friends.
"Excuse me, can one of you tell me the difference between these two hand soaps? One of them says foam and the other one says liquid. Which is better for your hands?" A customer asked while holding the two different bottles.
"I can help you with that," Rachel said to the customer. "I'll see you later, Finn."
"See you."
Rachel approached the customer and began answering his questions about the benefits of each type of hand soap.
"Finn!" a voice called.
He turned his head and saw his manager, standing with her hands on her hips. "Yes, Mrs. Schuester?"
"Those towels aren't going to fold themselves!"
"Sorry, Mrs. Schuester. I'll start folding them."
Puck was in a pickle. Not an actual pickle because pickles are super gross. The new employees were supposed to start their training tomorrow morning. He wanted to be the first one to welcome the new girl. He wanted to make his move before someone else did, but his shift wasn't going to start until the afternoon. He needed to switch shifts with someone. He couldn't switch shifts with Rachel since she was adamant in getting the morning shifts. He couldn't ask Mercedes since she was still probably annoyed with him, but there was one person he could easily convince.
"Hey, Howard," Puck said as he approached the Guest Services counter.
Howard scrunched his eyebrows in confusion, "why are you talking to me?"
"I can't say hey to my favorite coworker?"
"Favorite? But you yelled at me at the break room this morning," Howard pointed out.
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that," Puck apologized. "I took my anger out on you because everyone was giving me a hard time."
"Oh, thanks for apologizing."
"Don't mention it," Puck began. "I actually need your help."
Howard's eyes widen from shock. Someone actually needs his help. "You do?"
Puck motioned Howard to lean in closer. "So, you know how we're getting two new coworkers tomorrow?"
"Yeah."
"Mrs. Schuester said that they'll start their training tomorrow morning. I want to be there to welcome in the morning, especially the chick. The thing is, I'm not scheduled to work until the afternoon. That's where you come in."
Howard pointed to himself, "me?"
"Yes, you!" Puck exclaimed. "You're scheduled to work in the morning, right?"
"Yeah."
"I need you to switch shifts with me."
"I guess."
"Perfect! You're the best wingman!"
"I'm your wingman?" Howard excitedly asked.
"Of course!"
"Wow, thanks Puck! I won't let you down!"
"All right, I have to go back to work now. I'll see you later, wingman!" Puck turned around and made his way back to the candles aisle.
"See you!"
"That was too easy," Puck smirked.
"It's too early for this," Kurt complained as he leaned on Mercedes's shoulder.
"I know, but at least our shift ends in the afternoon. We have time to kickback," Mercedes reminded him.
"Good point."
"Good morning, Kurt and Mercedes," Finn happily greeted his two friends as he walked inside the break room. "Morning, Rachel."
"Morning, Finn," Kurt and Mercedes echoed.
"Good morning, Finn," Rachel said.
"So, who do you think will train the new employees?" Finn asked.
"I hope Mrs. Schuester chooses me. This will give me the opportunity to show her my extraordinary leadership skills," Rachel bragged.
"Manager's pet," Kurt sneezed while Mercedes laughed. Rachel turned her head and scowled at him. "What? I just sneezed."
"Sup, losers!" Puck exclaimed as he sat next to Finn.
"Wait, you aren't scheduled to work in the morning. What are you doing here?" Finn wondered.
"I traded shifts with Howard," Puck explained. "The chick starts today and I need to make my move."
Rachel shook her head in disapproval, "you are so unbelievable."
"Don't hate the player, hate the game, Berry," Puck smugly responded.
Before Rachel could respond, Terri entered the break room with the new employees.
"Good morning, everyone!" The manager exclaimed.
Rachel's eyes widen in shock when she saw the girl who was standing beside Terri. No, that couldn't be her. Why would she be working here of all places? She turned her head over to Finn's direction, and he had the same shocked expression.
"I'd like everyone to welcome Sam Evans and Quinn Fabray. They'll be working here over the summer."
Author's Note: So what did you all think? Does anyone want to work at Sheets-N-Things? As you all guessed, Howard is the Jerry of Sheets-N-Things. Like I said in the author's note in the beginning of the chapter, this takes place in an AU. In this universe, Quinn didn't join glee in her sophomore year and she didn't get pregnant. Please leave a review/comment and tell me what you think! Till next time!