The checkout gave a cathartic boomp as Yang waved her pack of Red Dwarf under the grid. It was just one of the slim vend packs with about six sticks in it, that was all she was willing to get. She didn't care for cinnamon flavoring and she was bored so why not throw caution to the floor like a wet rag and give the flavor another whirl.
The store was dead today. A storm blew in the night before and even though the rain was nothing more than a light shower the people in SoCal prefered to kick back at home rather than go out. It was a Saturday. Why would you go out and spend the day in the rain when you could put on a movie, grab a beer, and cuddle up in a quilt? Better than catching a fever and then trying to explain it to everyone you know only for them to mutter "What an idiot." under their breath.
Yang spit her gum back into the paper almost immediately. It was worse than she remembered.
It was a small store in the West end of town. There was only one long, two-sided shelf in the store packed with candy, jerky, chips, sunflower seeds, and batteries. Yang's little booth was at the front, tobacco products behind her, coffee maker and fix-ins at the end of the counter on her left. There was also a fridge rounding the interior wall. It was filled with everything.
Yang was skimming through a ratty copy of Metro. It was one of the only magazines the owner kept that she could enjoy, the rest were trashy tabloids. Yang suspected there was a magazine stand at some point. A few stains and scuff marks on the floor consolidated this assumption, but judging by the dribble the Manager packed the shelf with it's fairly obvious why it was removed.
It wasn't too long after one o'clock that the door opened for the first time and Ruby walked in. Dressed in a hoodie and jeans she gave Yang a smile. "Hey Yang," Her voice full of cheer as she made her way to the fridge. "Slow day?"
"Mhmm," Yang hummed, stuffing away her magazine under the counter.
"Thought so, but it's nice to have some rain."
"Yeah, I heard something on the radio about mudslides though."
"Is that in our area?"
"No, but you should probably just keep a radio on in the background."
"Alright," Ruby's sneakers squeak loud against the linoleum as she walks back to the counter. She gives a small yawn as she sets her can of Beast on the counter, plunging her other hand into her pocket and pulling out a wallet.
"What're you doing here anyway? You got drinks at home." Yang asked, ringing her up.
"Just kinda bored, wanted to come check on you."
"Thanks, you're actually the first person to come in today."
"Really, why wouldn't they just close today and save some money?"
"I don't know, just wish I didn't have this shift."
"Yeah," The crack of her can piercing the cool air.
"Did you even need that?" Yang's tired smile growing as she leans against the counter. "It's, like, only two."
Ruby cut off her swig, the drink still wet on her lips. "What? I like em, they're my favorite soda."
"It's an energy drink."
"What's the difference?"
"I don't know, they have more caffeine than soda."
"Yeah but sodas have caffeine too, so it's just like a big soda."
"Yeah, but it's not healthy to chug seven sodas at once."
"They keep me going. Besides I go to the gym, I'll work off the calories."
"You don't work off diabetes." Yang jabbed. She was only half-serious, but picking on Ruby was always fun. Energy drinks had become one of Ruby's bad habits and she didn't feel the slightest bit guilty over ribbing her every now and again. She took it a bit too seriously though just like the rest of her habits.
That made Yang worry.
The rest of the conversation degraded into quick snaps. Ruby tried to hide how irate she had quickly become, but it was pointless. Ruby was no actress. Or maybe Yang just knew her tells. They gave a few pleasantries about work before Ruby gave her excuse and left.
The door gave a dry jingle, as Ruby took off into the blue-gray.
Yang just sighed.