Echo: I should probably be writing the next chapter of Through the Cosmos but this just popped into my head and wouldn't go away!

Goldfish: Yes, it's a little bit random, don't you think?

Echo: Yeah, very. Anyhood, this is my first one-shot and it's a spin-off of my stories, A Rose in the Stars and Through the Cosmos.

Goldfish: You already said.

Echo: By the way, this takes place about a month or so before the events of A Rose in the Stars - just so you know.

Goldfish: Yes, yes, how interesting, now hurry up! I must get back to my plans!

Echo: For world domination, right?

Goldfish: *suspiciously* How would you know?

Echo: You're not exactly discreet about it. Now, the disclaimer.

Goldfish: EchoGirl319 does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's.

Work Experience

Destiny had learnt her lesson. Gambling was not good, especially when your opponent was Chris and now the sneaky little bugger was getting a day of relaxation whilst she was stuck doing this. Working.

It was only a tiny bet and she had been positive that she was going to win. Honestly, how was she expected to know that the American duel monsters' champion was going to lose his five-year title that day? But Chris… Chris had known somehow… Maybe he was secretly psychic and hadn't told anyone. Either that or he was just one lucky–

"Excuse me," a voice interrupted her thoughts, "I'd like to pay sometime this week."

Destiny glared up at the customer, a scowl firmly etched into her pale features. This was what the stakes of the bet had been. As punishment for his latest prank, Kalin and Louisa had forced Chris to spend the day working in a ladies boutique. And now, all because of the stupid bet, she was doing it instead.

And the customers were almost intolerable. Were people really that pompous and smug?

"Yes, yes," she snapped, holding out her hand over the till, "hand it over."

She hadn't been anticipating the weight of the pile of clothes thrust upon her extended arm, which gave way beneath them. The woman shrieked as they landed on the floor.

"Look what you've done!" she exclaimed, kneeling down and gathering them up. "They're filthy now! And my dress is filthy too!"

"What are you? Afraid of dust?" Destiny rolled her eyes at the woman. "And by hand it over I meant put them on the counter."

Grudgingly the woman did so, glowering at Destiny the whole time. The young duelist, however, was having some problems with scanning the items. It was harder than it looked and she had never done anything like it before. She was not cut out for working at a till.

The grumpy woman she was serving tapped her high-heeled foot impatiently. Destiny was tempted to throw the scanner at her scowling face.

"Are you new here?" she demanded. Destiny glanced up at her and quirked an eyebrow just as the scanner gave a satisfying beep.

"What, you couldn't tell?" she asked mockingly. The woman made a strange sound, which sounded like a cross between a huff and snort, and Destiny ignored her, choosing instead to continue with her impossible quest of scanning numerous ridiculously expensive clothes.

"Done!" she exclaimed after ten minutes, happily pressing the final button on the screen.

"Yes, finally," her customer snorted. Destiny couldn't take it anymore.

"Do you have a problem?" she asked pointedly. The woman sniffed in response, her nose high in the air as she glared down at Destiny.

"I do hope they're not employing you permanently. You are the height of incompetence."

"And you are the height of annoyance," Destiny retorted, looking back at the monitor. Her eyes widened comically when she saw the four digits shining back at her.

"What?" the woman asked. Destiny plastered a fake grin on her face before turning back to her.

"That'll be £2600 in total."

At once the woman handed over a shiny gold credit card. Destiny stared at it for a moment, going over the procedures that the manager had showed her in her head but the one for paying by card just wasn't coming to her. She looked back at the woman.

"Would you mind paying by cash?" she asked hopefully.

"Pay by cash!" the woman shrieked and Destiny leapt backwards at the sheer volume of her voice.

Instantly the manager was by her side.

"Ma'am," she asked anxiously, "is something wrong?"

"Yes!" the woman hissed, "this little… brat is insisting that I pay by cash! Pay £2600 BY CASH!"

Noticing the golden card in Destiny's hand the manager took it from her, her sweet smile barely disguising a vicious threat. Destiny glowered at her as she swiped the woman's card and patted her shoulder, assuring her with the words "don't worry; work experience, she's only here for a day".

Chris, I am going to murder you!

After that little scene, the manager had hissed threats at Destiny, warning her of what would happen if she scared off another customer. Destiny had simply rolled her eyes. Lady, I'm a psychic duelist, I don't think there's much you could do to me that I couldn't do ten times worse to you. And that aggravating customer left, waddling away muttering about how the clothes hadn't even been properly folded. At least that was one thing she could be glad about. She glanced at her wristwatch. Only another five hours to go. Great.

Little did she know that things were about to get a lot worse.

She didn't have any customers for a while, apparently news of her 'incompetence' had gotten round the store. Not that that was a bad thing; she was glad for the peace and she didn't care if her temporary colleagues found her useless or not – this was Chris' job, he was supposed to be the one doing it. Besides, she had already made over two thousand pounds, surely that counted for something.

Then a familiar voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Destiny? Is that you?"

Destiny looked up to come face-to-face with none other than Carly Atlas, formerly Carmine.

"Aunt Carly?" she asked the small, bespeckled woman. "What're you doing here?"

"Jake asked me to come in to see if Chris was in here." Destiny nodded in understanding.

"Not man enough to come in here himself, is he?"

Carly opened her mouth to respond but she was interrupted by the sudden appearance of Violet.

"Mummy, Jake said Chris would be here but I don't see him anywhere!" the little girl, a tiny frown forming between her black eyebrows. It disappeared, however, and her amethyst eyes brightened considerably when she noticed Destiny hunched over behind the till.

"Destiny!" she grinned widely as she bounded forward. Destiny straightened and stumbled backwards when she realised Violet was going to make a leap for the counter. Luckily, though, Carly caught her around the waist just in time.

"Sorry," her surrogate aunt blushed as she released her hold on her pouting seven-year-old daughter.

"Why are you here, Queenie?" Violet asked curiously, staring up at her with big, sparkling purple eyes. Destiny offered her a small smile, even in the worst of moods she couldn't help but smile at that face, no one could; it was one of things that made Violet a master manipulator, even at her young age.

"Because of a stupid bet I made with Chris," she replied, fisting one hand. Chris was really going to get it once this shift was over.

"And you lost and had to take his punishment," Violet concluded. Destiny sighed and nodded. Carly offered her an apologetic smile.

"Good luck," the dark-haired woman said, an uncharacteristic slyness sneaking into her tone, "and you probably won't have to worry about Chris. Kalin is not going to be happy with this recent development."

Destiny brightened considerably at that and the three of them (Destiny, Carly and Violet) chatted for a bit, mostly about Carly's new article before the manager yelled at Destiny to get back to work and would have probably yelled a lot more had Violet not put on her irresistibly cute face and used her puppy-dog-eyes-of-doom.

However, they had to leave and Destiny was left alone yet again. Half an hour later she got a text message from Chris. It read "sucker", that was all. Destiny glared at the phone, imaging it was Chris. Trust him to rub her misfortune in her face. Immature, silver-haired brat.

Then, about twenty minutes later, Vanessa arrived in the store, her bright orange hair messy and windswept and her favourite trainers leaving dirty footprints on the clean carpet (which was clean despite her customer's statement). She looked around the shop for a few moments before noticing her friend. Her reaction upon seeing her, however, was slightly different to Violet's; instead of brightening her dark green eyes actually dulled with disappointment. She came over all the same.

"Not happy to see me?" Destiny asked, shifting her weight to her other leg.

"I wanted to laugh at Chris!" Vanessa whined as she rested her elbows on the glass counter. The manager would not be happy with the smears that would leave.

Oh well, Destiny thought, the less happy the manager is the better.

Destiny shrugged. "Looks like you're stuck with laughing at me."

A conversation later and the manager was yelling once again, though this time there was no Violet to protect them from her wrath and Destiny was alone once more. Then her father called, asking where she was. Grudgingly, she explained the situation to him. There was silence on the other line for a few seconds before Yusei finally asked what time her shift was over and she replied five o'clock. He told her he'd pick her up then before hanging up. Again, Destiny found herself scowling at her phone. Her father, who's face or voice never betrayed his emotions, was probably cracking up back home where no one could see.

Then the manager was yelling at her again, telling her to get off the phone and back to work. Destiny was about to give a snappy retort when she caught sight of a pretty, tanned face and long blonde hair approaching her. Her heart plummeted. No. No. No way.

"Hello, Destiny," Chania Deltoure drawled, dropping a pile of clothes on the counter, "never thought to see you here. Having to earn your keep now, are you?"

Destiny scoffed at her but took the clothes and reluctantly began to scan them. "My father's an international duelling champion. Why would I have to earn my keep?"

"Well, why else would you be here? How are you even here anyway? I didn't think this place employed freaks."

Destiny rolled her eyes. That was the best she could come up with? "Shouldn't you be brushing your hair or something?" she asked.

"Just scan the clothes," Chania's told her. Destiny obliged, wishing that she some of Uncle Jack's coffee to spill on the fine garments.

"So how have you been?" Destiny asked conversationally, "still stealing little kid's candy, or are you finally over that stage?"

"Watch it," the blonde warned leaning in closer to the dark-haired girl who recoiled, pinching her nose.

"Do you mind?" Destiny asked, stuffing the clothes in a bag. "I have halitophobia, don't come too close."

Chania raised an eyebrow, but the confusion betrayed in her eyes ruined the act. "Halitophobia?"

Destiny smirked, shoving the bag into Chania's hands. "Fear of bad breath."

Chania scowled and turned to leave but not before waving at the manager.

"Bye, Stacey!" she waved and the manager responded in kind. Destiny's eyebrow quirked.

Well, like they say, birds of feather flock together.

Another two hours of torture – AKA, working in a stupid boutique – and Kalin was the last of the people she knew to confront her on the job. His golden eyes narrowed dangerously when he spotted her.

"Where is Chris?" he demanded quietly after walking over.

"Probably at home watching TV or something," Destiny whispered back, "he drew me into a bet and if I lost I had to take his punishment. As you can see, I did lose."

"I can see," Kalin commented. "How are you?"

"I need to get out of here," she whispered. "The customers are all so stuck up and the manager has her head so far up–"

Kalin interrupted her before she verbally abuse her temporary boss further. He gestured with his head and she noticed the woman eavesdropping a couple of metres away.

"Oops," she murmured before turning back to her surrogate uncle. "You're not happy with Chris, right?"

"Nope," Kalin replied and a smirk began to appear on Destiny's face.

"So you'll help me get even with him?"

Kalin nodded. "I have just the thing in mind."

Sure enough Kalin stayed true to his word and exactly one week later Chris found himself standing miserably behind the counter in a lingerie store. Destiny simply had to laugh when she saw him. Karma really was a bitch; good thing it was working in her favour.

Echo: Well, that's that, just a random oneshot I wrote on a whim, I hope it wasn't too bad.

Goldfish: Hmph. Well, aren't you supposed to tell the readers to review now?

Echo: Isn't that your job?

Goldfish: It's both our jobs.

Echo: Oh, right.

Echo & Goldfish: Review.

Echo: Please.

Goldfish: *rolls eyes*