Chapter 6

Work drug on, and I was getting sick of stocking the same shit over and over again. It reminded me why I'd been so relieved to go from the stock crew to the cash registers. But at least there weren't stupid customers to deal with while stocking shelves.

"Excuse me, sir?"

Who the hell am I kidding? Annoying customers are in every department of a store.

"Yes?" I turned my head, knelt down in aisle seven, stocking cans of food. Cahya had stopped helping too, looking up at a woman in a dirty wool sweater. It had to have been eighty degrees that day. The look on her weathered, twisted face was that of a woman who was stuck between layers of reality: what was truly there and what was in her mind. She was jerking her neck from side to side, looking in various directions. It wasn't until she looked directly up that I could firmly conclude that she, was in fact, not in her right mind.

"I'm looking for baby food." Her voice was harsh, yet had a subtle tremble to it. It reminded me of a smoker who'd been forced to stand outside in the cold to burn one down. A rather strange analogy considering how hot out it was that day. And why the fuck was she wearing a sweater?

"Baby food is in aisle 10, near the back." I tried my best to act natural. Do you understand how hard it is to act casual around a crazy person? I don't know how I managed. Cahya stared with her jaw open; I think she was just as blown away as I was. Except she showed her disbelief. I was paid minimum wage to repress mine.

"Oh thank you, honey!" she rejoiced, throwing her hands into the air.

Did this bitch snuff a bag of star dust? I had to wonder.

"You're welcome," I said, unable to force myself to sound sweet and charming like the training videos years ago had told me to do. Training people to pretend like they're not human is immoral.

"My babies only eat special food," she informed me, even though I hadn't asked.

"That's very... thoughtful of you to feed you kids special baby food," I humored her. I felt like I was trapped in a cage. Her eyes drifted in different directions, showing crooked, yellow teeth when she smiled.

"My kittens love when they get their treaty-wheatys!" she oohed.

Cats? Eating baby food?

"You feed your cats baby food?" The question slipped out of me before I had time to fully process what she'd just told me.

"They're my baby waybies." she pushed her hands together in front of her, fingers laced together. I could see how long her nails were.

I turned to face my work. I didn't end the conversation. I didn't dismiss her. Just turned my head towards the cans I was stocking, picking up where I had left off, not saying another word to her. I didn't know how it would fly over. But the interaction had become so uncomfortable, like oil on skin, that I was forced to literally turn away from it. I kept my head down as I shuffled the cans about in front of me, pretending like what I was doing was necessary. They were all the same.

Her footsteps trailed down the aisle, giving me the opportunity to glance over my shoulder to see if she was really leaving. Sure enough, she wandered away down the aisle, back facing me, taking her time as she laid most of her body weight against the empty shopping cart that she was pushing.

"Holy fuck that was weird," I muttered to myself.

"Pooch..." Cahya added.

We went back to work, getting into the swing of things once again.

"Thank you for helping me," I thanked her. I felt her lick my hand. I looked over to her, overwhelmed by a sense of joy. She'd been cutting open the boxes without any form of protest, and had even started to help me put cans on the shelf. She had to use her mouth, seeing as her paws struggled to pinch cans together and lift. When she tried, it made me think about her playing with the rubber ducky in the tub that afternoon.

"Have you thought about a toy you want for being so brave?"

Cahya tilted her head to one side, after a moment shaking it slowly. Still no idea, it seemed. I gave her a smile that provoked more tail wagging on her end.

"Well, we've got a little more time to think about it," I told her. "We're almost done. Then we can-"

CRASH!

Cahya and I jumped- had the building exploded?

Rationality flooded back to me. It wasn't an explosion. It was an aisle collapsing.

This was one of the few occasions that I felt bad for Janet, considering she was standing at the foot of possibly one of the worse messes in Pokemart history. And most expensive.

The crazy woman from before had stumbled into a random aisle- quite far from the baby food I might add- and had been struggling to reach something on the top shelf. I wasn't entirely sure what it was that was so important for her to start climbing the shelves like a ladder. Sure enough, she'd managed to topple the entire shelf rack over, resulting in not only one aisle falling over, but the next to topple as well. The isles in question were the electronics as well our automotive section.

Nearly everything was ruined, most of the motor oil having burst open from the crash.

Janet was visibly having issues trying to remain calm, her Machamp Rusty mimicking her feelings. They had a strange connection- whenever she felt happy, so did he. When she was sad, Rusty tended to drag his arms a bit. And when Janet was angry, the few times she struggled to hold back and showed true human emotion, Rusty was terrifying. I saw a video online of a dude getting his limbs torn off by a Machamp once. Ever since I'd witnessed the atrocity, I always pictured Rusty doing the same to a customer. And from the way he was glaring at the crazy lady, I was beginning to wonder if fantasy would merge with reality.

"Ma'am," Janet strained- I could hear the hatred and rage plucking her vocal cords like bassist playing a solo. "I need you to please explain to me how this happened."

"There he was!" Crazy-lady went off. "Just sittin' up there!"

Janet's eye twitched.

"I beg your pardon?" she hissed.

Rusty flexed his muscles. Nearly every employee designated to stocking shelves, and even a few cashiers who'd wandered over to see what had happened, flinched. I don't know how to describe how terrifying Rusty can be when he's pissed off. Just looking at a customer who was attempting theft made them confess. I even witnessed him make someone piss themselves before. Seriously I cannot express just how frightening he can get.

Crazy-lady wasn't phased by any of it though. She really was nuts.

"We're about to see another window replaced in a minute," I heard a cashier whispered to a stock crew member.

"The Pikachu!" Crazy-lady explained.

Janet looked like she was struggling to ask what the hell she meant.

"A Pikachu?" Janet followed with.

"Yes!" Crazy-lady cried. "He was trapped in a box!"

Nearly every employee had to avert eye contact with the lady. We all knew what it was.

A month ago, we had toy Pikachu animatronics sent to us. They're meant to entertain kids, but all they really did was annoy the shit out of everyone. They would wiggle about when someone would pass by them. Every single time, and they wouldn't shut up. We were forced to leave them on demo mode, setting them off when we had to stock them, or when the cashiers scanned them. They were possibly the most annoying addition to our store, so much to the point that Janet had to compromise with us.

She made sure to set them on the top shelf in the electronics department, that way there was less of a chance of setting them off. Sure, they'd still sometimes register that someone would walk past, but it rarely happened after that. The sensors were good, but not that good.

Why were they in electronics and not the toy section?

Well, the "Talk To You, Pikachu!" is one of the most expensive things we have in store, so it was decided to keep them with the rest of the expensive electronics- where most of our security camera's are. All things considered, it's well made. It moves like a real Pikachu, talks like one, and to a child, could easily pass as one.

Or, if you're a nutjob, it would seem.

"I passed by, looking for food for my babies," she explained, throwing her arms in the air. "And I heard a sign!"

Janet no longer seemed as upset. She just looked... uncomfortable.

"Ma'am, I-"

"I wasn't sure if it was the Almighty speaking to me again, but it was! He spoke to me through a Pikachu on the top shelf! He told me 'Pika pika chu!' And I understood! The Almighty speaks clear to those who choose to listen! And to those who defy the false prophet Arceus!" Crazy-lady inched closer to Janet, making Rusty side step in front of her. She leaned in, making Janet crane her head back away from her. "Do you know what I heard?"

Janet said nothing.

"Pika Pika chu!" Crazy-lady burst. "I am your GOD! The Almighty speaks through parables! He wanted me to free the caged Pokemon, by speaking through it! And how dare you cage an innocent Pokemon! They are bringers of His word!"

The book of The Almighty, the one my mother preached to me from my entire life, says nothing about Pokemon. But everyone seems to have their own interpretation. I wasn't surprised that someone as bat shit crazy as the woman who'd climbed a shelf to save a toy would assume that they were angels. I watched as Janet pulled out her cell phone.

"Rusty, please escort this woman to the office."

Rusty did as he was told, lifting the woman above his head as if she weighed nothing.

"You are free, Pikachu!" Crazy-lady belted as she was carried away. "Free! Free free free free fee! Free!"

We all stood by as Janet made the call, which was brief. She didn't bother trying to explain what had happened, only stating that she needed an officer. She hung up, looking to everyone.

"Okay," she breathed out. "This is certainly a mess." She tried to force a laugh. None of us bought it. I don't think she did either. She straightened herself out, not trying to sugarcoat things like she was paid to do. "I need all stock crew members to help clean this up and any cashiers willing to help out."

Everyone looked at each other. None of the cashiers looked very generous. Most of the stockers looked like they were going to try and pretend they were either blind, deaf, or dumb to get out of the mess they found themselves in. Janet sighed.

"Anyone who helps clean up the mess will be paid time an a half."

Nobody piped up. She laid on hand on her face.

"Double time. No more."

We all knew there was no way out of it. None of the cashiers stayed to help, even with the incentive of double time.

I didn't blame any of them for not wanting to.