Plugged In
Side Quests and Slow Days
Unfortunately, admitting that I was now one of the poorest people in school was not a strong point for me. I'd rather admit that my leg is broken in 23 places or that I just drank the last apple juice on the counter. Being poor is not everyone's best dream, but for me, I guess it was okay. Papi could be home a lot more now, and he always gave me a kiss on the cheek when I got home from school. Mama still worked, but I had been helping as well. I had recently gotten a job at the flower shop near our house, and even though I didn't have a car yet, I could walk there.
Thank goodness it's a Saturday, I thought as I rearranged the tulips on display. Maybe nobody will come in that I know… The little bell above the doorframe rang, and an older pig gentleman walked in with what I assumed to be his granddaughter. I smiled and rehearsed the lines that I use whenever customers come into our store, even though they're incredibly cheesy.
"Hello and welcome to Toadstool Trinkets, where the flowers are cheap but the trinkets are not. How may I help you today? My name is Reens, so just let me know when you find something."
The gentleman smiled back, although a bit reluctantly, and moved toward the lilies. His granddaughter walked over towards the roses and sniffed one, a smile washing over her face.
"Those are our bestsellers," I mentioned. "Would you like one?"
"Uh, I don't have any money," she whispered, scuffing her foot on the ground.
"That's okay, honey. Tell you what, I'll let you have it if you give me a big smile. Okay?"
She looked at me and gave me the biggest smile she could, the small gap in her teeth showing.
"Aw, that's so cute," I cooed over her, gently taking the rose and placing it in her hair. "Now you go on to your grandpa, okay?"
The gentleman eventually left without purchasing anything, but the smile as he saw his granddaughter excitedly telling him all about the rose was all worth it. My boss, Mr. Dee, walked up to me and folded his arms across his chest, staring me down.
"How many times have I told you, Miss Maricina? We do not just give our flowers away. They're customers. They must buy any of the flowers we have available. I do not want to catch you breaking rules again. Clear?"
I could've told that snobby penguin off - I totally could have - but this was the best-paying job I could get in a while, so I just nodded and went back to the counter, clearing off shed petals and stem clippings. Business is usually slow around this time of day, at least that's what my new coworker Michelle told me, so it was a while before any more customers arrived. Becoming a little bored, I decided to take my lunch break outside, nibbling on my sandwich.
Who could've guessed that Amy Rose would be coming my way, holding various shopping bags and chatting it up with Sally and Rouge. I suppose they've become friends or something? Why should I care about high school drama? Not like it matters to me that much.
"Hey, Rain! Didn't think you'd be out here! What are you doing?" Amy asked, setting her bags down beside me.
"And what are you wearing?" Sally chimed in, looking over my uniform with slight disgust. Rouge said nothing but nonchalantly checked her nails, looking me over.
"I work here," I replied, nodding my head over to the flower shop. Not like any of you have ever had to work. "Taking the day shopping?"
"Yup, we just got done over at the mall. There's so much cute stuff that they've just restocked, I just had to check it out," Amy gushed, sitting down next to me on the curb.
"You're gonna get your pants dirty," Sally warned, yanking Amy up and away from me.
"Ow, not so rough! Hey, you should come with us!"
I slightly cocked my head at her, frowning. "Like, to the mall?"
"Yeah! We could totally find some new outfits for you! What do you say?"
I shook my head. "Sorry, I have to get back to work."
"Aww, no fair," Amy whined, jutting out her lower lip.
"Maybe I could convince your boss for you, sweetie," Rouge spoke up, batting her eyelashes. "New clothes always work wonders for me. And I'm sure Shadow would like seeing them on you, too," she whispered, making my face turn rosy. She strutted, quite literally, into the flower shop. I could hear her faintly talking with my boss and saw her hand on her hip, slowly seducing him with her words.
Not even two minutes later, Rouge came back out with a large smirk on her face.
"What did you do to him?"
"Oh, I might have asked him to give you the rest of the day off. And I promised him that you would come back early tomorrow ready to work again."
"You're so amazing, Rouge!" Sally squealed, giving her a high-five.
"Yes! More shopping!" Amy joined in with Sally's squealing as I covered my ears with a grimace.
"Great… shopping… Oh rapture."
Cue me slowly moving along with them, being dragged from store to store. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate going to the mall? Including the fact that I pretty much have no money to my name? They didn't seem to care, having me try on outfit after outfit. I must admit though, trying the outfits on was enjoyable, even though most of them didn't match my taste.
"Oh, sweetie, you look so adorable!" Amy tittered, looking over a white sundress I had on.
I smoothed down the front of the dress and sighed.
"What's wrong, hun?" Rouge asked, concerned.
"Is it the wrong color? We can get a different one for you," Sally suggested.
"It's not that," I muttered, rubbing my arms. "I just… why are you all doing this for me?"
The three of them looked at each other as I continued.
"I'm not very popular, and sure I have a few friends, but why would you all take the time to hang out with me at all? I just… I don't understand."
"Aw, honey, we're just trying to help," Rouge cooed, coming to my left.
"Don't you want the guys to notice you a little better?" Sally chirped in front of me.
"Besides, what friends would we be if we didn't help you out occasionally?" Amy added, reaching to my right. "Friends should stick together, hmm?"
I thought about that for a minute and shook my head ruefully. "Until today, you two-" I looked pointedly at Sally and Amy- "weren't even really my friends. And I highly doubt you want to become my friends now. If you'll excuse me, I should get back to work." I changed and walked out of the mall with my head held high, tugging on my gloves. I barely heard Rouge scoff in my direction as she and the others continued with their plans.
Maybe I didn't mention it before, but business can be grinding at a florist if nobody comes around in the afternoon. Sure, there were maybe one or two more customers by the time I explained to my boss what happened and got my paycheck docked for Rouge's little scheme, but to be truthful, I was bored out of my mind. As I was trimming stems for the third time that day, guess who walked in the door. It was Tobias and Shadow, each wearing a random rock band shirt and jeans, though Shadow held a leather jacket over one shoulder. Neither of them noticed me at first- until I dropped my scissors on the tile, making them clatter loudly at my feet.
"Hello, and welcome to-"
"Reens? What are you doing here?" Shadow asked, picking up the scissors and handing them over.
"Uh, hi guys. This is my job," I explained as I trimmed the stem off a rose and placed it in a vase. "Just trying to earn some extra cash for college, you know?"
Tobias looked over at the bouquets and pointed to one. 'We're getting some flowers for Mom's birthday,' he signed. 'What do you think about this?'
"Aw, you don't want that one," I replied, shaking my head. "They won't last long. But these," I moved over to a slightly smaller bouquet, "last a lot longer - and they smell sweeter too."
Tobias took the bouquet and grinned.
"I didn't know you worked at a florist," Shadow mentioned.
"I started my job about a week ago, really," I said with a shrug. "Rouge, Amy and Sally roped me into shopping with them and I lost time from that, so…"
Shadow shook his head ruefully. "I'm telling you, they're no good. All they care about right now is fashion trends and breaking hearts."
My ear twitched in annoyance. "Rouge seemed okay at first. I wouldn't think she would join up with Amy and Sally though."
Tobias handed me his cash for the bouquet, and I was about to give him change when he waved his hand. 'Keep it,' he signed, taking the wrapped bouquet and exiting.
"Guess I'll see you on Monday, Reens." Shadow hesitated before following Tobias out with a casual wave.
Speaking of the queen and her ladies-in-waiting, Sally and posse walked in just as Shadow left. Sally looked in his direction longingly, while Amy just sighed dreamily.
"He's just so hot …"
"I thought you liked Sonic."
"Don't get me wrong, I do, but I can at least peek at the market, right?"
Rouge waltzed over and laced a hand on the counter.
"What are you really doing here?" I asked, picking up a vase of daisies.
"We just wanted to formally apologize for how we acted earlier today," Rouge crooned. Ugh, her voice was making me sick with its fake sweetness.
"Look, not trying to be rude, but if you aren't going to purchase anything, I suggest you leave," I informed her, trying to make my voice sound sickly sweet. Her face twisted into disgust as she removed her hand, turning and 'accidentally' knocking an expensive vase onto the floor.
"Oops, sorry for the mess. C'mon ladies, we're done here," Rouge tittered as they left.
Guess who had to pay off the vase for the next few weeks now? First and second guess doesn't count.
I came home to screaming. At first I thought Mama was just yelling over the phone at a client, but then I realized she was yelling at Papa. From the sounds of it, it wasn't a minor thing. They didn't see me come in until I placed my purse on the kitchen table. Mama turned with tears in her eyes and, speechless, shooed me to my room. I plopped on my bed and laid there for a few minutes until Papa started to stomp upstairs. Mama didn't say anything as he went stomping back downstairs to pull out the couch.
"Buenas noches, mi rosa."
"Olvídalo, estúpido cerdo."
Great, now my parents are fighting too. What else could possibly go wrong?
Next time, warn me before I jinx myself.
