3 . . .

2 . . .

1 . . .

HONK!

"Move it, chick!"

Hopping onto the sidewalk with speed, the girl turns to the car that held the loud man who was beginning to pass by her. The light was still red while she finished crossing the road and yet the car rushed through it as soon as she hit the other side. Frowning, she begins to head onward forgetting the man's face instantly. Certainly he might get a ticket with how he was speeding, even if there was a slim chance that a cop was right around the corner. Guess that wasn't her problem either way.

Her black and red sneakers scuffed the ground wit each dragging step as the pail girl was heading down the sidewalk. She had thrown on some decent jeans along with a short sleeved t shirt that had an array of tied died colors. Her boss never really cared that much what she was wearing as long as it never was against the policies of the mall. Granted, she did have to keep her brown hair in a side pony tail on the left side to keep it out of her face, so she wasn't just winging it.

Stopping in place, she looks up at the building she stood outside of. Sleek cream tan ish walls towered with it's large four pillars, two on each side. A glass dome at the top glistened with the sunlight. The doors were made of crimson wood that opened to the sky blue and white interior. As she walks in, the girl eyes the other shops within the building. A dinning section where pizza and sub places stationed right next to each other, a clothing shop, a make up trial corner. Many different businesses found homes in this mall and had earned their place well. It would be rare for any new shops to open up or get replaced due to how much business each one got.

Heading deeper in, she finds herself in front of a shop that was full of kid's toys and gadgets. This was her sector, Heaven Child. Or at least where she worked. The girl headed in and walked to the door that lead to the back room. The small space that was there was only allowed for storing boxes of products, so lounging around there was not gonna be easy. There was one more door in there that lead into an office space for two people to use, but nothing else. The girl heads into the other room and heads to a computer to clock into the system.

She sighed as today was another day. One where she had to stock the shelves, help customers, and end the day on an okay note. It wasn't much, but it was temporary until she could find something she was more qualified for. Finding a job was hard for her as she was still freshly moved out and on her own. She did have the finances to keep herself secured in her new home, so there was no major concern. In the end, all of this was temporary.

Her focus on the device kept the girl un aware that someone was sneaking up on her until it was too late. "Good morning, Echo!"

Shocked, she swiftly turned around and leaned on the table with a deep panting. "Sir . . . please don't do that."

"Aw, but you seem so tired," said her scare mister. It was a middle aged man with blonde hair and green eyes. He wore a pink jacket with a blue shirt underneath, hoping it would match his jeans. "I know you have a smile in there that the customers would just love to see!"

"Sir, I was up late trying to finish some paper work and right now am just trying to get the day over with," said the girl, who was named Echo, "so please have grace on me and don't do this today."

"Ah, harsh," the man replied, "but I understand."

Echo was certainly not exited to see her boss. Especially since she already had a tough time getting along with him. They never argued really, at least had major arguments, but she always preferred to avoid him as much as possible. Mainly because she thought of him as nosey and pushy. Like he was always trying to get something out of her and it would just make her uncomfortable. He had been getting better over time, but she still found him annoying.

Taking a deep breath, she ends her task with the computer and gets her tag and sash to begin work. "Was there something you wanted to say sir?"

"Ah yes," the flamboyant man spoke, "well I was just thinking of you yesterday and thought of how hard you have been working for about a year now. Because of this, I want you to do me a special favor, from boss to worker, no big deal."

"Yes sir?"

"See, I have these packages of prototype toys that have been collecting dust for quite some time. And while I could be more resourceful and send them away to a collector, I figured you would have a proper place to give them due to your family's connections with certain people."

"You want me to get rid of prototypes."

"Yes."

Echo raises her eyebrows as she looks at her boss. Prototypes would sometimes fall into his hands so he could get a hold of some collectables or sell them to the highest bidder. To be getting rid of what sounded like a cash cow opportunity raised suspicion. On the other hand, if they were as valuable as she thought, she could make a small fortune out of it. It could be the cut she needed to get some extra cash and pay off her bills easier.

"I can bring my car tomorrow and we can talk then," Echo said with a sigh.

The boss smiled widely. "Great! Make sure to be here at noon! No sooner or later!"

She nods and heads out of the room and onto the floor. The store itself was never that large as it was at least the same size as the other stores in the mall. But from the way it was set up, you could feel like it was bigger than at first thought. The yellow walls would have red and blue shapes, mostly squares and circles, mesh together to make a green convergence. Some smart aleck kids would comment on them and say it should be purple, but the response for those comments varied from "it looks pretty" to "take it up with my manager". The floors had a green and orange carpet that pretty much clashed with the walls, but it was never a problem. As for a paint spattered shelves, they were stocked to the brim with toys of various properties. Action figures, dolls, puzzles, games, you name it, it was probably there.

Glancing around, Echo sees the customers that are looking around and keeping their kids in check. About six people were in the store total. Granted it was 2pm and parents would only be coming around 4pm so the income was slow. Her partner in work would be coming in around 3pm so there was time for her to get situated before things got hectic. Heading to her counter, she sets up the register that her boss was running while she was gone. A woman approached with a question to which Echo kicked her customer service voice as she gave a minor smile.

"How can I help you?"

The clock slowly ticked by as it was about 20 minutes before she could finally go home. Her partner was fixing up the place as she was closing up the register. Looking over at him, the boy who worked with her was sighing as he placed dropped boxes onto their proper shelves.

"I could have sworn that lady was going to murder me if I didn't have Mr. Qualm help me out," he said, referring to their boss who had headed home for the day at 8pm.

"Well, that seemed like mercy to me," Echo replied.

The boy had only started a month ago and was one of four others that worked there excluding the vacation coverers. Oddly enough, She had heard worse stories of angry customers, so this day seemed mellow. Granted the air did get tense when the customer in question was starting to raise her tone. But that moment was over and they didn't have to worry about her now.

Looking at the clock, the time then was 9:43pm. Time moved slower when doing nothing. Suddenly Echo's phone rang, causing her to leave her post to answer.

"Hello . . . yes, I'm listening . . . okay . . . yeah, that can work just fine . . . Alright, ten am right? . . . got it, thank you so much . . . goodbye." The girl hangs up as she pumps her fist and gives a victory cheer. "Guess who's got an interview two weeks from now!"

"Really," said the boy, "you got an interview?"

"Yep, I'm going to be setting up a nice place over in Montana," she replied, "and this job is gonna get me there."

It wasn't something she would say so early, but considering her chances, there seemed to be some good news that could come with this. All she needed to do was nail the interview and get hired. To Echo, it was an easy task.

"Man, it's gonna be weird," said the boy, "not seeing you here every week."

"Hey, I won't cut off my ties here, Jack," she interjected, "keep my number and we can text on my days off."

"Nice! Sounds like a plan."

The time now was 9:55pm, meaning she was now ready to go home. Heading to the backroom, Echo grabs her stuff to clock out of the store. She then exits the backroom and heads to the exit.

"Later," she said.

"Have a nice night," Jack replied.

Stepping out, she looks around at the empty dark mall and sighed. Her first time roaming the building at night was creepy and unsettling. Not the fact that it was dark, but the fact it was big. Imagining something or someone just popping out of nowhere was certainly a concern she had. Now that she had been through this many times, it was barely a thought in her mind. She smiled confidently as she walks out of the building and onto the sidewalk.

She opens her phone's notes as she looks at all that happened today to be kept in mind for tomorrow. First was that she worked another day with Jack. Meaning her next two days were going to be off. Sounds like she could plan something around then. Maybe a get together with the workers. She posts a note around those days to consider. Second on the list was to make sure her bills were paid before going into work. Yikes, did she pay last month? No wait, yeah she did. Man her mind really was a mess that she would almost forget something like that. She stars that to make sure it stood out to her. Oh, last on the list was to come at work around noon with her car. The prototypes were going to be loaded in her car around that time.

Closing her phone she looks up in the sky and sees the full moon. A warm feeling of whimsiness overflowed her. She hadn't felt this good about herself in a while. For once, she felt like her life was under control. And when she had that interview in two weeks, she was going to have the best life ever.

Nice, the first chapter. I understand that this story has been done to death a thousand times, but I felt like I could mess with it for a bit and make something fun. Granted the real drama is gonna begin around the next chapter, so stick around for that one.

Until then, I'm rising up and rolling out.