The next morning, Seymour woke up to the sound of Mr. Mushnik yelling for him to get out of bed and get upstairs into the shop now. He pushed his blankets off and leapt out of the bed as he quickly change out of his pajamas and into his regular clothes. As soon as he got his shoes on, Mr. Mushnik appeared at the top of the stairs with a look on his face that told Seymour he better get upstairs this very minute.
Seymour bolted up the stairs and said "Sorry, sir. I was getting ready, that's all."
"Yeah, whatever Krelbourn. Now this is your first day of work here, and I expect you to be on your best behavior. You understand that?" Mushnik asked him.
"Yes I do, sir." Seymour declared with confidence.
Mushnik rolled his eyes at Seymour's behavior and continued on with his speech by saying "When the customers come in here, greet them with a friendly, courteous manner. Offer them assistance when needed. And don't forget to give them the correct change after they've made their purchases, got it?"
"Got it." Seymour said.
"Allright, I'll go upstairs and bring you a small breakfast. You wait down here for the customers and remember what I told you." Mushnik said as he headed for the stairs up to his apartment.
Seymour, meanwhile, sat on the small stool behind the cash register counter nervously. Being only ten years old, he wasn't sure he could properly serve a customer in this store. But being a talkative kid at times as well, he was more than willing to try his best.
He got his chance when the first customer of the day, an elderly woman, walked in the door. She walked up to the counter and say "Hey, little boy. Can you help me?"
"Yes ma'am." Seymour said as he straightened up in the stool.
"I want to purchase some roses for my husband as an anniversary present. Can you get me some?" she said.
"I'll get them for you, ma'am." Seymour said and then he headed for the cooler in the back room Mr. Mushnik told him about. Thankfully when he opened the doors, there were some roses in there. He selected a small assortment of red and white roses, then looked around for something he could wrap them in. He noticed a piece of white tissue paper lying on a table, and he quickly wrapped the flowers up.
"Here, ma'am. I hope you like these." he said as he presented the flower to the woman.
"Oh young man, my husband will love these." the woman said as she admired the bouquet Seymour had given her.
"That will cost $10, ma'am." Seymour told her.
"Ok, little boy. Here's $20, and keep the change. Your shop looks like it could use the extra cash." she said and walked out. Seymour was speechless, he didn't even have to make change for his first customer. He thought working here was easier than he originally hoped it would be.
Mr. Mushnik suddenly appeared in the store, carrying a glass of orange juice and a plate with a piece of toast on it. "So Krelbourn, any sales yet?" he asked Seymour.
"Yes, Mr. Mushnik. A lady came in and bought $10 worth of roses." Seymour told him.
"And did you give her any change?" Mr. Mushnik asked, eyeing Seymour suspiciously.
"Didn't have to, she told me to keep the change." Seymour said as he handed Mr. Mushnik the $20 bill he had been given.
Mr. Mushnik looked like he had died and gone to heaven as he looked at the bill. He held it upwards and exclaimed "There is a God!"
Seymour just ignored that comment as he nibbled on his toast. He was rather proud of himself for making his first sale so successfully. Unfortunately, the rest of the day did not go as well. Counting the elderly woman, the shop had a total of 4 customers that day. Considering the fact that the store was open from 8 in the morning until 6 that evening, it was terrible business. It showed on Mr. Mushnik's face as he and Seymour closed up the shop that night.
"Another horrible day of business, when will my luck ever change?" Mushnik groaned as he locked the front door.
"I think it will someday sir. You just have to wait." Seymour told him.
"Yeah, it'll take a miracle from up above to get business booming. But that'll never happen." Mushnik said as he walked up the stairs to his apartment. Secretly he wished for the day the one thing happened that would cause this shop to grow and expand and attract business.