This is another story idea that I've had in my head for a long time. It's going to be different than most of my stories and be more like a slice of life story. Hopefully, it gives everyone a laugh during these crazy times. The eventual main pairings will be Percy/Annabeth and Thalia/Reyna. I hope everyone enjoys. Updates will be about once a month.
"I hate Mondays," Thalia said as she leaned back in her office chair. It took her a moment to prop her legs up on her desk, and a sigh left her. Mondays were the worst. It was the day that she had to start her work week, and people were just the worst on Mondays. It was like they were in a bad mood, so they had to put everyone in a worse mood to feel better about themselves.
Thalia glanced around at all of the monitors in front of her. There were about twenty different monitors that were hooked up to the cameras all around the store. Thalia knew what her high school self would think: what a snitch. It was partially true. She was a snitch, but she got paid to be one.
Being an asset protector was not Thalia's dream job. And, asset protector was such a stupid name. It wasn't like there were any actual assets. Just merchandise. The job paid the bills though. It also gave her the free time to play with her band. They were still pretty small, but the fun part was rocking out with them.
It wasn't like Thalia needed the money anyway. Her deadbeat father had left her with enough money to live without working for a single day of her life as long as she lived frugally. Thalia refused to touch that money though unless it was for spoiling her friends or little brother. Or ladies that she wanted to impress. There was one lady in particular, but that was a difficult situation to approach. So, Thalia figured she was better off just letting her emotions stew. She would get over the crush. Sooner or later.
Thalia glanced around her office. All of her work monitors were mounted in front of her. Her work computer was to the right, but her personal computer was on the left. Any and all paperwork was stacked behind her on a few filing cabinets. The door was to her immediate right, and if she were to exit, she would be twenty feet from the front doors of their store.
A knock on the door snapped Thalia out of her thoughts. She pushed herself over to the door and opened it. A smile came to her face as a coffee was handed to her. Reyna spoke, "Morning Thalia. Did you enjoy your day off?"
"I always do," Thalia answered with a genuine smile. The two days of the week that she got off were Fridays and Sundays. That Saturday in between was usually when grumpy Thalia came out, but at the same time, she wouldn't trade her two days off. It was just too busy on Fridays, and Sunday mornings were the actual worst.
"That's good," Reyna said. She took a sip of her coffee. There was a frown on Reyna's face. It was deeper than her regular, neutral frown. Thalia had known her boss for almost a year now, so she knew how to read her. "Your cousin starts today, doesn't he?"
"He does," Thalia confirmed. She sipped her coffee and sat it on her desk. "How was the weekend?"
"Same as always," Reyna answered. She shifted her backpack on her shoulder. Thalia stood, and Reyna turned away. They stepped out of the office and made it down the hallway that led to their break room. Upon passing the break room, Thalia saw some of the crew waiting for their shift to start.
They passed the break room and came to a large room that had a few exits. One exit would lead to hell also known as the store floor. Another would lead to a second hallway that had all kinds of different offices. The third exit was an emergency one, so they never used that.
"Any trouble with the door?" Reyna asked. She stepped into the second hallway and walked towards her office. Thalia followed behind and studied Reyna. A frown came to her face. Reyna looked completely exhausted. The coffee holder that she held in one hand had two coffees in it, and they looked to be the same.
"Not at all," Thalia answered. She shrugged and sat in the free chair. Reyna took off her backpack and placed it on her desk. She opened her backpack. Thalia could close her eyes and tell the order that Reyna would take things out: her lunch, her purse, and a few different drinks below that. Thalia asked why Reyna didn't just carry everything in her hands, but she never got a great answer. Reyna sat in her office chair, and a look crossed her face. "Something wrong?"
"No," Reyna answered. She was clearly lying, but Thalia wasn't going to push. For the past few months, Reyna had been pulling double shifts a few times a week, and she also only had about three days off in that total amount of time. Thalia was sure that they were breaking a few labor laws, but Reyna never complained.
There were two assistant managers to the store, but ever since Thalia's brother left out of the blue, it was just Reyna. The woman did not complain though. She just showed up literally every day and worked. Thalia personally couldn't watch it anymore and made a call to Lupa. Their store manager showed up the next day and had a long talk with Reyna about it. Percy was hired not long after.
Thalia wondered if Reyna knew that she was the one who told Lupa. There was no doubt that Reyna was upset about it, but Thalia didn't think it was because Reyna wanted to keep killing herself at work. Was it something that Lupa had said? As much as Thalia wanted to know about it, she couldn't bring herself to ask.
"You just look tired," Thalia began. She knew that it was dangerous to just blatantly state something like that. Reyna studied her for a long moment. Thalia knew that Reyna was running on fumes. She had seen that look in her manager's eyes plenty of times before. That was why she asked Thalia to come in early and get all of the before opening duties done.
"We're about to open. You should head up the cameras," Reyna said. Thalia barely kept herself from giving Reyna a look. No one stole this early on a Monday morning. It was just too early in the week to start something like that. But, Reyna clearly didn't want the conversation to continue, and Thalia did not need to put her in a worse mood before Percy got there.
"I will. Thanks for the coffee," Thalia said. She turned away and walked back to her office. There was one very big problem that Thalia had when it came to working with Reyna. The problem was that Thalia had a crush on Reyna.
Really, Thalia wanted nothing more than to walk back and profess her undying love for Reyna. She wanted to do that every day, but she was just born to suffer apparently. Thalia wasn't quite sure when the crush started. There was just one day that Thalia looked up at Reyna and just wanted to be with her.
It wasn't like the other crushes that Thalia had. Those she got over by having sex with that person. Granted, she and Reyna hadn't gotten that intimate, so maybe, it was just a simple crush. That wasn't going to be such an easy fix. Sleeping with your boss one night and then seeing them at work the next day would make everything extremely awkward.
Thalia heard footsteps outside of her office and glanced at the cameras. She felt a bit of disappointment as it wasn't Reyna who walked towards the front doors. Hazel Levesque moved towards the doors and started to unlock them. A small sigh left Thalia.
Okay. Hazel was sweet and all, but Thalia was trying to play stalker with the cameras. Yeah. It was a little weird, but she was concerned about Reyna. Something was going on with Reyna, and Thalia was determined to figure it out.
Thalia leaned back in her chair and watched Hazel. She stood by the front door and greeted the few people that walked in. A frown came to Thalia's face as she watched the first three people walk into the store. One of them was an old woman, but the other two seemed to be younger.
Over her time as the great and mighty asset protector, Thalia learned how to read people. They all had certain tells about when they were going to steal something. One of those tells was them wearing a jacket with the hood up when it was eighty degrees outside. Thalia didn't even wear a jacket when she drove her motorcycle in this weather.
Thalia rolled over to her walkie-talkie and spoke into it, "Hey Hazel. Can you be a doll and switch to my favorite channel?"
Thalia watched Hazel scramble for her radio and switch the channel to another one. Thalia switched to the channel and waited. After a few moments, Hazel spoke, "Is something wrong?"
"Yeah. The two guys in hoodies are probably going to steal something. It's a Monday too," Thalia said. She sighed tiredly and laid her head back. "Can you get Reyna for me and just ask her to hang out up front with you? I'll keep an eye on them."
"I can do that," Hazel said. She moved in a flash, and Thalia heard footsteps fly past her room. She sighed and moved towards her computer. She studied all of the cameras and watched the two people. Maybe, they were just cold for some reason. They could be from like Arizona or somewhere hot, and they found eighty-degree weather cold.
Thalia was going to need a drink in the next five minutes. She sat back in her chair and watched the two hooded figures. The two moved past their clothing sections and past electronics. They moved over to their home goods department. Thalia sighed as they grabbed onto one of their black storage bins.
If she was being honest, Thalia didn't really care if people stole. She understood. Life was a shit show. Things were hard, and sometimes, people had to do desperate things to survive. Thalia was okay with turning a blind eye to someone taking a thing of diapers or formula. Even food was fine. There were some things that she couldn't just let walk out the door, mostly because it would get her fired. Hopefully, these two just wanted a pack of diapers and an apple.
"Thalia, what's going on?" Reyna asked over the radio. Thalia glanced at her camera that was watching the front. Reyna was standing next to Hazel and glancing around.
"I think I'm going to have some paperwork today. Two hoodies. I'll let you know if they take anything," Thalia answered. Reyna lowered her radio and clipped it back to her belt. She crossed her arms. Hazel said something, and Reyna shook her head. Were they talking about Thalia? She felt like they were talking about her.
Thalia was eighty percent sure that Hazel had never said a bad word about any of her coworkers, so if she started now, Thalia would kill her. Thalia forced herself to look back at the camera that she was supposed to be focused on.
While she had lost the two punks when she took her eyes off the camera, it wasn't hard to find them again. She just looked at their grocery cameras and cycled to the one that had an overview of their alcohol section.
"Thanks guys. Now I have to do paperwork," Thalia muttered. She watched the two shovel all kinds of alcohol into their storage bin. They must be planning for a party, as they took the time to examine each alcohol bottle and also grab some mixers. When they were done, they put the lid back on the bin and started to walk towards the front door.
Thalia sighed and stood from her chair. She left her office and made it towards the front. They had two cashiers at the moment. One was watching their self check-out machines, and the other was at their lane. They were both keeping an eye on Hazel and Reyna.
Everyone but the old lady knew what was going on. Thalia didn't want to have to deal with it. Who tried this kind of thing on a Monday? The last thing that Thalia wanted on a Monday was to fill out paperwork. A sigh left her as she made it onto the sales floor. Showtime.
Thalia walked towards the registers. She took a place next to Reyna and spoke, "It's a classic. Alcohol in a storage bin."
"I don't want to do paperwork today," Reyna muttered. She rubbed her shoulder and winced. Thalia looked at her in concern, but she turned her gaze back towards the lane. The cashiers didn't have any customers, so they were cleaning up what little mess there was. Which meant they were just trying to look busy so their managers didn't say anything to them.
Hazel was a pretty relaxed manager. As long as everyone got their work done, she didn't say much. Reyna, on the other hand, was a little more strict. Thalia was pretty sure that Reyna carried a white glove around in her back pocket, and if she saw someone just standing around, it would be pulled out.
"You didn't even get to drink your coffee, did you?" Thalia asked. Reyna shook her head. "If you want, we can let them get past the front door and then tackle them before they make it outside."
"Only if you don't want your job," Reyna commented. Thalia gave her a look. "Your northwest."
"My what?" Thalia questioned. Reyna glanced at her and then looked to Thalia's left. Thalia followed her gaze and saw the two people. One was pushing the cart. The other was pretending to look at candy. They had stopped at a far lane that on one was at.
Thalia barely stopped herself from smirking. These guys had no choice but to walk away. The three of them were blocking the only exits. After a minute or two of just standing there, the guys would take the hint and leave. Hopefully. Thalia just wanted to sit back down and relax. The sooner the better.
"What did you do this weekend?" Hazel questioned. She glanced at Thalia. "Other than work?"
"My band played at a bar," Thalia said.
"Band?" Reyna questioned. She looked at Thalia. "I never knew you were in a band."
"We're not famous or anything," Thalia said with a shrug. "We just do it for fun."
"You've never invited us," Hazel said. "I would love to go."
"Maybe next time," Thalia began. She glanced back to her side. Would Reyna like to see her play in a band? Cause Thalia kind of wanted her to. Chicks dug someone who played guitar, right? Thalia hoped so.
"Hazel, you're up," Reyna said. Thalia frowned and focused back on her job. She needed to stop being distracted by her manager. Thalia realized the two men had given up on their first plan of walking past the lanes and out the front door. Now, they were at self-checkout.
Hazel walked towards the two men as they scanned the few items that were visible in their cart. Thalia moved closer and grabbed a clipboard off of one of the lanes. She stared at the break schedule for that day. Most of her focus was on Hazel.
"How are you two doing today?" Hazel questioned. Both of the guys, and by their builds, Thalia could tell they were male, muttered something that she couldn't hear. "I do have to check inside your bin. Store policy and all."
If the two men were going to protest, Hazel didn't give them any time. She opened the storage bin, and a small smile came to her face. Hazel spoke, "That's pretty smart. You don't have to carry everything in fragile bags now. I will have to see your ID for the alcohol though. I hope you don't mind.."
"Damn. She is good," Thalia said under her breath.
"I don't know how she manages to be so nice," Reyna muttered. She leaned on the register next to Thalia and hung her head.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Thalia asked softly. Asking one time was dangerous enough, so Thalia wasn't sure how bad two times would be. Reyna didn't answer at first. She just kept her gaze downward.
Thalia frowned and looked back at the men. They were walking away without their cart. As they passed by, Thalia spoke, "Have a nice day guys."
The two men started to walk faster. Thalia chuckled and walked towards Hazel. She spoke, "Good work."
"Thanks," Hazel said with a small blush. "I hate doing that though. I know they're trying to steal, but I feel so awkward."
"I love doing that," Thalia said with a shrug. "It's funnier the more uncomfortable they are. What did they say?"
"They left their wallet in their car," Hazel said. Thalia smirked. "Should I cancel the transaction?"
"Yeah. I'll take the cart," Thalia said. Hazel nodded and turned towards the self-checkout. Thalia grabbed the shopping cart and walked towards the register Reyna was still leaning on. She tried to log into the register and stared at what her pin was supposed to be. When was the last time she signed into a register again?
"Here," Reyna muttered. She pressed the back button on the register, typed her numbers in, and then her pin. All without looking. Thalia quietly turned the settings of the register to training mode and scanned everything that had been in the cart. After she finished, she printed out the receipt. Hazel took the cart to the returns desk.
"Thanks," Thalia said. She glanced at Reyna, who had yet to move. Thalia was getting a little concerned at this point.
"Anytime," Reyna muttered. She finally pushed herself off of the register and looked at Thalia. "Are you sure today is the day that your cousin is starting?"
"Of course I am. He wouldn't shut up about it," Thalia commented. Reyna glanced at her watch and raised an eyebrow. "Is something wrong?"
"He's late," Reyna said, and she looked up at Thalia.
"Oh," Thalia said. She looked at the receipt. "I should go write up a quick report."
Reyna nodded and didn't say a word. Thalia turned and quickly started to walk away. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and quickly typed a text.
Perseus Jackson. You are in so much trouble.