Percy stared at the section of candy in front of him. He had spent the last four hours painstakingly pulling out each piece of candy, putting the new stock in the back, and then putting the old ones back in place by descending order of expiration date. The manager for their grocery area had called it FIFO, and when Percy asked what that meant, he was given a glare that could have melted a puppy. He had someone stocking cereal tell him what it meant: first in first out.
Granted, Percy had heard the term before. Mostly, it was when Annabeth complained that 'no one FIFO'd enough'. He had stared at her in the same confusion that he gave to Larry: the manager for their grocery department.
"It looks good, Percy," Larry complimented. Percy turned his head towards the older man. Larry was bundled up in a large jacket, and his face was red. It was certainly not snowing outside, so Larry must have been back in the freezer looking through the shipment they received.
"Thanks," Percy said with a smile. "I have all the expired candy in a cart. Where should I put it?"
"Bring it up to customer service. They'll run it through our system and push it out. Then, we'll bring it back to the breakroom for the workers to have. Make sure to grab one for yourself," Larry answered as he peeled off the jacket.
"I will," Percy promised. He turned and grabbed the cart. His trash had already been thrown away, and it was just a matter of leaving the aisle with the cart.
"One more thing, Percy. Have you taken a break yet?" Larry questioned. Percy looked at his watch and then looked up with a sheepish grin. "You may be a manager, but Lupa wants us all to take breaks. Drop the cart off and take your break."
"Okay," Percy relented. He grabbed the cart and walked towards the front. The store was rather slow for a Friday, but Percy was sure that business would pick up when schools let out for the day. He did not envy the closing crew.
Percy made it to the front and saw that Hazel was standing by the customer service register. She was talking to the cashier behind the counter: Claudia.
"Hey, Hazel. I have expired candy," Percy began.
"Perfect," Hazel said as she turned towards him. "I'll show Claudia how to run this through. I'll run it to the back after, but what do you want me to put aside for you?"
"I'm going to break, so I can just wait and take it to the back," Percy said with a shrug. Hazel smiled at him and stepped behind the counter. Percy leaned on the counter and tried to get a good look at the register. It only took a few seconds for Hazel to motion for him to walk around.
Percy did and watched Hazel change the screen of the register, so it would no longer accept returns or check people out. Percy spoke, "Can all the registers do this?"
"Just the ones back here," Hazel explained. "Then, you wanna press five to throw out the defective item. It will print you a ticket based on what you should do with the item. A few of the food items we will donate. Most are trash."
Claudia nodded and did as she was told. Hazel started handing her candy to scan, and as Claudia scanned each piece, a small printer printed out a ticket the size of Percy's thumb. Percy started to place stickers on the candy.
"The system at my old store had us donate everything. Even frozen food and milk," Percy commented.
"Ours did that when I first started. It was so disgusting," Hazel said. She helped place stickers on the candy. Percy grabbed a shopping basket, so they could set the candy in it. When Claudia was done, Hazel showed her how to set the register back to its default mode.
Hazel then turned and grabbed a Hershey's bar from the basket. After some prompting, Claudia grabbed a Snickers. Percy smiled and grabbed the basket. He turned and started to walk towards the breakroom.
"Free candy?" A voice asked as they appeared next to Percy.
"Sorry, ma'am. It's for workers," Percy replied.
"Buzz off, Jackson. Let me see," Thalia shot back as she looked into the basket. "Oh, dude, Reese's? Hell yeah."
"It's your day off. Why are you here?" Percy asked as he followed Thalia towards the door marked employees only.
"I'm giving Reyna the birthday gift for her sister," Thalia replied as she flashed a CD that was signed on the front and back. "You coming tonight?"
"Of course," Percy promised. "I know Grover and Juniper are pulling a double."
"Bless their hearts," Thalia commented. She grabbed a Kit-Kat bar from the basket and winked at Percy. She stopped outside the door to her office. "Annabeth?"
"She'll be there. And Piper," Percy answered. Thalia nodded and then threw open the door.
"Hey, Nico! You look like you can use a break… oh hey, Reyna."
Percy glanced into the office and saw that Nico was sitting in his chair and staring at the security monitors. Reyna was sitting right next to him. There was a bag of McDonald's between them.
"Were you going to throw that candy at me?" Nico asked. The question was rhetorical as Thalia still had her arm wound up, ready to pitch the candy. It was lucky she didn't as she probably would have hit Reyna in the head.
"Why would I ever throw anything at my favorite cousin?" Thalia asked as she lowered the candy bar.
"I'm your favorite," Percy began.
"Shut up, Seaweed Brain," Thalia muttered as she lightly elbowed his gut. She then tossed the candy towards Nico.
"Nothing for your favorite manager?" Reyna asked in mock offense. A smirk danced on her lips, and she seemed to be in a rather pleasant mood.
"I don't see Lupa anywhere," Nico commented. Reyna turned her head, presumably to give him a look.
"What would you like?" Percy asked, offering the basket. Reyna dug through it before pulling out a package of M&M's. Nico wrinkled his nose in mock disgust.
"While you're here, Reyna. I brought Hylla's gift," Thalia began. She held out the CD. The smirk on Reyna's face turned into a smile.
"Thank you, Thalia. Are you sure I don't owe you?" Reyna asked.
"Nah. On the house," Thalia promised.
"Isn't your band playing tonight?" Nico asked. Thalia nodded. "Great. Now I can't go there for a beer. I don't know how you call that banging and scratching music."
"Shut up," Thalia retorted. "Screw you guys, but not you, Reyna. You're great. I'm going to get lunch with Annabeth."
"Thanks again," Reyna said. Thalia smiled at her, and Nico flipped his cousin off. Thalia flipped him off as well, and Percy could see that Nico was struggling to keep from smiling.
"See you tonight," Thalia said to Percy as she started to walk away.
"No doubt," Percy replied as he waved. He glanced back at the office and watched Nico close the door in his face, but the smile on Nico's face transferred itself to Percy.
Percy turned and walked down the hall. He made it into the breakroom and saw that Octavian was leaning on the counter as he brewed coffee. Frank sat at a table.
"Free candy," Percy announced as he sat the basket down. He grabbed a bar of candy for himself and sat at the table. Frank quickly grabbed one. Octavian walked over, looked at the candy, and then stepped away.
Percy pulled out his phone and stared down at the screen. It wasn't until Octavian had made his coffee and left that Frank spoke up, "Hey, Percy. Can I ask you something?"
"Go ahead," Percy said, lowering his phone.
"Well, I wasn't sure if I should ask you or Hazel. Or even Reyna. But, I just don't want to push carts all the time," Frank said. His face turned red, and he shifted uncomfortably. "That's not what I mean. It's just… I want to learn more stuff. I don't want to be just a cart pusher."
"Like what else do you want to learn?" Percy asked. Frank shrugged and looked down. "Frank, I was in your place before. I didn't want to be just a cart pusher. So, I asked if I could learn to cashier or even stock the floor. The store manager gave me the run around for a few months before the assistant store manager called me in on a busy day and threw me on a register just to get me training."
"I've been in your shoes. I don't mind helping you out, but I don't want to stick you somewhere you don't want to be," Percy explained.
"Well, I would like to cashier," Frank began. Percy nodded.
"I'll talk to Hazel about it," Percy promised. Frank smiled brightly at him and then went back to eating his candy. Percy leaned back and tried to enjoy the rest of his break.
When Percy's break was done, he stood and walked back the way he came. He didn't make it too far as Octavian watched him with an unidentifiable look. Percy stopped walking and spoke, "Hey."
"Odd for a manager to not take their break in their office," Octavian commented. He took a sip of his coffee, and Percy noted that Octavian hadn't added any creamer or sugar to it.
"Well, I'm used to taking my break in the breakroom, since that is what it's for," Percy commented. Octavian studied him, but his eyes did narrow slightly. Percy still didn't have a good impression of Octavian. The man did his job, but he didn't seem to interact with anyone besides the managers unless he had to.
Did Octavian think he was better than anyone? Was he just shy? Percy didn't think that Octavian was a bad person, and while Thalia didn't like him, they seemed to have personalities that would clash. Percy would have to ask Nico, who didn't like anyone and wasn't afraid to give an honest opinion.
"I'm still not used to being a manager," Percy admitted as he leaned against the wall. "So, yeah. I go into the breakroom forgetting I have an entire office to myself. It gets lonely."
"It does," Octavian agreed after a few moments. He sighed and sat down his coffee cup. "No one really talks to me unless it's work-related. Other than Reyna. I owe her. A lot."
"My life really," Octavian whispered so softly that Percy barely heard. Octavian quickly cleared his throat. "How are you fitting in?"
"Pretty well. I like to think at least," Percy replied. He shrugged and glanced at his watch. "I should get back to work before Larry comes back to find me."
"You should," Octavian agreed. Percy nodded and gave him a smile. Then, he walked back onto the shopfloor and hurried his way back to groceries. After the candy was done, he was supposed to help set up a few displays.
Percy found Larry standing at the corner of an aisle, staring ahead with his hands on his hips. There was a frown on his face. Percy slowly walked towards Larry and spoke, "What's going on?"
"Him," Larry answered. Percy frowned and followed the manager's gaze. He froze as he saw the customer standing in front of their display of cold drinks. An old man hunched over the drinks and seemed to be examining each one. There was a single stand of silver hair on his head, and if they were facing him, they would see beady little eyes that would make the devil cringe.
"The Kabachi man," Percy whispered. Larry looked at him in surprise.
"You know him?" Larry asked.
"We saw him at my old store plenty of times," Percy answered. He watched the Kabachi man grab a single green drink of Kabachi. Then, he turned and started to walk towards the front.
"I don't think I've seen him for months. Why is he back?" Larry asked. Percy's eyes widened. Did his friends make good on their promise at the bar? If so, they were going to have a long talk. For now, he needed to make sure the crazy man didn't yell at anyone. "Hazel hasn't dealt with him yet."
"I'm going to help her," Percy began. Larry nodded quickly.
"Godspeed, Percy. Godspeed," Larry said. A smile came to Percy's face, and Larry smiled slightly. Percy hurried towards the front. Getting yelled at by customers was usually a daily occurrence, but Hazel didn't deserve to get yelled at by a crazy person.
Percy was halfway to the front when someone stopped him by almost stepping in front of him. He barely stopped and still almost skidded into the old woman using a walker. She looked up at him and spoke, "Hi. Do you work here?"
"I do," Percy began. Hopefully, the Kabachi man was a really slow walker. "What can I do for you?"
"Can you help me reach that?" the old woman questioned, and she pointed to the side. Percy looked to the side and then up. The old was pointing at the top shelf, where a singular can of cat food was sitting. It was not near the edge. Instead, it was pushed against the back. The only way to see it was from the side.
"Yeah," Percy said after a few moments. He liked to think that he was decently tall, but he would have to stand on his tiptoes to reach the top shelf and grab something hanging off of the edge. Getting to the back would be a challenge.
Percy stood on the tip of his toes and reached out. He placed one hand on the shelf to steady himself and then reached up as high as he could. It was only enough to reach the edge of the shelf and maybe push his finger back just a centimeter or two.
Percy kept trying to reach but had no luck. He finally stepped away and looked back at the old woman, "Sorry. I don't think I can grab it. I can see if we have more in the back."
"But, I want that one," the old woman began. With her white hair and dull green eyes, she looked like a sweet grandma. Who wanted cat food that Percy couldn't grab. Percy stepped around and saw the cat food was a small can with an orange label. He stepped back around the shelf and grabbed the same can from a shelf even the old lady could reach.
"Here this. It's the same one," Percy said as he held the can of cat food out.
"That's not the same," the old woman said politely. Percy stared at her. Then, he looked at the can of cat food in his hands and then the one above them.
"No. I'm pretty sure these are the same," Percy said.
"They're not," the old lady insisted. Percy bit the inside of his cheek and nodded. He placed the correct can of cat food down and grabbed his radio, "Hey Frank, is your break done?"
"I'm heading back now," Frank replied over the radio.
"Do you mind stopping by the cat food section? A customer wants an item that I'm a little too short to reach," Percy explained.
"Be right there," Frank promised. Percy nodded and placed his radio back on his belt. True to his word, Frank was there nearly a few seconds later. The old lady looked at Frank and smiled. "Where's the cat food?"
"Up there," Percy replied as he pointed. Frank's eyes shot up and then looked back at the same can of cat food that Percy had grabbed. Percy gave him a knowing look, and Frank nodded. He reached up to the top shelf. "Thanks, Frank. I have to get back up front."
Percy turned and hurried towards the front. He thought that he was too late, but he saw the Kabachi man was standing at one of the self checkouts. Instead of scanning the bottle, like a normal person, he was typing the number under the barcode. Hazel was standing off to the side and watching in confusion.
"Sir, do you need help?" Hazel asked as she walked towards him. Percy tried to shout a warning, but he had no chance. The Kabachi man froze, and he slowly turned towards Hazel.
"Do you think I'm trying to steal?" the Kabachi man questioned. As Percy approached, he saw the confusion on Hazels' face was growing.
"No," Hazel began.
"Then, why are you trying to help me?" the Kabachi man demanded. "I can check out on my own. I have been doing this for years."
Hazel looked so taken aback that she seemed to be at a loss for words. Thankfully, the Kabachi man didn't seem to be too interested in a long-winded rant. Oh god. Was he going to ask for the store manager? Percy tensed as he watched, unsure if he should interfere.
If the Kabachi man was calming down, Percy walking over might get him going again. Percy watched as the Kabachi man finished typing in the numbers, paid exact change, and then wrapped his drink in a few bags. Hazel gave him space, still looking confused.
The Kabachi man took his bag and walked towards the front door. He stopped right at the door and held his bag up over his head, above the metal detector. Then, he stepped out of the store still holding his bag high above his head.
"I tried to rush up here to warn you," Percy said as he walked over. Hazel looked at him in surprise and confusion. "We call him the Kabachi man at my old store. He always gets that drink and always has an attitude if anyone tries to help him. In fact, I think this was the most uneventful encounter I've ever seen with him."
"I was just trying to help him," Hazel began. "Not accuse him of stealing."
"I don't know why he's like that," Percy admitted. "If anyone tries to help him, he thinks you're insulting him in some way. Sometimes, he asks if we think he is too old to do anything or too dumb. And then the stealing bit he just did. He's just crazy but harmless. I would stay out of his way."
"What's with that whole bag above his head thing?" Hazel asked. "Did he slip something into the bag?"
"No. A brave soul asked him once before and received an entire rant. Poor Leo. I don't think he was ever the same," Percy said as he thought of the current maintenance man for The Pantheon. Annabeth knew Leo was the best one for the job, but she was worried about hiring him since he tended to destroy just as much as he fixed. Percy almost wished they had stolen Leo away when he started here. Beckendorf was great and all, but Valdez was the man.
"Kabachi man said the drink is full of probiotics and some other healthy stuff, but if he carries the bag below his head, the electroids in the metal detector will destroy the probiotics in the drink," Percy explained. Hazel stared at him, mouth half-open and one eye half-closed as she seemed to be processing what he said. "Yeah. Everyone usually gives me that reaction."
"He'll be back," Percy said in a soft voice. Hazel groaned and hung her head. "I know."
"We'll survive together," Hazel declared dramatically. Percy smirked and nodded his agreement. "I should get to my break."
"Enjoy your break," Percy said. Hazel smiled at him, and the two parted. Percy walked back towards the grocery section, and a smile rested on his face. Tonight, it would be Percy and his angels. Although, everyone punched him when he first made his joke. Somehow, it was funny when Jason repeated it.
But, Percy was looking forward to spending time with his friends. Well, Thalia would be there too. Oh well. It was always nice to hang out with Piper, and the two gelled together well. And, there was Annabeth. Percy looked forward to every day that he saw her, and tonight would be no different.