Slip of the Tongue
"Remember, at Cloud 9, we respect all of our customers and employees, regardless of age, race, gender, religion, sexual orientation...and there's something else I'm missing, right?"
"My god given right to tell cock *beep*-ing fags to go to hell!"
"No Robert! That just makes you an ass-*beep*."
"They kept 'cock' and 'fag' in the video but bleeped out something else?" Henry sighed.
"I hate these training videos...," Rika pressed her palms against the sides of her head.
"Question, why did you make all of us have to watch this last-minute in the middle of the day?" Izzy crossed his arms.
"I think we know why," Davis smirked.
"Davis, no!" Tai barked.
"We can tell you all the juicy details!" TK smirked.
"TK! Back off! What's important is that EVERYONE is updated on our diversity and tolerance policy!" Tai turned red.
"Also, that Tai is sadly a homophobe. He's a big-haired bigot!" Davis pretended to sniffle.
"What?!" Yolei crossed her arms.
"No! Don't listen to those clowns! They're just twisting things out of proportion!" Tai yelled.
"Oh, coincidentally, the two queer subordinates are 'clowns' to you?" Davis hunched over the table.
"That's not what I meant! Stop it!" Tai stomped his foot.
"No, as a fellow member of the queer community, I should know whether my peer thinks of me in a disapproving way," Yolei clicked a pen.
"Heh," Gennai scribbled on a notepad.
"Gennai, what are you writing?" Henry leaned in close.
"It's for security purposes. I call it profiling," Gennai held up his notepad.
"'Gay = Unstable?' Gennai, no...we don't want to come back here a second time for the same reason," Henry pushed the notepad face-down.
"You know I'm right," Gennai grabbed his notepad and tucked it in his shirt pocket.
"Look! These...employees were instigating and caused me to look bad in front of prospective customers," Tai exclaimed.
"We didn't cause you to look bad. You did that on your own," TK scoffed.
"So what happened?" Zoe asked.
"We'll tell you," Davis smirked.
Jewellery & Cosmetics (Earlier)
"Oh...," Mimi's eyes widened.
"What's wrong?" TK asked.
"You look like you're about to crap yourself," Davis smirked.
"Because that's how I fee-"
"Hey! Scatter!" Tai clapped his hands.
"We were on our way, just chill...," TK said.
"I don't see you guys picking up your feet! Move it!" Tai jerked his thumb.
"We're going, we're going...," Davis walked slowly away from the counter.
"Guys, no! Don't go...," Mimi hunched over.
"Mimi, I'm gonna need you to be on your best performance. Our jewellery sales haven't been doing the-"
"TAI, TAI, TAI! Wait! I just need someone to watch over the counter for five minutes! I don't feel too good right now!" Mimi grunted.
"I'm busy with managerial duties right now! Where did the boys go?" Tai turned around.
"The ones you sent away? Look, I'll be back! No one will even notice!" Mimi ran out from behind the jewellery display cases and sprinted past the aisles.
"Okay, but don't take too long...," Tai tapped at the glass counter.
"Hi! Excuse me," a tall blonde man walked towards Tai, with a taller, buff tan man in tow.
"Hi! I'm the store manager, how can I help you guys?" Tai stood up straight.
"Um...we were wondering if you could help us shop for engagement rings," the tan man said.
"Oh, how exciting! Which one of you is getting married?" Tai smiled.
"The both of us...," the two men looked at each other.
"Oh, that's gonna make for one interesting wedding," Tai whistled.
"How so?" the blond man clenched his jaw.
"I mean, I've never heard you could do a wedding with two couples in it," Tai smiled.
"Two couples?" the tan man raised an eyebrow.
"I mean what else could it...oh! The two of you are getting married to each other, huh?" Tai turned red.
"You know what? Maybe we should look elsewhere...," the blond guy winced.
"No! I'm perfectly fine to help you out! I mean, I have coworkers who are gay! TK, Davis, where are you?!" Tai yelled.
"No, that's okay. Thanks for your help anyways...," the men winced and walked away.
"Have a heavenly day?" Tai nervously twitched.
"Geez boss, you can't say that to gay people! What if they associate that with a certain religion?" Davis pulled a lollipop out of his mouth.
"Yeah, a kind of religion that is mean to everyone?" TK took the lollipop from Davis's hand and chewed on it.
"Hey! Where were you guys? I needed you!" Tai yelled.
"We were making our way to our departments, like you told us, boss," Davis smirked.
"Bullshit! I saw you guys hiding behind one of the stupid makeup displays!" Tai flicked a mirror.
"Okay, so we weren't taking a direct path, but we were still getting to our destination," TK teasingly smiled.
"Oh! You guys are seriously the worst! You're useless, lazy, and all around a huge distraction to everyone else!" Tai yelled.
"Uh, excuse me...we just wanted to know where the body washes are?" the men walked back around.
"Oh, that's Aisle B5 in Pharmacy," Davis interjected.
"Wait a minute, are these the 'gay' guys you were talking about earlier?" the blond guy asked Tai.
"Oh yeah, these are my gay employees!" Tai nervously laughed.
"And he called us his worst employees too...correlation much?" TK pouted.
"Is Tai homophobic?" Davis gasped dramatically.
"TK! Davis!" Tai turned red.
"You know what? I think we'll just shop at another store...thanks for your time," the men winced and walked away.
"Uh...okay," Tai sheepishly said.
"Hey guys! I feel so much better! Did I miss anything?" Mimi happily skipped towards the boys.
"You didn't have to tell everyone I had diarrhea!" Mimi cried.
"Uh, he didn't. You did...," Kouichi mumbled.
"Oh!" Mimi covered her mouth and blushed.
"Nobody cares about you right now, poopypants. What's important is that it's Tai's fault for making us watch this stupid video...thanks jackass," Rika grumbled.
"Hey! It's not my fault! TK and Davis are as equally to blame!" Tai protested.
"Why? Is it because we're gay?" TK smirked.
"Actually, I'm bi, but point still stands," Davis crossed his arms.
"Oh my god...raise of hands, who wants to be done with this meeting already?" Izzy groaned.
"Aye!" everyone raised their hands.
"Okay. Before we end, let's just drive two main points home. First point, Tai is homophobic. Second point, because of his homophobia, we were all subjected to rewatch a stupid training video on diversity and tolerance. Everyone good with the recap?" Izzy raised his hand.
"Yeah...sounds about right," everyone shrugged.
"No! Not 'sounds about right'!" Tai clenched his jaw.
"Sorry, majority rules. Let's get back out on the floor," Izzy snapped his fingers and stepped out of the breakroom, everyone else following suit.
"Finally," everyone grumbled.
"We're all a little homophobic, some of us just keep it to ourselves," Gennai muttered as he left the room.
"Gennai...," Henry sighed.
"What? I'm old, I can say what I want," Gennai yelled.
Sales Floor
"Wow, that was a very interesting meeting, wasn't it?" Thomas awkwardly said.
"I'm so sorry, I wasn't even paying attention to it. I had other things on my mind," Sarah yawned.
"Is everything okay?" Thomas asked.
"It's nothing for you to worry about, honey...," Sarah forced a smile.
"Well, if you need to talk... I'm here," Thomas blushed.
"I appreciate that. Darling, I'm going to see if the grocery section needs some maintenance. Would you check the warehouse if they need any help breaking down the old St. Patrick's displays from last week? I'm pretty sure they could use some extra muscle," Sarah lightly squeezed his arm.
"Oh, sure," Thomas turned red.
"Thanks, honey...," Sarah slowly wheeled a cart of cleaning supplies away.
*crack* *bam* *crack*
"Hey...Marcus? Do you need any help here? Sarah said you might need an extra hand," Thomas sheepishly peeked his head through the back doors.
"Come on in. I'm just treating this place like my personal rage room. Kinda therapeutic," Marcus punched a large cardboard heart.
"Not a fan of St. Patrick's Day either?" Thomas remarked.
"St. Patrick's Day is just an excuse for uptight people and jerkoffs to binge drink," Marcus ripped a green cardboard shelf with his hands.
"Aren't those kind of the same thing?" Thomas remarked.
"Huh, I never expected you to say something so...based," Marcus stopped in his tracks.
"Based?" Thomas raised an eyebrow.
"And there it is... I'm sorry dude, but you're lowkey uptight yourself- almost Jefferey Dahmer vibes, ya know?" Marcus wriggled his fingers.
"Excuse me?" Thomas turned red.
"Just a little...you have to admit there's something a little odd about you. What is it?" Marcus smirked.
"Uh, I don't know what people are picking up, but maybe it's the fact that I graduated from-"
"Not that again...maybe that's what it is. You graduate from a fancy school and that's the biggest accomplishment in your life. Just can't let that go, huh?" Marcus raised an eyebrow.
"I would think graduating from a university would be a high accomplishment in a lot of people's lives," Thomas frowned.
"You, Ph. D guy...me, GED guy. And yet, we're both working the same job," Marcus hummed.
"I guess you're not wrong," Thomas picked up a box and carefully flattened it. "Anyways, what's gotten you riled up?"
"Just my dad...he wasn't able to come home, but he usually sends my mom a bouquet of daisies for her birthday at the very least. Not this time. I know that things between them have been rocky between them the last couple of years, since he's been deployed, but I think maybe so much time spent apart probably affects a relationship, right?" Marcus frowned.
"I couldn't say. I wasn't exposed to normal, healthy relationships, so I'm probably the wrong person to ask," Thomas gingerly stomped on a box to flatten it.
"Dude, relationships aren't going to be perfect 100 percent of the time, but I feel like my parents were almost perfect- except for the fact that my dad was always getting sent away somewhere. But when we're all together, it's like we're a complete family, like the ones you see on TV. But without him, we're all just trying to get by. I know my mom is sad, I try not to make it worse anymore," Marcus shrugged.
"Anymore?" Thomas raised an eyebrow.
"Back in my day, I used to be a bit of a hellraiser," Marcus winked.
"I see...," Thomas nodded.
"I know. Hard to believe now. Hey, want to take a smoke break?" Marcus held up a vape pen.
"No thanks," Thomas shook his head.
Service Desk
"You know what? I think I hate returns from February and March worse than returns straight after Christmas," Ryo gingerly held up poop-stained boxers with snowmen all over them.
"'Never been worn' my ass," Rika smirked.
"I'm still here," a man pressed his lips together in frustration.
"Oh, here's your receipt. You'll get your refund back on your card in 3-5 business days. That means days not including holidays or weekends," Ryo handed the man a receipt.
"You don't have to be so rude," the man turned red.
"And you didn't have to return dirty underwear just so you could get $7.88 back, but here we are," Rika held open a shopping bag for Ryo.
"Apparently your dignity costs less than a $10 bill. Have the day you deserve to have," Ryo dropped the underwear in the bag.
"I think we should talk to Tai about getting hazard pay," Rika dropped the bag to the ground.
"Seriously. We shouldn't have to wear protective gear taking care of people's returns," Ryo took off his gloves and pumped hand sanitizer into his hands.
"Hi, I'd like to make a return," a lady walked up to the desk and dropped a bag on the counter.
"Uh...we don't sell this," Rika winced.
"And even if we did, I think we probably aren't allowed to touch it...that was probably in someone's body," Ryo made a face.
"Are you judging me right now?" the woman turned red.
"Dude, we don't even sell this!" Ryo exclaimed.
"But I want a damn refund for it! Give it to me!" a woman grabbed the bag and pulled out a turkey baster.
"Ahhh! Do. Not. Fling that in our face!" Rika jumped back.
"Ew, ew, ew! I think something splashed in my face!" Ryo gasped.
"I have a receipt! Now process my return, you little shits!" the woman's face began to turn purple.
"That's not from our store!" Ryo yelled.
"But I have a receipt! I don't see what the problem is! Give me my money back!" the woman snarled.
"Here...," Rika grabbed the receipt and circled the top of it. "You see...you bought this at a completely different place, with a completely different address. Do you see Cloud 9 anywhere?"
"A store is a store! You all have registers, what does it matter?"
"Hey, can we get security to Service Desk? A delulu customer is assaulting us with a weapon. Thanks...," Ryo talked on the phone.
"What?!" the woman yelled.
"Someone's coming soon," Ryo hung up the phone.
"Are you serious?!" the woman shrieked.
"Are you?" Rika and Ryo shot her dirty looks.
Breakroom
"Ummm, so daisies aren't really in season just yet, but I can try and pick the best of what we have?"
"Yes, if you could. Daisies are her favourite flower," Thomas said.
"Would you be open-minded to having other flowers in the arraignment?"
"Um...," Thomas paused.
"I'll do my best to make the daisies the focal point. I just think it would be a good idea to add some other flowers to kind of make the floral arrangement a little fuller and more visually appealing."
"Okay. I'll trust your judgement," Thomas said.
"Alright. So when would you like me to get these sent out?"
"Can you do today?" Thomas bit his lip.
"I don't know, that is a bit short-notice. Where were you planning on getting these delivered?"
"You know the Cloud 9 that just opened at the new mixed-used development?" Thomas nervously grabbed at his hair.
"Okay...I guess that's doable. I did need to get toothpaste and coffee anyways. I can make my way there after I close up shop. Is 5:45 acceptable?"
"I'd appreciate that very much," Thomas sighed in relief.
"Okay. Would you like to include a message with the flowers?"
"How about 'My Dearest Sarah, I hope these flowers get to you and make you smile. Time slips by, but your beauty is always unforgettable'," Thomas turned red.
"Alright. I'll be there around 5:45. Thanks for calling Takenouchi Floral Arraigments."
"Thanks. Bye," Thomas took in a deep sigh and hung up his phone.
"Oh my god, I can't believe this...," people stomped into the breakroom.
"Again?" Zoe huffed.
"What this time?" Koji groaned.
"What's happening?" Thomas felt his heart beat fast.
"Thomas, good thing you're here! Stay! Sit!" Yolei barked at him.
"What's going on?" Thomas grabbed a chair.
"Corporate contacted us again- apparently, we have to watch another video. Hopefully it won't be too long...," Yolei angrily pulled down a projector screen and turned on the projector.
"Sexual Harassment: great material for comedies and porn, not so amazing in real life-"
"Okay, pause! Why do we have watch this? Who's responsible this time?" Marcus smirked.
"Guess who," Angie narrowed her eyes at Tai.
"Tai, really? Again?!" Kari exclaimed.
"That's right. Again," Izzy crossed his arms.
"What happened?" Davis asked.
"Oh, I can answer that," Yolei grinned.
Cash Wrap (Earlier)
"Um, manager to Register 6 please?" Angie cried over the intercom.
"Nuh huh, get someone else to do it," Yolei briskly past Angie.
"Uh...Floor Supervisor to Register 6. Please?" Angie whimpered.
"Really? You couldn't get me a real manager?" a sassy man crossed his arms.
"Trust me, we're both better off this way," Angie meekly smiled.
"Hey, I'm here! What's up?" Izzy ran over to the register.
"This girl won't honor the gay discount!" the man angrily pointed at Angie.
"The gay discount? What?" Izzy raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah! The one you have posted on your social media pages...see? Gay people get an extra 15% off their purchases," the man shoved his phone in Izzy's face.
"I apologize for the inconvenience but I don't understand. The only valid discounts available are on the Cloud 9 app...just give me a moment," Izzy pulled out his phone. "I don't see it there."
"Then why would you post it on your social media?! I drove an hour away from my usual Cloud 9 location to take advantage of this offer!" the man yelled.
"I'm sorry, I'm going to see if I can get this straightened- uh, I mean...figured out," Izzy sighed. "Tai, Yolei, one of you get to Register 6...NOW!"
"Oooh, am I in trouble?" Yolei mockingly said.
"Can you explain this?!" Izzy held up his phone.
"A gay discount? Sweet! Can I stack that up along my employee discount?" Yolei grinned.
"Ugh...," Izzy gritted his teeth.
"Hey, hey, hey! I'm here! What's up?" Tai cheerfully jumped in place.
"Tai, I should have known this had your name all over it! Explain this!" Izzy angrily shoved his phone in Tai's hands.
"Oh, the gay discount! Yeah, gay people get an extra discount for today!" Tai smiled.
"Tai! Did you get an okay from corporate to do this? All discounts are supposed to be available to all customers on the app!" Izzy frowned.
"Oh, so you're discriminating against gay people having extra discounts?" Tai put his hands on his hips.
"Your homophobia is really hindering the productivity of the store," Izzy clenched his jaw.
"Ahh, this checks out...," the man shot Tai a disapproving look.
"What?! No! I'm not homophobic! In fact, I have a boyfriend!" Tai blurted out.
"You do?" Yolei smirked.
"Yeah, we've been trying to keep it a secret cause he's closeted but...," Tai pulled Izzy by the wrist.
"Tai, let go of me!" Izzy struggled under Tai's grip.
"Stop fighting. It's about time we got out in the open," Tai grabbed Izzy's face and jabbed his tongue in Izzy's mouth.
"Blech, get off! Idiot!" Izzy pushed Tai's face to the side.
"He's just shy...," Tai nervously laughed.
"Yeah, I'm not coming back to this location again," the man winced.
"After today, I don't think I am either...," Izzy wiped his mouth off and shot Tai a dirty look.
"Wait, so did I hear that right?" TK mischievously smirked.
"So was Tai a good kisser? Don't make me jealous," Mimi teasingly pouted.
"Guys, there's nothing funny about this. I was violated," Izzy pressed his lips together.
"You didn't have to report me to HR!" Tai exclaimed.
"I didn't even have the time to- I was too busy rinsing my mouth out with the cleaning supplies in the supply closet," Izzy retorted.
"Is that safe?" Sarah frowned.
"I think he's exaggerating...at least, I hope he is," Thomas whispered.
"If you didn't report me, then who did?" Tai exclaimed.
"Why do you want to know? Trying to retaliate?" Rika smirked.
"No!" Tai turned red.
"It could have been a customer. You know, like what happened the last time," TK shrugged.
"Yeah, totally...," Angie sheepishly sank down in her chair and nervously looked around the room.
"Okay, I get that Tai is a homophobic sexual predator, but why do the rest of us have to pay for his sins? Do we have to watch the rest of this?" Koji asked.
"What?! I am not any of those!" Tai protested.
"Do you like to treat your gay employees meaner than your non-gay employees? I think I am allowed to say he does," Davis dramatically said.
"And we watched him make advances toward someone who definitely didn't ask for it," Yolei hummed.
"All in one day too...someone sounds like they're in hot water," Rika smirked.
"It was all an accident! Honestly!" Tai yelled.
"Accident or not, we all have to watch this mandated video. Thanks, Tai," Yolei grabbed the remote and pressed play.
"Ugh...," everyone groaned.
"Sexual harassment is never okay in real life. It doesn't matter what genders are involved- for example, if it's two males...,"
"Hehehehhehheh," people started snickering.
"Sure, hilarious. Laugh it up," Izzy turned as red as his hair.
"Remember, sexual harassment is only okay if the other person is asking for it, whether they outright say yes or not! In the next couple of minutes, we'll explore the subtle signs of 'invitation' that gives you the okay to cross boundaries."
"When was this video last updated?" Henry asked.
"Umm...looks like around the Bill Clinton era?" Yolei fiddled with the DVD case.
"That tracks," Kouichi blankly stared at the projector screen as saxophone music played in the background.
Sales Floor
*buzz buzz buzz*
"Hello?" Thomas picked up his cellphone.
"Hey, I'm here. Where do you want to meet to collect payment?"
"Oh, that's right! Are you by the entrance?" Thomas paced in a circle.
"Yeah. Want to meet there?"
"That works! I'll be there in a minute," Thomas turned red.
"See you soon."
"Bye," Thomas slipped his phone back in his pocket and looked around.
"Hmmm, what are you up to?" Ken snuck up behind him.
"Jesus, shouldn't you be at the cafe? What are you doing here?" Thomas jumped.
"Nothing, just taking my government-mandated 15-minute break that we're required to-"
"I get it, Ken...so if that's what you were doing, you should probably get to it," Thomas crossed his arms.
"I can do whatever I want on my 15-minute break, you know," Ken smirked.
"Not necessarily. If you're still on the sales floor, you have to switch out of your work attire, and store it in a secure place," Thomas raised an eyebrow.
"I was getting to it... I'll be right back," Ken haughtily walked to the back.
"But I won't," Thomas dashed off as soon as he was out of Ken's view, running through the aisles until he made it to the double doors of the entrance.
"Are you Thomas?" a redheaded girl raised an eyebrow at him.
"Yes, hi...," Thomas panted, catching his breath.
"You didn't have to rush. I only got here a minute ago," the girl said.
"It's...fine...thanks for...com-" Thomas stood up straight and paused. The girl had an ethereal beauty to her, almost like an old Hollywood movie star. She had warm, expressive eyes and her lips were shaped almost naturally in a pout.
"So, do you have a form of payment? I can take card, cash, or mobile wallet," the girl said.
"Yeah, I can use card...here," Thomas dumbly handed the girl his credit card.
"Okay, great! That went through," the girl gave him the card back. "Here are your flow-"
"No! I can't give them to her! Can you leave them with Service Desk? She can't know they're from me!" Thomas stammered.
"Uh, why not? It's kind of discouraged for us to send flowers from a secret admirer, for safety purposes," the girl frowned.
"No...it's not like that! They're supposed to be from her husband, but he didn't have the time to send her flowers, so...I paid for the flowers until he could pay me back!" Thomas fibbed.
"Oh...that's really nice of you," the girl smiled.
"I hope they're well received," Thomas nervously laughed.
"I hope so too," the girl said.
"So if you could? I'll tip a little extra," Thomas winced.
"That's okay, you don't have to. I don't mind," the girl shook her head.
"Thank you!" Thomas sighed.
"Oh, and if you want to get any more floral arraigments, or arrange something else down the line, here's my card. Ask specifically for Sora," the girl pulled out a business card and gave it to him.
"You're Sora?" Thomas blushed.
"Yeah," the girl bashfully nodded.
"I'm Thomas," Thomas dumbly said.
"I know. You told me your name when you ordered these flowers," Sora smiled.
"Oh, right...," Thomas sheepishly laughed.
"Again, just give me a call if you decide you want to do set up something else with me in the future. No pressure," Sora said before walking off.
"Uh huh...," Thomas awkwardly spun the card between his fingers. He had a funny feeling brewing in him, almost like a fever, but not quite. His palms were sweating, he was having a hard time breathing, and he could feel his heart beat faster. There was only one sickness that he could think was happening at this moment: imminent dea-
"Oooh, someone's flustered over a pretty girl? What did she want?" Ken slipped up behind Thomas.
"Whoa, how did you get here?!" Thomas jumped in surprise.
"I told you, it was my break...I can do what I want on my break," Ken smirked.
"Nothing happened. She just needed help with the front desk," Thomas discreetly tucked the business card in his pocket.
"Oh, that's no fun," Ken pouted.
"Work isn't supposed to be fun," Thomas glared at him.
"Not with the attitude you have. I'm bored, I'm going to see what other people are up to," Ken scoffed and slipped away.
"Good," Thomas mumbled under his breath.
Europa Cafe at Cloud 9
"Hi Sarah, that's a gorgeous bouquet!" Kari gushed.
"Thank you, Kari," Sarah smiled as she delicately brushed her fingers against the flower petals.
"What can I get you?" Kari asked.
"Mmm, can I get a skinny vanilla latte?" Sarah asked.
"Sure. Coming right up," Kari smiled.
"How has everything been here at the cafe lately?" Sarah asked.
"It's definitely died down, and it's such a relief. Ken is...an extra set of hands, but sometimes it's easier when he's out of the way. I'm just glad we're back to making normal coffee orders. How's everything on your end?" Kari poured some steamed milk into a cup.
"Whoa Mom, where did you get those flowers?" Kristy gasped.
"Hi Kristy! I think your father sent them. I was worried he forgot my birthday, but I guess he didn't," Sarah beamed.
"Aww, it's your birthday?" Kari gasped.
"It was last week...but so was St. Patrick's Day. If you can understand, I'd rather not bring much attention to my birthday, being that it's associated with a holiday," Sarah shrugged.
"I see...Tai's birthday is on April 1st. My parents call it the cruelest April Fool's prank ever. I think that's a bit harsh, but as you can see from today, every day of Tai's life is a joke, so...," Kari trailed off.
"Oh," Sarah pursed her lips.
"Here you go, skinny vanilla latte. On the house for your belated birthday," Kari handed her a coffee cup.
"You don't have to-" Sarah blushed.
"It's not a problem," Kari shook her head.
"Thanks, I appreciate it. That's very sweet of you," Sarah smiled.
"No problem! I hope you enjoy those flowers too, they really are gorgeous," Kari gushed.
"Yeah, mom...they're really nice," Kristy narrowed her eyes towards the sales floor.
"Is everything okay, honey?" Sarah asked.
"Just fine," Kristy pressed her lips together.
"Attention Cloud 9 employees: quick meeting in the back room again...guess why."
"Oh no, what happened this time?" Sarah tapped her cup against the tabletop.
"I bet you Tai had something to do with it...," Kari tugged down at her visor.
Breakroom
"Bullying: a rite of passage in childhood, not so much right as an adult. Grow up, you idiot-"
"Pause the video for a quick second!" Henry raised his hand.
"Really? What now?" Yolei paused the tape.
"Who wrote these? I feel like we're getting mixed messages here," Henry frowned.
"Also, is this our third or fourth time being sent back here now?" Takato piped up.
"Third," Kouichi drew a tally mark on his arm. "I decided to keep track after the second time."
"There shouldn't have been a second time...," Thomas pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Why are we here again?" Zoe asked.
"Look Blondie, I wasn't even there, and I bet you I have a clue! A dumb big-headed, brown-haired, hysterical crybaby clue," Rika shot a dirty look at Tai.
"See? It was your fault!" Tai and Mimi pointed at each other. "No! It's your fault!"
"Goddammit, Tai! Rika is talking about you! And she's right!" Izzy slammed his hands on the tabletop.
"Oooh, what happened this time?" JP stuffed a piece of chocolate in his mouth.
"We were there. We can tell you," TK wrapped his arm around Davis and smirked.
"Oh yeah...a colorful and embellished narration is just what's needed," Izzy shook his head.
"Colorful? Embellished? Is it because we're...gay?" Davis gasped.
"Dude, nobody...except probably Tai cares that you're gay. Just get on with the story," Koji waved his hand dismissively.
"Oh, thanks for that! In fact, that's how this whoooole situation started," TK smirked.
"It was not!" Tai grunted.
"It kinda was," Mimi shrugged.
"Stay out of this, you big-eyed bushbaby!" Tai pointed his finger at Mimi.
"Well, you're a...you're a bitch!" Mimi yelled.
"Yep. Already see why we're forced to watch this anti-bullying video now," Thomas scrunched his face up.
"To be honest, I thought it would have been because of something that goth midget and the gimp at Service desk did. They're hella rude for as weird as they look," Marcus whispered to Thomas.
"Marcus...," Thomas slumped down in his seat, struggling to hold his composure.
"Come on, I know you wanna laugh. Act like a human for once," Marcus poked Thomas in the cheek.
"Marcus...," Thomas let out a small laugh.
"Ahem, is there something funny about forcing two subordinates of opposite genders to make out with each other as to 'kiss the gay away'?" Yolei cleared her throat and shot Thomas a dirty look.
"It's never a mistake to kiss a boy!" TK scoffed.
"Especially if they're a redhead," Mimi winked.
"I beg to differ," Yolei frowned.
"I wasn't forced, by the way. I wanted to," Mimi nodded.
"Ugh, that's not the point," Izzy slid his hand down his face.
"Oh my god, why did we even ask? Everyone just shut up and let's get through this!" Jeri yelled.
"Whoa...," Yolei pursed her lips.
"That girl still works here?" Marcus whispered.
"I was hoping she was only going to be holiday help," Thomas exhaled deeply.
"I'm with creepy girl here. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'd rather get back to work than to hear anymore of this crap. Get your personal shit together so we don't have to watch any more of these dumbass tapes," Kouichi casually lifted up his sleeve and pointed to the tally marks on his arm. "You see, we already went through three of them today."
"That? I thought those were your suicide attempts for the day. No offense, you just look like you're dying to check out early, if you know what I mean," Rika mimed pulling a rope over head and stuck her tongue out.
"Okay, I was originally going to let you guys skip this training video, but apparently we need a rewatch after all. You can all thank Rika for that," Yolei went back to play the video.
"Awww, this sucks!" everyone groaned.
"Fuck you, Rika," Koji threw a wrapper at her.
"No, Koji...it's 'thank you'," Rika sarcastically said and flipped him off.
"Both of you shut the hell up, or I'll be the one hanging myself from the ceiling fan," Ryo pulled his hoodie over his head and tightened the drawstrings.
"I guess I wasn't wrong...the goth midget ended up making us watch this damn video after all. Give me five bucks," Marcus elbowed Thomas in the ribs.
"What for? We didn't bet anything!" Thomas exclaimed.
"Five dollars," Marcus held his palm up.
"Okay, fine...," Thomas reluctantly pulled out his wallet and slapped a $5 bill in Marcus's hand.
"Bullying in the workplace can take multiple forms, for example coercion. Sure, you'll have to do things at work that you don't want to do, but there are some things that you shouldn't have to do! For example, it would be a big no-no if your boss 'asks' you to keep them company under his desk, or act out an intimate situation with another subordinate for their amusement. A special guest, Monica, will share her experiences working with such a mean, inappropriate boss after this saxophone intermission. Stay tuned..."
"Ugh...," Kari grabbed her head tightly.
End of Shift
"Wow, what a day, wasn't it?" Thomas leaned against his locker.
"At least you could say there's never a boring day here," Sarah pulled her bouquet out from her locker.
"Hey, those are some nice flowers you got there. What's the occasion?" Thomas pointed at it.
"Oh, my husband. I thought he forgot all about me. I guess he didn't after all," Sarah sniffed her bouquet and smiled.
"With a nice bouquet like that, he must know he's a lucky ma-I mean, that you're a special woman...," Thomas blushed.
"That is so sweet of you," Sarah rubbed Thomas's arm. "Well, you have a good night."
"You too," Thomas smiled and went back to open his locker.
"Hey, you punk!" Marcus yanked Thomas by the collar.
"Whoa! What's up?" Thomas gulped and turned to
"I knew it was you," Marcus aggressively jabbed his finger in Thomas's chest.
"What was me?" Thomas became more nervous.
"The flowers! I bitched about my mom not getting flowers for her birthday, and next thing I know, she gets flowers delivered to work...from what I remember, I don't think Dad knows where she works and you're the only person I told about this," Marcus kept poking him in the chest.
"Okay, you got me there! Please don't tell her- I'm sorry!" Thomas winced.
"For what? You made her day! Thank you, I won't tell her it was you," Marcus pulled Thomas by his shirt and gave him a bear hug.
"You're welcome. I just wanted to make her happy," Thomas awkwardly said.
"You really are a great friend," Marcus let him go.
"It was nothing, really...," Thomas blushed.
"Anyways, I gotta go. You take care," Marcus tapped his fingers to his temple and flicked them outwards.
"You too," Thomas tilted his chin up and unlocked his locker. He grabbed his jacket when he felt something hit the back of his heel. "Oof, what the-"
"I know what you did..."
"Kristy, not you too...," Thomas sighed. "Please, Marcus already knows, and he promised he wouldn't say anything."
"Fine. I just wanted to tell you thanks, I guess. But don't do anything on behalf on my dad again," Kristy pressed her lips together.
"You Damon offspring really need to work on your thanks...I can't tell if you're appreciative or trying to threaten me," Thomas frowned.
"Maybe a little bit of both. You see, Marcus and my mom don't know this, but...," Kristy pulled on her necklace chain to reveal a dog tag.
"Wait, what?!" Thomas turned red. "That's not what I think it is, is it?"
"Kinda funny. I get a free flag with one of these. The military's nice enough to fold it in a triangle-"
"Okay, okay! I get the picture," Thomas pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Yeah, it's been almost a month, but I haven't had the heart to tell them. The last thing I need is my brother to end up in jail, and my mom to go in a midlife crisis and hook up with... a deadbeat loser half her age," Kristy looked Thomas up and down in scorn.
"Okay...first of all, rude. Second of all, you really should give your family more credit. And lastly, you might want to be honest with them. The longer you keep this a secret, the harder it will be for all of you. I'm sorry for your loss," Thomas shook his head.
"My mom and dad were soulmates," Kristy pressed her lips together.
"No one is arguing that," Thomas bit his lip.
"Then back the hell off! Thanks for everything, but back off," Kristy clenched her fists.
"What do you mean?! Your mom is my supervisor!" Thomas stammered.
"Even more of a reason to back off! If you don't take care of this, I will. Now, have a good night!" Kristy walked away and switched the lights off before leaving the breakroom.
"The little brat acts like I want to be her stepfather...," Thomas grumbled as he put his coat on in the dark. Despite her delivery, maybe Kristy was right. Especially considering the new information he just found out, he really didn't want to step on any toes. Besides, it's not like anything was really going to happen, this was all just limerance at best. Regardless, maybe it was time for him to find a hobby or at least extend his "social circle" to somewhere further past the Damon family before he crossed any other boundaries. He stuck his hand in his coat pocket when a business card poked him. He pulled it out and twirled it between his fingers. Maybe. Maybe he'd sleep on it and think about it the next day. Or possibly next week. It would take some time.