New Year, New Look
"What the hell is this?"
"Are we in the right place?"
"I don't remember the store looking like this yesterday..."
"Me neither, but to be honest, I'm still a little high from last night."
"Nice! I drank so much, I think I'm still drunk...*burp*"
"And you guys still drove here?"
"Huh..."
"Guys, guys guys! Let's focus!" Tai jumped in front of the crowd of confused employees. "Look, I'm positive we're in the right place- otherwise how did my key work?"
"Aliens."
"Always with the aliens..."
"Guys! Let's reel it in!" Tai clapped his hands.
"Tai's right. I'm way too hungover to deal with this...," Izzy faced his palm towards the group of people and waved it in a circular motion, "whatever this is."
"Tai, do you know what happened?" Kari asked.
"Does he ever know what happens?" Rika scoffed.
"Hey! That's a cheap shot!" Tai yelled.
"And you're a cheap bast-"
"Hello, hello! Is everyone here?" a tall, thin man sauntered his way over to the crowd. His blonde hair was flamboyantly styled, like an actress from the '70s, and he wore desginer clothes with tacky prints on them.
"Matt...," Tai growled through gritted teeth.
"Hello, my old friend! How have things been! Kisses, mwah mwah," Matt grabbed Tai's face and kissed him on both cheeks.
"What is going on?" everyone began to murmur amongst each other.
"Oh, I'm sorry! Let me introduce myself! Hi everyone, I'm Matt! I'm a real estate developer who's been pretty hands-on with the creation of this mixed-use landscape. I'm also TK's big brother and Tai's best friend!" Matt beamed.
"Yeah...that definitely checks," Ryo commented.
"I don't know whether to be embarrassed or insulted," TK tugged at his work vest.
"If you have to ask...," Izzy shot him a look.
"I bet you were all surprised to see the new facelift this store received! You see, while you guys were closed for the night, we set up a crew of ninjas to help modernize the store and keep it up to date with the other businesses on the property. After all, if you can't catch up, you'll catch a case, right?" Matt snapped his fingers.
"Don't think those two phrases go together, but it resonates with me anyhow," Daigo winked back.
"Of course, the two of you would know a thing or two about catching a case," Tai grumbled.
"Look, I know you guys have to open up in a few, let me give you a quick tour of what we changed!" Matt snapped his fingers again and twirled in place. "Follow me!"
"Just do it," Tai grunted to a reluctant crowd.
"If you look above, you can see we replaced the signs with these gorgeous LED-"
"Pardon my French, but what the hell? We just replaced these signs a couple of weeks ago!" Thomas's eye twitched.
"I remember...," Yolei said through gritted teeth. "What the hell, Tai?!"
"Hey, it's not you guys, it's me," Matt put his hand over his chest. "Look, the old signs were drab, boring, dingy! Even corporate thought so!"
"You're joking, right? Corporate sent us the old signs!" Marcus clenched his jaw.
"It's okay! Now you have new signs that you didn't even have to install. The best part is if you need to change the signs, that can all be controlled with an app on one of the Cloud 9 issued tablets, like this," Matt handed a tablet to an angry Marcus and smiled. "You're welcome!"
"I'll take that!" Tai nervously reached out for Marcus's hand and gingerly took away the tablet.
"Oh, here's what I'm excited to show you guys!" Matt tapped at a clear, plexiglass case.
"You locked up every item in the store behind these stupid clear cabinets? How is that exciting?" Izzy put his hands on his hips.
"It helps prevent shoplifting AND it will help increase rapport and face-to-face interaction between you guys and the customers!" Matt smiled.
"I don't want to be face-to-face with the customers already," Koji muttered.
"Let's not complain until it effects us," Zoe whispered.
"You see, if a customer wants something, all they have to do is wave their hand underneath this red sensor and this little beeper will vibrate to let you know that someone needs your help. All you have to do is look at this display window and press the green button to clear the notification and basically let other people know you're on your way to assist," Matt tapped at a small device.
"I can see so many ways this can go wrong," Izzy groaned.
"So... you say that those little things vibrate?" Davis smirked.
"And they're that small?" TK flashed a mischievous smiled.
"Great, I found even more ways this could go wrong," Izzy kneaded his knuckles against his forehead.
"I know it sounds like this is a lot of work, but don't fret! With the invention of AI, we brought over some reinforcements! Angelo, where are you?" Matt bellowed.
"Hello, I am Angelo, your personal shopper. How can I help you?" a robot wheeled over to Matt.
"Angelo is great, because he is a price scanner, a directory, and he has a built-in camera for surveillance! We have two Angelos roaming the store right now as we speak!"
"Great, more video footage for me to ignore," Gennai heckled.
"All of these innovations are interesting to say the least, but are there any improvements to help make our workload more efficient?" Sarah piped up.
"Ummm...," Matt tapped his chin, "no. We didn't think of that."
"Of course you didn't. No one ever does," Thomas blankly stared at Matt.
"Hey, cheer up pal! Look on the bright side, the store is new and improved! After all, new year, new look, am I right?" Matt smiled.
"New year, same old bullshit," Gennai muttered.
"Gennai...," Henry sighed.
Breakroom
"Well, wasn't that an exciting morning?!" Tai forced a smile.
"Exciting isn't the word I would use," Thomas frowned.
"Okay, I'm just as blindsided as you! I'm not happy about this either, but let's try to make the best of this! It's not like we have much of a choice," Tai bumped his fist against the wall.
"There's always quitting," Koji muttered.
"Then do it," Zoe smirked.
"I would, but then I'd have to look for another job, and the job market isn't looking too good right now," Koji yawned.
"Love it," Zoe sighed.
"Tai, thanks to your dummy friend, our jobs became more complicated than they needed to be!" Yolei exclaimed.
"Hate to be on the same page as Violet, but she's right," Rika nodded.
"Come on guys, let's just be a little open-minded about this! It seems like a lot, but come in a couple of weeks, you won't even notice the change!" Tai pleaded.
"Unlikely," Thomas raised an eyebrow.
"I see we're not going to get on the same page today, but that's fine! We don't have a choice, so suck it up. You and you! You're gonna be the keyholders for the aisles! You, monitor the Angelo footage, and you, figure out how to work this tablet!" Tai pointed at various people.
"Umm, this is cool and all, but how are we going to do this and keep up our regular departments?" Cody raised his hand.
"We'll cross that bridge when we get there. Now let's move it," Tai clapped his hands.
"What a great way to start off the New Year," Marcus smirked.
"Oh, so I'm still alive? Damn...," Gennai groaned.
Cosmetics and Jewellery...
"Hey, you two! What did I tell you guys?" Tai snapped his fingers at Davis and TK.
"What? We're on standby, boss! We can't be stuck in our department when someone could need us at any moment!" Davis rocked on his feet.
"He's right, boss!" TK smirked.
"Hey, cut it out! Don't call me boss!" Tai yelled.
"But you are our boss, aren't you, boss?" Davis smirked.
"That's true, boss! Or are you not gonna be our boss anymore?" TK's eyes widened.
"I don't have the time for this...look, just make sure your beepers and sensors are on!" Tai grunted.
"But what about our department? We won't have the time to upkeep it if people need help opening the shelves," TK smirked.
"You guys don't do it anyways! All you do is bother Mimi all day!" Tai yelled.
"Oh, they're not bothering-"
"STAY OUT OF THIS!" Tai growled at Mimi.
"Ew," Mimi grimaced and went back to straightening up her display cases.
"Look, the two of you are in her department more than you are in your own department! I oughta switch you guys, then maybe something will get done in softlines!" Tai's face began to turn red.
"Please don't punish me. I didn't do anything," Mimi wriggled her nose.
"Clearly you don't! Your sales are god awful!" Tai jabbed his finger in her direction.
"Hey, I'm not going to sell people stuff that clearly doesn't work for them! A lot of people have no sense of style," Mimi crossed her arms.
"How about instead of just outright telling people 'no' to their purchases, you offer them alternatives that will work for them?" Tai pressed his lips together.
"Oh, that sounds like a good idea," Mimi cooed.
"Ugh," Tai pinched the bridge of his nose.
"We're glad that you're helping making Mimi's job easier, but what are you going to do about us? Is almost like you're trying to punish us for some reason," Davis crossed his arms.
"Okay, shut up! Lemme see what I can...," Tai frantically looked at his surroundings and paused. "Ahem, Thomas! Come here!"
"Yes?" Thomas wheeled a large garbage can over.
"As part of maintenance crew, your responsibility is to make sure the store is a clean and sanitary environment," Tai beamed.
"I understand. Is there a problem?" Thomas raised an eyebrow.
"Quite the opposite! I'm giving you the opportunity to bring the store to another level by adding on an additional task! As of today, you will make sure that the clothing shelves are neatly piled and folded!" Tai put his arm around Thomas.
"What?" Thomas blinked.
"Come with me! Let me show you the uncharted world of softlines," Tai pulled Thomas away.
"I don't want to question your authority, but..."
"Then don't! Come on, pick up your feet," Tai stepped on the back of Thomas's shoes.
"That's his problem now," Davis said through the side of his mouth.
"Nice," TK smirked.
"Ugh, that's so not fair," Mimi crossed her arms.
Cash Wrap
"Manager to register...uh, area?" Angie picked up the intercom.
"Hey, what's up?" Yolei asked.
"Where's my station? I just see a bunch of these mini stations," Angie swooped her arm at the small checkout kiosks in front of her.
"That's something we'll have to take up with Big Hair," Yolei winced and reached for the intercom. "Hey, Kamiya. Get your ass over by the registers- thanks!"
"What? You do know I have a cafe to run, right?" Kari huffed.
"Dammit, wrong Kamiya. Go away," Yolei shooed her away.
"Gladly," Kari frowned and walked off.
"I'm here, what's up?" Tai jogged over to the girls.
"That's what I want to know! What is this?" Yolei exclaimed.
"Oops, I totally forgot to mention this in our morning meeting! I can explain that to you!" Matt slipped in between everyone.
"What the-shouldn't you have left by now?" Tai huffed in annoyance.
"Aww, I wouldn't want you to miss me too much," Matt grabbed him by the jaw and kissed him on the cheek. "Okay, so this is our new register station! Instead of hiring cashiers, we can have people check out their own items! It's a huge money saver!"
"Where does that leave me?" Angie jabbed her thumbs into her chest.
"Oh, you'll be the person overlooking the self-checkout! If anyone needs any help, you can assist them with any questions they have!" Matt smiled.
"Right," Angie frowned.
"You'll be just fine. It's not like being a cashier is hard to do- a moron could do this job!" Matt grinned.
"Then you show us how it's done," Yolei put her hands on her hips.
"Easy, just swipe the barcode of your items in front of this clear glass here or use the price gun, and move it to the bagging area. If you have a Cloud 9 loyalty membership, you can punch in your phone number, or scan the barcode in your app. Once you finish scanning all your items, press this big green button on the screen that says 'Finish and Pay', and all of these options will show up. Just pick your preferred method of payment, and you're right as rain! Oh, and don't forget your receipt!" Matt tapped at a small printer.
"Seems easy enough," Tai nodded in approval.
"Yeah. This is going to be screwed up somehow," Yolei rolled her eyes and stormed off.
"Oh boy," Angie bit her nail.
Bakery
"Ummm...Zoe, is this a fancy cooking thing?" Kouichi tapped at a large machine by the cake display.
"I don't know what that is. I never seen anything like that in my life," Zoe frowned.
"Oop! I knew I was forgetting something!" Matt walked up to them.
"So this is your doing?" Koji crossed his arms.
"Oh, you'll love this! This is our CakeMaker 3000! Here, customers can create their own cakes- they can choose any of these flavors, whatever filling if they want, down to any of these pre-assorted frosting choices, and it's all for a set price! It's a great way to have a custom cake on a budget!" Matt smiled.
"Hmm, that would actually be very helpful. I hate hearing people bitch about how expensive our cakes are already," Zoe pouted.
"Um...the machine cakes cost more than the ones we bake," Takato pointed out.
"The customers don't have to know that," Matt winked.
"They better taste better too," Koji snorted.
"We'll see," Kouichi fiddled with the machine and idly waited.
*ding*
"Oooh, that was suspiciously quick...," Kouichi remarked as he pulled a box out of the cake machine.
"We use a special technology that bakes the cakes super fast," Matt said with pride.
"Here's the cake," Kouichi grabbed some forks. "Dig in?"
"Uh, Blondie...? Man Blondie?" Koji tapped Matt on the shoulder.
"Yep?" Matt asked.
"You gotta special technology that makes the cakes taste...not like ass? Cause this is awful," Koji shook his head.
"Maybe it would have helped if you didn't request the word 'ass' in frosting on top," Matt put his hands on his hips.
"I don't think that's the problem...," Zoe frowned.
Sales Floor
"Ugh, go backs are the worst...," Kazu groaned.
"And stocking is just as bad," Kenta whined.
*whiirrrr*
"Hi, I'm Angelo, your personal assistant shopper! How can I help you today?" a robot bumped into Kazu.
"Buzz off, robot," Kazu scoffed.
"Hi, I'm Angelo, your personal assistant shopper! How can I help you today?" the robot repeated.
"Great. Now we got a stupid robot up our ass now too?" Kenta whined.
"Sorry, I don't recognize that response. Try something like 'Price Check' or 'Where can I find diapers?'" the robot beeped.
"Hey, Kenta...I just got an idea," Kazu nudged him.
"What?" Kenta pushed his glasses up.
"We have go backs from all over the store and we don't exactly know where everything goes, but he does...," Kazu jerked his thumb at the robot.
"Oooh, that's genius!" Kenta smiled.
"Hey Angelo, where can I find rubber ducks?" Kazu pulled a rubber duck out from a shopping cart.
"Rubber ducks are available in the Toy Section, Aisle C7. Would you like me to assist you there?" the robot asked.
"Yes please!" Kenta smiled.
"How awesome is this! We literally don't have to think at all!" Kazu smiled.
"Not that we ever do anyways," Kenta winked.
Security Office
"Heheheheh," Gennai laughed as he stared at some TV monitors.
"What's so funny?" Henry asked.
"Oh, nothing...," Gennai took a puff of his vape pen. "I just have a feeling that today is going to be very interesting after all."
Menswear
"Oh my god, has anyone even worked in this section...ever?!" Thomas gasped. Clothes were spread out all over the place, hanging haphazardly on mannequins, to the walls of the dressing rooms, the floor, basically anywhere but on the bare hangers hanging off of the racks.
"Yeah...no," Izzy briskly walked past him with a clipboard in his hand.
"Is anyone going to do anything about this? There's inches of sweaters covering the floor!" Thomas shouted.
"That's your assignment now! Don't forget, the womenswear needs to be straightened up too!" Izzy yelled back, already meters away into another section.
"This is quite fantastic. I don't know how I'm going to handle all of this by myself," Thomas groaned. He searched for an empty shopping cart and started gathering up all of the disorganized clothes.
"Well, well, well...if it isn't the boy genius," Ken haughtily walked over to Thomas.
"What do you want?" Thomas pressed his lips together.
"Oh nothing, just enjoying my government-mandated 15 minute break that I'm entitled to. I thought I would go browse around and see if I wanted to get anything...unique. Oh, what's in here?" Ken dug his hands inside Thomas's shopping cart.
"Please get out of there, I'm trying to put things where they belong," Thomas gripped onto the handle of the shopping cart tightly.
"Finally, someone who's going to do their job! Then I hope you don't mind if I browse a little! I promise, I won't be too disruptive. I'm just trying to find something that catches my eye," Ken started pulling shirts out from Thomas's cart and tossing them on the floor. "No...don't like that...no-"
"You know, instead of throwing what you don't want on the floor, you could put them back in the cart...where I originally had them," Thomas could feel his eye begin to twitch.
"That would make sense, but I don't want to confuse what I've seen with the things I haven't seen, you know?" Ken smirked.
"I wouldn't know because I'm not a slob," Thomas quipped.
"Oooh, passive aggressive much? I think maybe I'll come back when you're in a better mood," Ken dropped another shirt to the ground and skipped away.
"Ugh, what's his deal?" Thomas grumbled to himself as he went to undo Ken's mess.
Service Desk
"Hey, you guys look bored," Matt walked over to Rika and Ryo.
"We always look-"
"Shut up, it's a setup," Rika pinched Ryo's torso.
"Ow!" Ryo yelped.
"What do you want?" Rika stared at Matt.
"Listen, we have a new self-checkout system, with each kiosk coming with their own security camera. Since the security office is overburdened with the footage they already have to go through, I thought it was best maybe you guys lend a helping hand," Matt pulled a laptop out of his crossbody bag and placed it on the counter.
"Here's the thing. I lent a helping hand once, and let's just say I never got it back," Ryo shook his prosthetic arm.
"I-I-I...," Matt blushed.
"Maybe you should think twice before using insensitive phrases like that," Ryo pursed his lips.
"I'm sorry! Look, this is getting awkward. All I need is you guys to help look at the footage and report any suspicious activity to Loss Prevention. Okay, bye!" Matt slowly walked backwards and then dashed away.
"Damn, my handicap thing didn't work this time," Ryo sighed.
"What's the point of being an amputee if you don't get any perks to go with it?" Rika sighed.
"Really?" Ryo shot her a look.
"What?" Rika shrugged.
Sales Floor
*buzz buzz*
"Whoa!" Davis jumped.
"Ugh, someone needs us to open up the laundry detergent- wait a minute...Davis! You're setting off the motion detectors!" TK pointed at the plexiglass shelves.
"No, I'm doing us a favor. Don't you remember? Our devices vibrate," Davis spoke slowly.
"So?" TK raised an eyebrow.
"Guess where I put mine," Davis smirked.
"I see it's not on your wrist," TK rubbed his chin.
"Come on, take a real guess! I'll even give you a clue," Davis shook his butt.
"Davis...no you didn't," TK smiled mischievously.
"It vibrates. Of course I did," Davis smirked.
"But what if someone else is going to need it?" TK asked.
"I highly doubt that will happen! We're the keyholders now!" Davis pulled a key ring out of his pocket.
"I guess, but...," TK paused.
"Come on, have a little fun! It's not like we get much opportunities," Davis elbowed TK.
"You've got such a point. You said these vibrate, right?" TK took off his wristwatch and held it up.
"Yep!" Davis smiled.
"Okay. Here goes," TK shoved the watch in his pants.
"Ready for action?" Davis asked.
"Ready," TK stuck his thumb up.
"Cool," Davis wove his hand under the plexiglass sensor.
*buzz*
"Oh, that's interesting," TK's eyes widened.
"Right?" Davis nodded.
Cash Wrap
"Miss! I need help!" a guy frantically waved his hand in the air.
"Coming!" Angie ran up to him.
"No! What about me?!" a woman cried out.
"I'll be with you in a minute!" Angie winced.
"I don't get these damn machines! Where's the normal cashiers?" an old man punched the screen of one of the kiosks.
"Sir, please don't do that!" Angie gulped.
"Hello?! Are you going to help me out?" the first man tapped his foot impatiently.
"Not until you help me out first! I have kids waiting in the car! They're not mine, but they're still waiting in the car," another man said.
"Okay... I'll get to all of you guys in a second! Just please be patient!" Angie nervously laughed and picked up the intercom. "Hi, I need an extra pair of hands by cash wrap! Thanks!"
"Ugh, this is taking so long...," another woman groaned.
"Hey, what's going on here?" Izzy walked over to the self-checkout area.
"I need help! This is awful! Before, I only had to take care of one customer at a time, but now I'm dealing with six at a time!" Angie gasped.
"It's okay. We'll take it down," Izzy said.
"Oh, and by the way...can you check on that guy? I think he admitted to kidnapping some kids," Angie whispered into Izzy's ear.
"Right... I'll forward that over. Let me just step to the side while I do that. In the meantime, just go in the order that you received the requests. I'll be there soon," Izzy pulled a walkie talkie out of his vest.
"Thank you!" Angie gasped.
Service Desk
"We're so lucky we're not in Cash Wrap right now. It looks like a disaster," Rika raised her eyebrow at the laptop screen in front of her.
"Dude, check this out! This guy just scanned a TV by punching in the UPC code for bananas!" Ryo tapped the screen.
"That's genius," Rika said in awe.
"Should we do something about that?" Ryo asked.
"Like what? Follow suit?" Rika shrugged.
"Do you think our employee discount would work on top of that?" Ryo asked.
"Maybe we should try it on our lunch break," Rika nodded.
"Look at this guy! He rung up two packs of chicken as one!" Ryo gasped.
"I thought all of our customers were idiots, but maybe I was wrong. Some of them have such clever ideas," Rika leaned back in her chair.
"Now that's a new one! You see that lady? She covered up the barcode for that big pack of toilet paper with a $5 gift card to Cafe Europa," Ryo whistled.
"Excuse me, I bought this TV and I don't have my receipt-"
"Bro, we just saw you at the self-checkout. Now, we got a couple options for you: we can look you up by your credit card so you can return it for the amount you actually purchased it, or we call the cops on you for buying a TV for the price of bananas," Ryo held up his fingers.
"Uh...," the man paused.
"Look, the smart thing to do is either enjoy your new TV, or sell it on Gregslist and actually get cash for it. With a receipt, you'd only get store credit back anyways," Rika yawned.
"I guess you have a point... thanks for your time!" the man happily wheeled his TV out of the store.
"Rika, do you think we did the right thing?" Ryo hummed.
"I don't know. We helped someone out, so maybe?" Rika shrugged.
Menswear
"Wow! I've never seen this section look this neat...ever!" Sarah wheeled her janitor cart over to Thomas.
"Thanks. It wasn't a walk in the park at all," Thomas muttered.
"I can imagine. Has this section ever been organized?" Sarah swiveled her head around.
"Not that I know of, especially considering who was supposed to be working here prior," Thomas spaced some hangers evenly on a clothing rack.
"Maybe there's more to the story," Sarah hummed.
"I highly doubt flirting with the girl in the next department is part of their job description," Thomas gave her a look.
"Easy, Thomas. I'm not happy about this either, but hopefully it will be temporary," Sarah sighed.
"Hopefully. I can't believe I'd rather mop the floors than to fold another sweater," Thomas groaned.
"Ugh...," a man fiddled with a stack of khakis.
"Sir! Can I help you find your size?!" Thomas ran up to the man.
"That's okay! I think I found it!" the man pulled a pair out from the middle of the stack, causing all of the pants to unfold and fall to the floor. "Thanks! I got it!"
"I'm glad...if you need anything else, please reach out to me. It won't be a problem. Trust me," Thomas forced a smile.
"That's okay! I'll be fine!" the man walked off and headed off to a shelf of neatly folded sweaters. Thomas watched as the man yanked a random sweater from the middle of the stack, which made the other sweaters tumble down to the ground like dominoes. It was at that moment that Thomas realized the reason why TK and Davis never bothered to clean up the clothing sections- it was standing right in front of him, messing up the display of T-shirts that Thomas spent the last half-hour organizing.
"I'm sorry, honey," Sarah put her hand on his shoulder and sighed.
"Me too," Thomas held up some khakis, wondering if they would make a suitable material for a noose, or if sweaters would hold the knot better.
Bakery
"Theoretically, this machine would have made our jobs much easier...," Zoe tapped her fingertips against each other.
"But did you forget where we worked?" Kouichi mumbled.
"And who's in charge of all the big decisions?" Koji scoffed.
"Guys, I don't want to talk about this anymore. This is too depressing," Takato dropped a blob of cake into a large trash can.
"This is awful! I just feel like people are only buying those stupid machine cakes for RickRoll content," Zoe groaned.
"Because they are...," Koji smirked.
"Check out this new machine cake at Cloud 9! With this machine, you can customize your cakes with their assortments of flavours, fillings, frostings, and even other miscellaneous designs! So instead of going to unskilled, underpaid bakers like those losers- hey, you guys should wave to the camera!" an influencer shoved his phone in their face.
"No thanks," Koji walked away.
"See? So instead of dealing with that...you can avoid all awkward social interactions, press some buttons, and voila! Oh, and here's the best part, you can put anything you want on the cake! So for funsies, why don't we get the word 'bitch' written with pink gel icing? That sounds nice," the influencer said.
"Oh boy, there goes another one...," Kouichi drew a tally mark on a deli board.
"People have not been original with the stuff they've been writing on the cakes lately. We got 3 'bitch', 5 'ass/asshole', 4 'happy birthday', and 1 'Linda, you're a bitch and we're getting a divorce. Stop arguing it'," Takato shook his head.
"The divorce one was pretty original," Zoe hummed.
"BLECH! Walk, don't run...trust me, these cakes taste like dick sweat! This machine isn't going anywhere anytime soon!" the influencer flung the cake in the bakery section.
"Gah! Duck!" Zoe pulled Takato and Kouichi down.
*splonk*
"Ugh, really?" Koji angrily wiped cake remnants off of him.
"Okay...that brings our cake fatalities to Takato 2, Zoe 3, me 1, and Koji... 7," Kouichi rattled off.
"It wouldn't be that high if someone would warn me!" Koji grunted.
"We do! Not my fault you're not quick enough," Zoe frowned.
"Uh oh, another one's coming!" Takato yelled.
*splonk*
"So...that's eight now?" Kouichi asked.
"Maybe we'll hold off on the counting at the moment. This doesn't look like a good time," Zoe glanced at Koji, who was shaking angrily in place.
Sales Floor
*buzz*
"Duty calls...looks like someone needs us to unlock some toiletries," Davis took a glance at his beeper.
"I still don't understand why everything is locked up. I can't imagine shoplifting being a serious issue here," TK frowned.
"Who knows. I'll get this one. You can get the next buzz," Davis pressed a button on his beeper.
"Sounds good," TK fiddled with his beeper and paced in a circle. He was getting bored until he remembered something to pass the time. He walked over to a plexiglass case and waved his hand underneath the sensor.
*buzz*
"Oooh," TK pressed a button on his beeper.
*buzz*
"What the...toiletries? Davis was just there," TK raised an eyebrow. He clicked the button on his beeper and made his way over to the department.
"Teeks! Over here!" Davis waved his arms in the air.
"Davis! What's up?" TK ran up to him.
"I'm glad you're here! I went to grab some toothpaste for this lovely customer, but...," Davis tapped on the plexiglass.
"You locked your keys inside? How did that happen?" TK gasped.
"Dude, it was an accident!" Davis exclaimed.
"It's okay, I got it from here," TK sighed as he unlocked the shelf. He tossed his set of keys on the shelf next to Davis's keys and turned to the customer. "Which toothpaste did you need?"
*slam*
"Seriously?" the customer watched as the door closed on itself.
"Nonononono! Not again!" Davis pounded on the plexiglass.
"You know what? I think I'll just go to Mega-Lo-Mart. This is ludicrous," the customer let go of his shopping cart and walked away in frustration.
"What are we going to do now?" TK asked.
"I dunno...," Davis waved his hand under the sensor.
*buzz*
"Ooh," TK jerked.
"Oh yeah," Davis smirked.
"Ugh, even when you're in a new department, it seems like you still manage find a way to fool around. Why haven't you guys been picking up the notifications?" Izzy angrily stomped over to the boys.
"We've got a situation," TK flicked the plexiglass door.
"Oh no...seriously?" Izzy pressed himself against the glass door.
"Yeah...," Davis tapped his fingertips together.
"No, I mean it. Seriously?" Izzy put his hands on his hips.
"Can you just unlock this stupid cage so we can get our keys back?" TK whined.
"You know, if you guys could stop fooling around...," Izzy unlocked the plexiglass cage and absentmindedly tossed his key ring along with the other ones.
"Izzy...," Davis said.
"No. Don't interrupt me, I wasn't finished," Izzy held his finger up in the air and turned around to face the boys.
*SLAM*
"Now you are," TK smirked.
"I was trying to warn you, but you didn't want to be interrupted," Davis shrugged.
"I see that...," Izzy leaned against the case and bumped his head against it.
Jewellery and Cosmetics
"So, hi Mimi...how is your day?" Thomas awkwardly walked up to her.
"Uh, fine? Aren't you the cleaning boy?" Mimi raised an eyebrow.
"I've been taking over softlines now," Thomas forced a smile.
"Oh. Bummer...," Mimi shrugged.
"What do you think of the weather?" Thomas asked.
"It's crap. I wish it were summer already," Mimi frowned.
"Ah...summer. That's nice. I like to summer up in Martha's Vineyard. If I didn't work here, I would have spent my winter in Aspen. Have you been?" Thomas asked.
"Seriously?" Mimi crossed her arms. "I work at a superstore."
"Oh...well, where do you like to go on holiday?" Thomas rocked on the heels of his feet.
"You know, you're high key kinda boring and stuffy. Have you ever held a normal conversation with anyone your age?" Mimi frowned.
"Wha-" Thomas gasped.
"Sorry, I'm just honest. You just seem like the kind of guy who was only surrounded by old, rich people his entire life," Mimi shrugged.
"I don't know what that means, but it doesn't seem nice," Thomas frowned.
"But is it true?" Mimi tilted her head to the side.
"No wonder TK and Davis spend their whole shift with you. You're all a bunch of obnoxious queens," Thomas grumbled and stomped back to his department.
"I'm taking that as a yesssss!" Mimi called out.
Bakery
"Hey, I heard you guys have a new cake machine," Kristy walked up to the bakery counter.
"Unfortunately," Koji rolled his eyes.
"I've heard so much about it on social media already," Kristy nodded.
"Oh brother. It's not worth the hype, trust us," Zoe sighed.
"Yeah, people just end up throwing the cakes at us cause they taste so bad," Takato frowned.
"That's actually why I came here! I'm wondering if the cakes are vegan or gluten-free and people didn't know!" Kristy beamed.
"Oh, that's probably what-"
"Why yes, they're totally gluten!" Kouichi interrupted Zoe.
"Huh?" Kristy raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, they're exactly vegetarian! And all the gluten possible," Kouichi exclaimed.
"Yeah, all of that stuff!" Takato nodded.
"You guys have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?" Kristy crossed her arms.
"If we said we did, would you eat one of those cakes and not throw it at us?" Koji asked.
"Forget I asked you anything...," Kristy sighed and walked away.
"Guys, I know this is a moral dilemma, but should we put a sign up saying that these are healthy or something? Maybe then people will expect them to taste horrible?" Zoe asked.
"I feel like that might backfire," Kouichi picked at his nail polish.
"Why can't we just get rid of the damn machine?!" Koji pressed his palms against the side of his head.
Service Desk
"I thought I was gonna hate this, but it's not too bad," Ryo leaned his elbows on the counter.
"This is definitely passing the time. I don't understand why Henry hates his job," Rika stared blankly at the TV.
"Check Register 6. That guy forgot to scan the items in the bottom of his cart," Ryo rolled his eyes.
"'Forgot'," Rika scoffed.
"You think they would have a pop-up sign on the screen reminding people to check underneath their carts or something," Ryo squinted.
"Even if there were pop-ups, would you read them?" Rika shot him a look.
"Good point," Ryo popped his lips.
"Hey, how's everything going here?" Tai leaned over the counter.
"How do you think?" Rika raised her eyebrow.
"Right...well, have you seen any suspicious activity on the camera?" Tai asked.
"Like what?" Ryo picked a loose string from his work vest.
"Like shoplifting?!" Tai yelled.
"Oh yeah. There was plenty of that," Rika nodded.
"What?! Did you do anything about it?!" Tai gasped.
"We were supposed to do something?" Ryo asked.
"YES!" Tai exclaimed.
"Tai, you see that sign over our heads? What does it say?" Rika pointed at the ceiling.
"Service Desk, Returns, Exchanges...what are you getting at?" Tai asked.
"Where does it say Security or Loss Prevention anywhere?" Rika smirked.
"You know what?! Keep this up and you'll be standing under another sign that reads UNEMPLOYMENT!" Tai stomped away.
"You think he's mad?" Ryo asked.
"He's always mad," Rika yawned.
End of Shift
"Soooo...we ran through the numbers and I don't think your store is adjusting to these new changes well," Matt flipped through some paperwork.
"It's only been one day," Tai protested.
"Yeah, and the only records you managed to break were highest daily shrink and lowest daily sales. It's fine, not everyone is smart enough to handle this many changes at once. I may have overwhelmed you all," Matt said in a posh tone.
"Hold on, what are you trying to insinuate?" Izzy hunched up over a table.
"I wouldn't speak if I were you, Floor Boy. You managed to get all sets of the keys locked into the toiletries case," Matt stuck his finger in the air dismissively.
"I didn't-I-that was- I was trying-"
"That's right, you were trying and it just wasn't good enough," Matt slowly patted Izzy on the head.
"Get your hands off of me," Izzy smacked Matt away.
"You know if I was floor supervisor, that would have never happened," Ken raised his hand.
"Doubt it. You're a cafe worker, there's no way you'd be able to know the ins and outs of working a superstore," Matt scoffed.
"Not to be rude, but I don't think you do either. We appreciate the efforts here, but I don't understand how any of them had a positive impact on either the staff or the customers," Sarah stood up from her chair.
"Shots fired," Ryo flicked a rubber band at Matt's head.
"Whoa, watch it! This hair cost me $500," Matt slapped the rubber band away and smoothed over his shirt. "Clearly, you guys can't handle this many changes at once, so we'll have to dial it back a bit and do it at a remedial speed so you can all catch up."
"I know this retar-"
"Ignore her," Tai interrupted Rika. "Now are you saying that you'll put the store back to normal?"
"Unfortunately, for now we will. We'll take down everything-"
"Even the robot man?" Kazu asked.
"Especially the robot man! I was hoping he would be able to find customers, but he was following employees around all day. That was weird," Matt hummed.
"NOOOOOO! We liked the robot guy," Kenta sobbed.
"But no worries, you guys can still keep the LED signs and the cake machine- it's been a hot topic on social media!" Matt exclaimed.
"NO!" Zoe, Takato, Koji, and Kouichi yelled.
"You have to get rid of that thing! Those cakes are disgusting! He didn't even have a bite! Not one!" Koji yelled.
"I can't, I'm on a diet. Besides just because the machine is popular on social media doesn't mean the cake is required to be good. It's a novelty item that brings people into the store!" Matt exclaimed.
"And then when they get disappointed, they take that out on us! You think about that, pretty boy?!" Koji yelled.
"Yeah! All these 'cool' ideas are crap!" Angie screamed.
"You know...I think we may have been too ambitious springing everything at you at once," Matt frowned.
"Ya think?" Ryo smirked.
"Question, who's going to be taking all of this stuff down? Because no offense, but I'm not enthusiastic to have any part of this," Thomas crossed his arms.
"Please, can I remind you all that you can't even successfully adapt to these changes? What makes you think I would even trust you to touch any of our new devices after today's performance?"
"Oop, I'm afraid he gagged us there," Rika pulled the collar of her shirt up to hide her face.
"As we speak, I've already got a secret ninja crew deconstructing the store back to its former, dingy glory," Matt pulled a nail file out of his pocket.
"So we're back to regular programming?" Marcus asked.
"Yeah," Matt waved his nail file in the air.
"So that means we won't have to see you anymore, right?" Tai smiled.
"Please. I'll be back. Have a good night, everyone. I have an private plane to catch. Kisses," Matt grabbed Tai's face and kissed him on both cheeks.
"Ugh, you're an idiot!" Tai shoved him off.
"Well, don't want to dillydally. Oh, by the way...where are the vibrating devices? I need to bring them back to home office?" Matt asked.
"I dunno. Ask Dumb and Dumber...I think they're still out on the sales floor," Yolei huffed.
Sales Floor
*buzz*
"Hee hee," Davis giggled. He waved his hand under the sensor.
*buzz buzz*
"Oooh," TK's eyes widened. The boys looked at each other and cracked up.