"You don't have any prior work history on your resume," Luna said, "Am I to believe this is actually your first job? That seems a bit odd for a college student."
Chelsea - the young woman being interviewed - stared at Luna. Luna sighed and set the resume down on the desk, then cupped her tentacles on the table. "Am I making you uncomfortable?" she asked, "Is it the tentacles?" "They don't help," Chelsea said, making Luna chuckle. "I know that this is weird," she said, "but we don't often get human resumes, that's partially why I wanna take a gamble on you. You seem like a smart young lady, and I wanna help you pay for your education. You only have to work nights, so it won't cut into your school time. I hope we can come to some sort of arrangement. Now tell me, you've never worked before?" "I used to do chores that I got paid for and one summer I was a lifeguard," Chelsea said, brushing her blonde hair from her eyes. "Oh yeah? How'd that go?" Luna asked, picking up the resume once again. "Not great, a kid drowned," Chelsea said, "but that wasn't my fault, for what it's worth. He had asthma, he shouldn't have been swimming to begin with. If anything it's his moms fault really." A moment of silence passed as neither woman said anything. "You...you wanna blame the mom of the dead kid? You really wanna go with that?" she asked. "...I mean, do you have a better excuse?" Chelsea asked. "Chelsea, there won't be much work here, for what it's worth. We don't get a ton of business, especially at night," Luna said, "so I'm gonna give you the job on a trial basis. Come with me, we need to get you a uniform, and then I'll show you how the job works." Luna stood up and slithered out of the room, Chelsea right behind her, making sure not to step in her slime trail. As the women headed down the hall of the backroom, going to, Chelsea presumed, the uniform department, Luna kept talking. "It's a pretty basic job, like any convenience store. You run the register, help customers, keep things clean," she said, "We have a janitor, but you likely won't see him much." "Why not? He doesn't work nights?" "No, he's invisible. So if you see a dustpan moving on its own, don't freak out," Luna said. They finally reached a door, which Luna opened with her tentacles and inside was a blindingly white room with just a single enormous creature of incomprehensible shape. Chelsea followed Luna slowly inside, staying cautiously behind her as they approached the creature. "I need a uniform for Chelsea here, a size..." Luna said, snapping her fingers. "Uh, 8," Chelsea said. "You heard her," Luna said. The enormous creature nodded, or at least Chelsea thought it did, before grabbing a piece of itself and tearing away from its flesh what was a uniform. It then handed the uniform to Luna, who thanked them as they exited. Back in the hallway, she handed the uniform to Chelsea. "You can change in our bathroom," Luna said, "I'll meet you at the register when you're done." "What...what was that?" Chelsea asked. "That was Todd," Luna said, "He's where all our uniforms come from. He's a creature made entirely of clothing materials that take any shape he wants them to take when he peels them off himself. He's a literal skinsuit." "His name is Todd?" "No, but his actual name is something you cannot pronounce," Luna replied. "Of course it is," Chelsea said, heading to the bathroom. *** Chelsea Teages had never had a job before because, quite frankly, she'd never needed one. She came from a fairly well off family who agreed to pay for her college if she agreed to get a job to chip in, to teach her responsibility. Chelsea had never really done well with responsibility. When she was 9, they got her a hamster as a pet, and after strapping it into her Barbie Convertible and sending it down the stairs and off a ramp, she realized why they had been so hesitant to get her a pet in the first place. She simply didn't do well when it came to taking care of things. So working at Last Shop On The Left was her chance to prove herself to her folks, and even to herself to an extent. She'd only found the job offer because a flyer had been taped to a crosswalk light nearby her college dorm, and there was only one application attached, which she thought was odd. She took it, and when she went back the following day, the flyer and the crosswalk light were both gone. So she filled out the paper, sent in the application and then was given detailed directions to the store. Now, standing in this bathroom and admiring herself in her new uniform - which somehow, despite its origins, wasn't slimy or remotely damp in the slightest - Chelsea was feeling good about herself. She'd taken the initiative, and she was going to prove to her folks that she could be responsible. Just...maybe not in the sort of way they'd expected. *** "What the hell is that thing?" Chelsea asked, pointing at the machine on the counter. "This is the register," Luna said. The register was fleshy and made gurgling noises. Luna pressed a protrusion on it, and it slid open, revealing the money within. Chelsea was, admittedly, disgusted by the register, but she didn't want to make he revulsion that obvious to her new boss, so she kept her mouth shut. "You got into college so logic dictates you're capable of doing at least basic mathematics," Luna said, "Figuring out how to make change and whatnot shouldn't be that difficult for you. You're also free to eat anything in the store, free of charge. Call it bonus compensation. Can't have you going hungry while you're here." "Anything?" Chelsea asked, tugging at the collar of her uniform shirt. "Yes, although I highly recommend you make sure it's safe for humans to eat. There's a lot of stuff in here that's made specifically for interdimensional monsters, so please be careful," Luna said. "I'll, uh, keep that in mind," Chelsea said, starting to feel somewhat nervous. "Now, I'm going to take off for a bit. When I get back, I'll assess your work for the night, and we'll talk about future employment," Luna said, "I shouldn't be gone too long. And, for the record, if The Muck comes out, if they try to consume you and make you a part of them, the broom to shoo them off is right there." And with that Luna exited the store, leaving Chelsea simultaneously confused and terrified. *** Nothing much happened during Chelsea's shift, much to her relief. She spent most of the time familiarizing herself with the 'register', and doing some light reorganizing and restocking. She even managed to get into the radio tuner that played over the store speakers and found a channel called MICT, or Music for Interdimensional Creatures of Terror, which played something sort of close to what Chelsea considered music, so she found that most acceptable to her ears. While she was kneeling, pushing bags of what looked like pretzels but were probably tiny edible bones from what Chelsea had learned so far about this place, she heard the bell over the door ring. "I'll be right with you!" she shouted over her shoulder. After she finished putting the things on the shelf, she headed back to the front of the store, went around the counter to behind the register and then looked up at the creature standing in front of her. Her polite smile turned to a concerned grimace, but she tried to hide it. The thing standing in front of her was a creature about 7 feet tall with no discernible facial features (or a face, for that matter) and just a single gaping hole in where its face would theoretically be. Chelsea sized this creature up, then bit her lip. "How can I help you?" she asked. The creature didn't respond, they merely made a horrifying sound with their mouth hole and Chelsea nodded afterwards. She looked around behind her, then grabbed a pack of cigarettes from the shelf and handed them to the creature. The creature stood there momentarily, then picked them up, stuffed them in their craw, then tossed some money on the counter before exiting. Chelsea carefully picked the money up and put it into the register before exhaling. Of all the jobs she could've applied to, she thought. *** Chelsea spent the remainder of her time reading magazines that she didn't really understand, with names like "Splork!" about extreme sports for interdimensional beings. Luna had been right, business at night tended to be rather slow, so she just made sure to keep the place tidy and in check. After a bit, she heard the bell ring again and when she finally looked up, she saw a faceless man in a pinstripe suit standing in front of her at the counter. She was starting to wonder if anyone in this place had a face. "How can I help you?" she asked. "How can you help me when you can't even help yourself?" he asked, catching her off guard. She hadn't actually expected him to be able to respond. "Wh...what?" she asked, flustered. "I'm kidding," he said, laughing, "I'm just here for a pack of cigars and a bottle of wine." "You can't go to a liquor store?" Chelsea asked as she turned to get the cigars. "At this time of night?" he asked, "Please. I know the wine here isn't the best, but it's at least available." "Would you like to carry these things out, or should I deliver them to your rolls royce?" she asked, smirking, making him snap his long pale slender fingers and point at her. "You're funny," he said, "Seems like Luna finally found a good fit for this place. Last one wasn't as funny, last one also didn't last long. Got themselves caught up in a robbery." He lit up the cigar as Chelsea leaned on the counter, curious and grateful to have someone to talk to. "Really? What'd they take?" "Their skin," he replied, "And most of their internal organs. Zepids, horrible little creatures. They take anything that isn't nailed down and resell it on the black market for high prices. Mostly dabble in human organs and the like. Personally, I recommend you buy a gun and keep it under the counter." "Can a gun kill something from here?" Chelsea asked, her brow furrowing. "I guess we'll find out if you do it," the man said, taking his wine and, cigar on his face, extended his hand for her to sake, which she did as he added, "I'm Polaris. It's nice to meet you Chelsea." "How...how did you know my name?" "It's on your nametag," Polaris said, pointing at her shirt, making her chuckle nervously. "Oh, hah, right," she said, "Sorry, this has been a weird day." "And it promises to get weirder," he said, almost sinister like as he motioned towards the front door and exited. Chelsea stood there, somewhat surprised at the conversation she'd just had. Maybe this job wouldn't be interacting with just monsters. Maybe things would be sort of normal from time to time. Maybe she'd worried too much, and sometimes customers would come in that would be almost normal. And then the large sentient hand walked in and demolished that hope. *** "You did...exceptionally well," Luna said, standing with Chelsea at the counter as Chelsea shoved her uniform into her backpack, preparing to leave. "Yeah, well, it was weird, but there wasn't much business like you said, so," Chelsea replied, pulling her backpack onto her shoulders after she had zipped it up; she turned to Luna and asked, "So...do I have the job then?" "...I'd say so, yeah. Come on in tomorrow night and let's see how this continues," she replied. "Hey, uh, this guy named Polaris came in, and-" "...he did?" Luna asked, now sounding concerned, "Chelsea, Polaris is a dangerous individual. Don't let him get inside your head, okay? If he comes in again, tell him to leave without talking to you. That's how he gets to people. All he has to do is talk. Now hurry up or you'll miss your cab." Chelsea looked outside and noticed the taxi sitting outside with human fists for wheels. She sighed and headed towards the door. This was gonna be a weird year.
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Chelsea Teages is trying to pay her way through college, and has taken a job as a cashier at a local convenience store that may or may not be in an alternate dimension. Archives
November 2022
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