Scott thought himself quite the plump little ninja once he managed to escape his job site. However, it was not the perfect escape that he'd thought it to be. A vaguely familiar voice called out to him from the depths of the earlier afternoon.

"Scott! Hi!" cried the exceptionally cheerful voice.

He turned just in time to see a red-haired blur streak to a step mere inches from him. Her lips lightly parted in an overtly friendly smile, the new arrival practically radiated joyful exuberance.

"Uh, Shara... Hi," he said while affecting a smile of his own. It almost looked natural. Almost.

"Are you coming to work?" she asked him excitedly. "I'll to be all yours tonight!"

For once his inner demons made no snarky comment. Perhaps they were on a lunch break? It was hard for him to say, as at that moment he was too flustered by her strangely worded statement to even care about his dark inner life.

"Uh, no. Sorry. I just clocked out..." he said as politely as he could.

She blew out an annoyed breath then sighed languidly. Her cheeks poked out in a strangely childish manner and she said, "But I wanted to be under you tonight..."

"Under..." said Scott before he caught himself and shook his head to clear away a sudden bout of explosive internalized vitriol. The voices had finally began to speak up, and they were quite savage in their responses. "Yeah, sorry... Maybe next time?"

Shara pouted at him. "Well, we could get together aft—" she began only to be interrupted by the sudden interjection of Ashton's voice. "Scott! There you are!"

Scott's eyes widened in slowly growing horror as he recognized her tone of voice. "No... No... God no," he whispered softly, his voice cracking slightly at the end. The nightmare was reaching out to drag him back inside its terrifying depths!

Ashton trotted over to where they stood, clipboard in hand. "I'm glad I caught you before you escaped! I really need you—"

Scott sighed loudly then screwed up his courage and turned to his boss lady. "Really?"

Ashton was taken aback for a moment but then offered him a pleasant smile. "Yeah, sorry... We've had our GSA call out, and there's no one to train our—" said Ashton, only to stop mid-sentence. She blinked then looked toward Shara. "Ah, she's here! Excellent."

Scott's left eyelid twitched slightly. "Are you saying Shara hasn't been trained at the guest services desk, yet? It's been days..."

"Yes, sorry. I know Eren claims she can run the front end, but I mean it's going to be busy tonight. I'd feel much better if you could stay and train Shara. She's only here for three hours..."

"Three hours?" he asked curiously.

Shara nodded to him. "Yeah, I'm a part-timer..."

Scott bit his tongue slightly in order to keep back what he wanted to say. Instead, he was able to speak his mind in a different way, "I guess I could stay, but if I'm training we might as well make it double-training."

"Double-training?" asked Ashton in her upwardly inflected manner.

He shrugged. "Eren wants to try to be a GSA. I'll run the desk for a few hours while helping Shara, and Eren can run the front-end."

"Well... I was really hoping you'd stay with me tonight," said Ashton in a pouty tone.

"Damn right, disappoint her all night long," said a snarky voice inside his head.

Scott blinked slowly then grunted. There was no way that she meant that the way that it sounded, and he refused to give his inner demons the time of day. This one wasn't even trying that hard to ruin his mood.

"I'm working close to forty hours for the week as is..." he said.

"Shoot!" exclaimed Ashton. "I need you."

Shara looked to Ashton then back to Scott. A slow, strangely calculating, smile began to spread across her lips.

The matter settled, the girls turned toward the store and happily headed inside. Scott, for his part, released a morose sigh and trudged back to work. Oh for the day to come when he won the lottery and did not need to work for a living! He could happily dream his life away!

His mood brightened slightly as he entered the doors to hell, however. As much as he complained about the job they had at least allowed him to work there in the first place. Given his background it had been absurdly difficult to find any sort of work. Were he not technically a criminal with a violent past he would have moved on long ago. As things stood, he still had several years to live through before he could fill out an application and politely ignore the box that asked if he had committed a crime or been incarcerated in the last seven years.

As much as he disliked the job, it was still nice to hear someone pretend to actually need him. Scott's lips quirked into a semblance of a smile. "If it's mostly training the hours will go by quickly anyway..."

Back inside the store Scott logged back in at the time clock then returned to the guest services desk. Eren clapped her hands excitedly and promised to be a good boss for the evening.

Scott laughed at her antics then set about showing Shara the ropes. Guest services was not a particularly complicated job most of the time, but there were several duties that a regular cashier did not have to face.

"So, I have to empty the backroom once a month?" asked Shara while she looked up to a selection of plastic bins that sat on a shelf behind a somewhat hidden wall section.

"Yeah, we have a lost and found but if no one claims the stuff in a month we have to toss it to maintain space for the other stuff we need like receipt tape or taking naps where no one can see," said Scott in a serious tone.

Shara blinked at him then giggled softly. "Sounds good!"

Scott could not help but respond to her exuberance and offered a rare, genuine, smile. "Naps always sound good, especially nowadays."

"The best things can happen when you go a-napping," agreed Shara in a cheerful tone.

"You're telling me. I once napped so well that I woke up in another world," said Scott candidly.

Her beautiful laughter pealed through the area briefly and she excitedly said, "That happened to me, too!"

He offered her another slight smile, but it faded after a moment. Something about the girl seemed familiar in ways that were hard to describe. It was as though he'd seen her recently outside of work, or knew her somehow.

She beamed a bright smile toward him then gently reached out and punched him on the arm. "I've missed this..."

"You what—" began Scott, confused, only to be interrupted by the approach of a customer.

"Hey if you two can stop flirting for a minute, I have a problem," said a middle-aged woman who wore both an oversized purple hat and what had to be a perpetual scowl. Clutched in her hands was a vacuum cleaner that had seen better days.

Scott gestured to Shara and she skipped over to the register in a perky manner. He followed behind to shadow her progress.

"Yes ma'am. How may I help you?" asked Shara cheerfully.

The irate guest stared at her then briefly eyed her up and down before releasing a loud *harrumph* of displeasure. Scott tried his best not to grin. She was obviously one of those types of guests.

"My vacuum cleaner stopped working. I need to exchange it," said the woman.

The floppy brim of the lady's hat drooped slightly when Shara took a bouncy breath then raised up her index finger. "Of course! I'd be glad to help you, ma'am. Do you have a receipt?"

"Receipt? For a vacuum? Who keeps one of those for two years?" groused the woman. "Just look me up in your system."

"Ah, right... Did you pay with a debit or credit card, ma'am?" asked Shara in a friendly tone.

"How is that any of your business?" asked the woman with a snort. "Just replace my vacuum!"

Shara never broke character. She cheerfully offered her a warm smile and replied, "If you do not have a receipt or cannot provide the card used to pay for the merchandise we will not be able to look up your purchase."

"That's an outrage! I've come to this store twice a week for twenty years! This vacuum is broken and I want a replacement!" shouted the woman angrily.

"I understand your needs ma'am, but our return policy is forty-five days or less on most merchandise. With neither a receipt, nor the card used to pay for the merchandi—" explained Shara only to be cut off mid-sentence by the woman's next outburst.

"How dare you! I want to see your manager!" snapped the woman.

Shara nodded cheerfully then turned to Scott. Before she could out him, he raised his hand and unleased a legitimately cheerful smile of his own. "I'll go get her..."

"Good, stop standing around instead of working..." groused the woman.

Scott's smile grew smug as he strolled over to where Eren stood near the cash registers. "Hey, boss lady. We have a guest who wants to speak to a manager."

"Oh, what did she want from you?" asked Eren.

Scott's smuggery increased three-fold. "I'm not the front-end manager tonight."

Eren's eyes widened. "I don't like the way you said that..."

A dark light danced in his eyes as a sinister laugh rolled off his lips. "The time has come! Let us test your mettle."

She drew back from him a little. "It's as bad as all that...?"

"Oh. You gonna learn today, girl," said Scott cheerfully before he gestured toward her to follow him.

Eren, wide-eyed and slightly afraid, followed after him. She saw the hat before she saw the problem. Though, she also heard the irate rantings of the guest before she saw said head adornment.

"Excuse me, ma'am. How may I help you?" asked Eren nervously.

The overly large woman quickly span toward her in a graceful manner that belied her oversized frame. She thrust her vacuum cleaner toward her in an imperious manner. "This is broken! I demand a refund or a new one!"

Eren blinked slowly then glanced over to Scott. His smugness intensified, but he said nothing.

"Ah, yes. Of course, ma'am. Do you have a receip—" began Eren. The woman barked out, "No, I do not have a receipt! You people really need to stop making it hard to return items! You're practically scamming us with these bait-and-switch tactics."

Scott's smugness slipped a little. He did not stop the train-wreck from happening, but he stepped away a short distance and said, "I need to check the restrooms."

Eren turned toward him, a slight hint of tears in her eyes. "Right, now?"

"Yep," he replied cheerfully.

Her expression, a look of hurt that could only be born of utter betrayal, followed him while the woman ranted. Scott felt her eyes on him, but he did not relent. She brought it on herself by desiring the position.

Once he rounded the corner to the bathrooms, he raised up his radio. "Hey Willie, you still on?"

"Yeah, boss. What you need?" came the older man's playful voice from the other side.

"Go to four?" asked Scott.

"Sure thing," replied Willie, his tone becoming slightly more serious.

The irate woman continued to rail about her vacuum cleaner while Scott and Willie changed their radios to channel four.

"What's going on?" asked Willie in a serious tone.

"Probably nothing. Just got a slight situation up front with a guest wanting to return a vacuum she bought a few years ago. I'm letting the team handle it, but the guest seems like the sort who'd pull something," said Scott.

"Right, I gotcha boss man," said Willie.

"Cool. Heading back to one," replied Scott.

"Me, too," said Willie.

They both changed radio channels back to the general channel for the store. Scott quickly rushed into the bathrooms and pressed the little buttons used as proof that he had cleaned them. Of course, he'd done nothing of the sort but as long as he pressed the buttons and wrote down the times on the little cleaning roster sheet corporate would be happy.

Back out at the guest services desk, the guest was in full-on attack mode. Eren had retreated behind the guest services desk, and furiously pretended to be looking through their computer system. There was nothing for her to do about the situation, but she wanted to at least look like she was trying.

The guest thrust her vacuum at Eren and demanded compensation. Soon, she asked if there was a better manager she could talk to since the one in front of her clearly knew nothing.

Scott's expression slipped into an ice-calm mask as he noted the tears begin to trickle from his team member's eyes. Willie popped up just as Scott slipped behind the guest services desk.

"Ma'am... I—" began Eren tearfully. Her words died on her lips as she felt a warm masculine hand lightly grip her shoulder. She turned to glance at Scott, reddened tear stained eyes beheld his ice-cold demeanor. "Scott..."

"I've got this," he said in a casual tone.

"The heck you do," said the guest. "I demand to speak with a manager."

"You'll speak with me," said Scott in a serious tone. "Ma'am."

"Why I... How dare you!" exclaimed the woman. "I'll have your job!"

Scott jerked his thumb toward a nearby kiosk. "You can apply for it over there, ma'am. Until then, shall we discuss the vacuum cleaner you wish to return?"

"Oh, what can you do?" she huffed.

"I can try to help you," said Scott.

"Fine, whatever!" exclaimed the woman. "Just refund my vacuum."

She thrust the vacuum cleaner toward Scott. He examined it briefly then frowned. "Ma'am... Are you certain you purchased this item here?"

"Of course!" she snapped.

Scott reached into a nearby drawer and withdrew an iPad. He took a picture of the vacuum then searched for the make and model. There was no reason for him to do such as he already knew the truth. However, it was to show the guest that he had indeed tried.

"Ma'am, the vacuum cleaner that you purchased is a bagless Turbo-Vahl Cyclone, correct?" asked Scott.

"Yes. What of it?" she asked him curiously.

Scott affected a soft smile then showed her what he had searched up. "My apologies, but we will not be able to help you. The Turbo-Vahl is an exclusive item sold only at Vahl-Mart. It's part of their store brand merchandise."

"So what?" she asked him with a snort. "Are you saying you won't accept a return?"

"Ma'am, you did not purchase that vacuum cleaner here. We cannot refund an item not purchased in store, or online through our store website," replied Scott calmly.

"I demand to speak to your manager! This is outrageous! I purchased this vacuum cleaner here!" snapped the woman.

"We do not carry Vahl-Mart brand merchandise in our store, nor have we ever," said Scott. "It would be best to attempt to return the item to the store that you purchased it from."

"I want to see your manager!" snarled the woman.

"If you wish to speak with the store team leader, you may do so," said Scott calmly.

"Yes!" snarled the woman.

Scott glanced over to Willie as he lifted his radio. The older man nodded and two individuals dressed like casual customers suddenly appeared from around a corner. The men casually examined items on a shelf, but there was a certain tenseness to their demeanor that gave away the truth of what they were doing. Occasionally, a side-glance toward the irate guest would reveal their true purpose.

"Hey, Ashton?" called Scott over the radio in a quest voice.

"Yah?" she replied. "What's up?"

"We have a guest who would like to speak to our store manager," said Scott.

"OK. Are they up front?" she asked in a slightly pouty tone.

"Yeah, we're at the service desk," said Scott.

"On my way," replied Ashton.

"Alright. Thank you," he said.

"She will arrive shortly, ma'am," said Scott.

The woman harrumphed loudly then snatched up her vacuum in a death grip. She would have her refund!

Scott quietly turned to Eren. "Hey, while we're waiting for the boss, would you mind going to the pharmacy to check and see if they need change?"

"Change?" asked Eren, her eyes still wide. "Wha—?"

"Yes. See if they need change, before the boss lady gets here," said Scott. "We need to sort things out before it gets too hectic."

Eren blinked at him then suddenly nodded. "Right, change! Duh."

She quickly slipped off toward the pharmacy area and was soon out of sight. An awkward pause ensued that continued for a short time. Eventually, Scott looked to Shara. "You should be coming up on the end of your shift."

"Uhm, I have like twenty minutes," she said lightly.

"Five minutes out, head to the time-clock," said Scott. "I'll do the same."

"Right!" she said cheerfully.

"Hello. I'm still standing here," groused the woman.

"Yes, ma'am. Is there anything that I might help you with while we wait for the manager to arrive?" asked Scott.

She snorted at him. "I hope you didn't like this job..."

Scott looked her in the eyes, but said nothing. Every fiber of his being screamed out the desire to reach over and pluck the old chicken bald, but he had to let it go for the sake of his tiny pay check. In the end, he forced a cheerful smile. "It's been fun, actually."

Harrumph! The purple-hatted woman snorted and clenched her knuckles around the handle of her vacuum cleaner.

A brief few minutes later Ashton arrived on scene, clipboard in hand. Scott nodded toward her then said, "Hey boss. This nice young lady asked to speak with you."

"Don't try to flatter me now, you..." said the older woman irately.

"Ah, hello. I am Ashton, the store's team leader. How may I help you, today?" asked Ashton politely as she walked up to the woman.

The older woman eyed Ashton briefly then allowed her nostrils to flare in disgust. "You can't be the manager."

"I am the store team leader ma'am," replied Ashton professionally.

The woman snorted something that only those closest to her could hear. "Who'd you sleep with to get the job?"

Scott's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Excuse me ma'am, but that's enough."

"Scott?" asked Ashton. She had heard what was said as well, but his reaction surprised her.

"Who was talking to you?" asked the woman snidely.

"I won't have my people spoken to in that manner, even if one of those people is technically my boss," said Scott.

"Who are you to tell me anything!" snapped the woman.

"Ma'am. I'm going to have to ask you to take your item and leave the store," said Scott.

She laughed in his face. "I'm not going anywhere without a refund!"

"It's not a refund if you never bought the item here in the first place," said Scott.

"I'll have your job for this!" snapped the woman again.

Ashton started to speak up, but Scott beat her to the punch. "I will not allow you to speak to her or anyone in this establishment in that manner. If I lose my job then so be it."

"Who are you? Her father?" The woman snorted at him.

"Did she call you daddy to get the job?" she asked snidely.

Scott hopped over the counter in a surprisingly agile manner, for him at least, and stood less than a foot away from the woman. He narrowed his eyes and stared at her. "Daddy says it's time to go."

Ashton coughed once and raised her clipboard up to cover her mouth. "Uhm..."

Willie chose that moment to move into the argument as a means of de-escalating the situation. "Is there a problem here?"

The woman turned to the newcomer then wrinkled her nose in disgust. She muttered again, and this time everyone who could hear her stared in shock.

"What did you call me?" asked Willie, his eyes narrowing.

Scott did not wait for her to respond. "Leave the store now."

"No, I—" she started to say, only for Scott to grip her by the shoulder and start pressing her toward the door.

"Hey, stop!" called the woman excitedly.

"Yeah, stop that," said Willie in a calm voice.

The woman looked vindicated briefly, only to have her eyes widen in surprise when Willie continued. "That's my job, boss man."

The two casually dressed me pretending to check the shelves suddenly appeared behind Willie, one on each side. They each bore hardened expressions and stared openly at the woman.

"F-fine! I'll leave, but corporate is gonna hear about this!"

"Good. Tell them you're a hateful racist tool bag who tried to defraud the store while you're at it," said Scott.

"Scott!" cried Ashton, her face flush for some reason.

"You're so fired!" snapped the woman.

"Don't make promises you can't keep. I'll be here till the world falls apart," said Scott in a neutral tone.

The woman backed away, vacuum in hand. "I..." she said in a confused tone. After a brief moment passed she backed away a little more then left the store in a quick and orderly manner.

"I'll just make sure she leaves," said Willie in a surprisingly cheerful tone.

Willie and his plainclothes crew sauntered out of the building and followed the woman to her car. A strange calm came over the front-end for a moment.

Scott sighed and turned to Ashton. He fully expected to be fired for what he'd done. However, upon turning to her he noticed that she was gone.

"Where?" asked Scott.

Shara pointed to the family restroom. "Guess she had urgent business."

Scott nearly said something, but a curious noise caught his attention. A high-pitched feminine outcry escaped the bathroom. "Ahn!"

He blinked. "Man, she must have been holding that one in for a while if it's like that."

Shara glanced at him then put her hand to her lips and giggled lightly. It was cute when he was clueless.

Eren peeked at them from around a nearby shelf. "Is it over?"

"Yeah. I guess you managed to tell Ashton about what was happening?" asked Scott.

She nodded to him. "Yeah, caught her just outside the pharmacy. Though, it doesn't seem like it was necessary now."

Scott shrugged. "The woman must have been off her meds."

"Seriously! Who acts like that?" asked Eren.

"People who wear big floppy hats?" asked Scott.

Shara snickered to herself, but no one knew the real reason. Sometimes inside jokes were the best.

"Oh!" cried Ashton from the family restroom.

"Damn, girl. Fight the power," said Scott with a chuckle.

Shara giggled once more then shook her head. He could not be that clueless about what was actually happening in the bathroom right now. Even she could figure it out.