Stanley entered work and put his apron around his head to stroll over to the aisles. He got tasked to clean the floors and placed a wet floor sign next to him, sighing in disbelief.

Whoever that was who texted me, what do they mean by that? That was Jordan, right? Does he mean what he says? Jordan can’t bring himself to kill me, would he?

I got to stop him, to make sure he doesn’t get away with... whatever he’s planning. There’s got to be something to bring him down.

His mind focused on defeating him, and Stanley didn’t notice the time passing by as he nearly forgot to do his work correctly.

Soon, it became lunchtime. Stanley went over to the snack machine to get something light to eat. He pressed a button that had a picture of a Lemon and Milk Chocolate Tart, waiting for it to fall out. Stanley took it out, ripped the wrapping off, and munched on the tart. He looked down at the floor and sighed sadly.

A voice and a tap on the shoulder caused him to snap around. He looked at Hilary, who stood right behind him with a confident smile on her face.

“Stanley, I said, how are you doing?” She repeated with her hands on her hips.

“Oh, hey, sorry,” Stanley replied. “I got distracted by…” His eyes shifted. “Something.”

“Time goes by quickly when lost in thought.”

“Yeah, I suppose.”

“Are you alright? Is something bothering you?”

“Yeah, I guess I’m fine,” Stanley stated.

“Are you still upset over what happened last night?”

“No, what about you?”

“Well, not quite. That’s why I wanted to see you.” Hilary pointed out.

“Really, what did you want, Hilary?”

“I wanted to know if I could stay in your room for the night?” Stanley’s face turned pale upon the remark. Hilary realized what she said and retracted her comment.

“What I meant was to hang out for the time being.” She clasped her hands and bowed her head. “Don’t get the wrong idea. I just wanted some time away from my room. That’s not a problem, is it?”

Stanley frowned. “Unfortunately, it is. You see, I don’t have my keys with me.”

“Huh, how come?” Hilary asked.

“I lost them, ok?” Stanley snapped. He immediately wished he retracted his tone.

Hilary didn’t seem to notice or mind, however. “Does someone else have it? Have you talked to other people?”

“It’s fine; I can get them myself. I don’t need you to tell me to do that.”

“What is your deal? What’s gotten into you suddenly?” Hilary asked, feeling offended.

“Sorry,” Stanley tried to calm down and bottled up his anger. “Look, I am entitled to my moments, too. Just like you had from the night before...”

Hilary’s mouth gaped open. “What— why are you bringing that up?”

“Look, I’m glad you’re feeling better, but I can handle this, alright?”

Hilary sighed with a huff. “You know what? Never mind. Forget I said anything.” She stormed out as Stanley solemnly watched over.

“Sorry for yelling at you.” He murmured.

After a while, Stanley had finished his work cleaning the floors, when he felt another tap on his shoulders. This time, Jordan approached him, making Stanley’s blood boil all over again.

“Hey, Stan, how are things going?” Jordan asked with a smug and arrogant look on his face.

“What do you want?” Stanley retorted, not looking at him.

“The boss wanted you to do, uh, another assignment to arrange some more cans at aisle twelve.”

Stanley’s eyebrows furrowed at the remark. “Aren’t those cans in normal order?”

“Not quite, they could use some inspection.” Jordan corrected him. “And since you’re the tallest and most dependable one, there is (that didn’t quit or get sick), you can do the job no problem.”

“Well, alright then, if the boss says so, then I guess I can check.”

“Sweet. Oh, and by the way, we have a special meeting in the office later tonight, so when you finish, come over to the office to listen in and take part in the special announcement.”

“Alright, I get it.”

Jordan glanced over and noticed an upset Hilary walk away and head through a door. He turned back and scowled at Stanley. “Did you do something to her?”

“No,” Stanley replied.

“I’m willing to bet you did. And you said you’d never hurt Hilary...”

“When did I—?” Stanley raised his head. He ground his teeth. “I swear I will...” He shook his head and stopped himself from finishing the sentence, and begrudgingly hurried over to work.