Walmart was just as empty as the car park. There were a few people ringing up their groceries, but other than that, it was quiet.

As soon as that thought crossed my mind, the silence was broken by laughter in the back corner of the store. It was loud, and immediately followed by multiple other voices, all either shouting or laughing at something. It was nice to hear people actually having fun, whilst everyone else just seemed to be giving looks of annoyance to each other. As if someone else's enjoyment was an inconvenience to them.

I smiled to myself, grabbing a basket and proceeding into the closet aisle of the store. Everything was set out so strangely. Items just seemed to have been carelessly placed on the shelves. The eggs were on the same aisle as the medication, and the frozen food was opposite all of the baby items. The only thing that seemed to be organised was the big electronics section that ran all across the back of the store.

I grabbed some bread, and a couple of other cheap items that would last a little while. I only had $20, so even though my basket was no where near full, I was nearing my spend limit.

I made my way over to the checkout, placing my few items on the conveyor belt. The guy behind the counter seemed less than interested in doing his job, and I couldn't help but hope that I could be paid for doing the same thing. He scanned my items at such a speed that I could tell he was nearing the end of his shift.

"18.62" he said rather bluntly. I could tell he wasn't looking for general small talk, so I just nodded my head and took my card out of my purse. He started tapping his fingers on the till to a beat that was in his head. His mind was clearly somewhere else. I entered my pin into the small device in front of me, and found myself absentmindedly trying to match the rhythm he was making. There was a beep from the guys till. "Take your card out and enter your pin again", the same bluntness as before. His fingers started tapping again, this time I sensed more agitation than a beat. The till beeped again. "Nope, definitely your card. Payment's declined." Shit.

"Okay, hold on a minute." I stepped to the side out of habit, expecting him to start greeting another customer. No one was there. The store was still so quiet. I pulled my phone out of my back pocket and pulled up my bank app. The guy sighed in annoyance as I waited for it to load. My heart almost stopped as I saw the negative balance in my account. I'd already used up all of my overdraft this month, so there was nothing I could do. "Shit man, I'm sorry, my phone bill must have come out." The guy behind the counter just gave me a look, and then glanced at his till. "That's okay, my shift is over now, so I'll just cancel this and I hope you have a nice rest of your day." His whole attitude changed whilst he was speaking to me, he clearly had had enough and just wanted to go home. Without wasting a second he turned and headed for the back of the store.

There was no one else on the checkouts, and I hadn't even been able to give him my resume, so I thought that instead of just trying to find someone, I could head around the shop and return my items to their shelves. At least then I wouldn't look so awkward just meandering around. I grabbed the basket and headed retraced my footsteps around the shop. Placing everything back just as neatly as they were when I first found them. The laughter from the back of the store was still just as loud and sporadic as when I first came in. If that's where the customers are, then I assume that's where the shop assistants are too.

I headed in that direction, putting my now empty basket in the holder at the end of one of the aisles. I spotted a guy in a blue shirt walking across the store, so I quickened my pace to try and catch up to him as he turned a corner. Just as I began to turn as well, the laughter began again, but this time extremely close to me, and as I turned to look, someone backed into me, causing me to fall to the floor.