EpicAdventures: Shadowlands (Short AU Story)

Chapter 1: Store Hours

The start of the college semester was always a bit rough at first, what with getting situated and figuring out where to go when.

Connor knew this already, but as it came back to him it still tended to affect him somehow. It wasn't that his classes were hard or anything, it was just getting back into a different rhythm than...three or so months ago. Summer had treated him well at least, he had a lot of fun with his friends during that time. He was lucky they went to the same college as him too, because man could college get boring quick.

Surprisingly...his job wasn't as bad as he thought it'd be. For a while he was assigned with things like cleaning or restocking, while also learning how to make different orders at the same time. The pay rate was low, but Connor figured that it'd slowly get higher the more he worked. This proved to be true, and over the course of some weeks, Connor had gotten used to the job with ease. He really didn't know why he panicked, though he supposed a lot of students were first like that.

As Connor walked over to the cafe on one particular work day, he kept an eye out for any notices taped to the door. Sometimes there would be one canceling shifts past a certain point for some reason, sometimes there would be early or late closing times. Seeing that there were none today, Connor looked up to make sure he was at the right place. It was a fairly large building made of bricks, though it was decorated with some metal framing and lights that lit up when it got dark out. As he went and opened the door, a little chime rung from inside the building. That was how the people inside knew someone had entered, since sometimes music played in here and they couldn't always tell.

The other student at the counter noticed Connor enter and waved, Connor waved back. He hadn't gotten names yet, but he figured he would at some point. He made his way over to the counter before going to a room in the back, which led to different sections and rooms. There was a closet to put student bags and such in, which was where Connor dumped his stuff before heading back out to the front counter with the other kid. Their shifts only overlapped by about half an hour, which Connor didn't mind since he would occasionally be a little late.

The manager of the place was hardly ever there, but he was a nice guy. A little strict at times, but Connor supposed it was like that when you were serving food and/or drink to someone. They definitely felt safer than the person at his previous work environment, though to be fair animals and food services were drastically different. As the other student left from their shift being over, Connor prepped himself at the counter.

It was time to see what kind of madness would unfold today.