Murasakino

A Shoplifter

   I sat down on the toilet, breathing a sigh of relief. Suddenly, a hand knocked on the cubicle door.
   "Excuse me?" a deep voice asked.
   "Yes?" I answered, confused at why they wanted to ask a question while I was on the toilet.
   "This is the men's room. You do know you're meant to use the women's?"
   "It is?" I asked, blushing. "I'm really sorry... it's my first day here."
   "Make sure you get out before anyone else sees you, otherwise you'll be in big trouble," the man continued.
   "I will, sir." When I was done, the man told me the coast was clear and we walked out together. I turned to look at him as I walked to my counter. He was very tall, and wore a smart suit, so I tried to think of what job he could have had or what special occasion it was. He pointed to the picture of a female figure on the other door, and I rolled my eyes and smiled at him. He laughed and walked back in.
   "Did you need the toilet?" Midori asked when I got back.
   "Yes, I did. It must have been my apple juice," I replied.
   "Hopefully you'll use the right toilet next time," she giggled, causing me to blush once more.

   The rest of the day was the same as the morning; people buying things, occasionally having a conversation with me and the nice, soothing music from overhead. When nobody was at my counter I just listened to the melodies playing from the speakers, blocking out all of the other noises until someone put their shopping on the conveyor belt. It changed every three or so minutes, so I had a new tune to hum to myself as I scanned the barcodes. As the sky started to darken, less and less people came to our counters, and the car park outside got emptier. Everyone had finished with their shopping, and I remembered the man who had bought some food for his barbeque party. Were his family and friends eating it now? Had they all already gone home? I could picture him turning over burgers and sausages while his family were eating and adding sauces and cheese to their buns. The shop got quieter and quieter until Honōiro shouted at a boy running toward the doors.
   "Stop! You didn't pay for that!" she yelled. As the boy left, an alarm went off at the doors, making all of us jump out of our skins. He started to run across the car park, and Honōiro shouted again; "Somebody catch him! Quickly!"

   I got up from my chair and ran to the exit, the automatic doors opening swiftly to let me through. Amazingly, I could sprint so fast that I got closer to him every step I took. The boy turned his head, then sped up in alarm. By the time he reached the main road, I had caught up with him, and I grabbed him by the wrist.
   "You can't steal things like that!" I screamed, not knowing what else to say. A woman started to run away from us, but I noticed a police car in the direction she was running. The boy was struggling against me, but I held him against me as firmly as I could.
   "Let me go!" he shrieked, kicking me in the shin. I yepled with pain, but didn't let go of his arm. The woman came rushing back in our direction, and there was a policeman behind her with a set of handcuffs. He came up behind us and handcuffed the boy, restricting his movement and letting me let go.
   "So you said he stole something?" the officer asked the woman.
   "Yes," she replied, "but I didn't see what." The policeman looked inside the boy's jacket and pulled out a can of energy drink.
   "Would you like to come with me and return this?" the policeman asked the boy, who nodded with a sour face. They walked back to the supermarket, and I followed them, breathing heavily. Even just running across the car park had made me tired.

   The boy was arrested a few minutes later, and the girls were cheering at me from their counters.
   "Way to go, Murasakino!" Aka shouted.
   "Yeah!" Midori added. "How'd you catch him?"
   "I just ran as fast as possible," I replied, still breathing in very heavily.
   "I think the store's closing," Ao said, and suddenly the nice, calming music ended. Our car appeared outside, and we got our things ready to leave. I inhaled the wonderful smells of the shop for the last time that day, before heading toward the car. Instead of Dr Takeda, the person driving was a young woman with short, ginger hair.
   "Hiya girls!" she said, but realised that we still looked confused. "I'm Cathy, a friend of Dr Takeda, and I'm driving you back to the lab!"
   "Hello, Cathy!" Ao said, climbing into the car. "I heard you made our shirts. They're really nice and comfortable!"
   "Why, thank you, Ao!" Cathy said, grinning. "Now, let's get you back home! Dr Takeda's prepared us a meal. Pie, I think." Our journey home was similar to the journey to the store; none of us could wait to get there and find out what was in store for us. I did wish we could have stayed in the supermarket for longer, but I knew that Dr Takeda would want to see us again.
   "What kind of pie?" I asked Cathy, who looked up in thought.
   "Hmmm... I think it was chicken and mushroom, but it could have been steak... or maybe it was a sheperd's pie..." Cathy was still trying to think when we arrived, and she waved goodbye when we went into the laboratory. Excitedly, we ran along the edge of the huge middle room until we reached our corridor, and went in without hesitation. Dr Takeda was setting a table by our capsules, and turned to greet us.
   "Hello, girls!"