"Closing time! You know what to do!"
It's a long night at work. We just closed. Only thing is I always get off two hours after we close. I took a long exhale under my mask. I hate wearing masks. I have to wear this damn thing all day. I can barely breathe in it. It's so uncomfortable. They require ya to wear these damn things. It was my turn to clean the dishes today. The other utility guys were cleaning the restaurant. Luckily, there wasn't that much to do. Then I stopped. I looked in the kitchen. It was empty and there was still food. I put down my sponge and I sneaked over there and built me about five burgers. Then I put it in my locker and hid it in my backpack. Every night, I always sneak in food before they throw it away. I don't understand why that throw that food away. It's still good. They're doing nothing but wasting food. No one knows what I'm doing.
Just then, D walked in. I hate that motherfucker. He was the one who replaced me as cook. And I really hate to say this, but he does a better job.
Then, I heard a clearing of the throat behind me. I slowly turned around. There was my supervisor, Marc. He stood in front of my with his hands on his hips. He looked annoyed. He was staring at me firmly. I could tell was I in trouble.
"Are you responsible for this, Chris?"
"For what?" I asked, innocently.
He pulled his phone out of his pocket, and showed me a picture of him smoking a blunt.
"Of you smoking a blunt?" I asked.
"Wait, what?" Marc looked at the picture and gasped. "Oh! Uh, no, not that picture," he said embarrassingly. He swiped twice and then showed me what he meant. It was the dumpster and one it read: "Marc is a gay faggot" in tiny red letters.
"Uh, no,"I said.
"Don't lie," snapped Marc. " I know you wrote this."
"But it could have been James, or John, or Eric..."
"This is your handwriting," Marc snapped again. You ain't slick."
I said nothing.
"I'm getting really sick of you and your nonsense," said Marc severely. "You are on thin ice. I ought to show this to Mr. Harney, and see what he says. You've been worse since you've become a utility worker."
"So can I be a cook again"
"Don't be a wise guy. If you keep up this behavior, you'll be facing a lengthy suspension here without pay."
I gulped.
"Now, no more excuses. Finish cleaning up this kitchen, and when you finish, scrub out the pans."
He walked away.
I could feel my anger surge out. I really hate Marc. All he does is treat me like crap. He's a huge asshole and I just want to cuss him out. I really want to quit this, but I need a job. One day, I'm going to get that son of a bitch cause and I don't care if it costs me my job. Then, I feel my phone vibrate. Technically, I can't use my phone, but I really don't care. Plus, this could be important. I went out the back door and I saw it was Ashton. I stripped off my mask.
"Hello?"
"What's up Chris?"
I sighed. "At work. My bitch ass supervisor is on my ass again he's threatening to suspend me with no pay."
"Why are you still there?"
"This is the only job that I can work now."
"Oh...well, anyway, I got good news. I've worked out a plan on how we sneak in and get the DVD back."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I'm gonna need you guys' help though. Meet me at my place tomorrow. I'll go over the plan."
"Got it. See you then."
I hung up. I felt better now. But I hope Ashton's plan isn't risky or illegal.
* * *
The next day came and I was about to head off to Ashton's. I took my car keys off the mantel. I noticed Ty's keys were missing, which meant, he wasn't here. Good, I thought. I don't want him knowing I'm off to Ashton's. I noticed his car wasn't there. I took my keys and left.
As I was driving, I heard an indicator beep. I saw I had ten more miles before my tank ran out. I could make it Ashton's, but I trip back would be ten miles. So I needed to stop and fill up. I stopped at this upcoming gas station. I ran out of cigarettes so I need to get some more. However, when I went inside, I won't believe it, but I saw Jacob at the counter. I saw him buying some lottery tickets.
"Jacob?"
Jacob spun around. "Oh...Chris, hey. I, uh, didn't expect to see you here."
"What are you doing?"
"Oh, I'm just getting a few lottery tickets. There's a $750 million jackpot, and I'm hoping to win."
"I see. I'm just getting some gas, before I go to Ashton's."
Jacob frowned. "What the hell you going to Ashton's for? He's a moron."
"He has a plan to get a DVD back. Want to help?"
"No thanks." Jacob shook his head. "He called me a stupid Jew the other day."
"He was drunk."
"It wasn't funny. He knows I'm actually Jewish."
"I'm sure he didn't actually mean. it."
"If he's a racist, Marcus and I wouldn't be friends with him."
"Well, Marcus is African-American and you're mixed."
"Precisely."
"But it's still not cool."
"Well, he's gonna need our help. And I know he's sorry. Will you forgive him?"
He thought for a moment. "Oh, alright. I'll join."
"Cool. Come on, I'll give you a ride."
We arrived at Ashton's apartment ten minutes later. Marcus was there.
"Sup, guys?" asked Marcus.
We looked. Ashton had a laptop set up.
"You guys ready for my brilliant plan?"
"Sounds cool," I said.
"It better be," said Jacob.
"Alright," he said. He turned his laptop on. It revealed a plan.
"This is a blueprint of the mall. The best way is we park at the deck, because it's the nearest entrance. We'll go in the mall, find the store, and run through. And just in case, I made ski masks. And as far as I know, there are no security guards on patrol."
"Question," I said, "How the hell are we gonna get inside the mall?"
Ashton smiled. "That is an excellent question. He pulled a small key off his belt loop. "See this key?"
"A small key?" Marcus asked.
"This is the master key. This key can unlock any locked door in the entire world. Whether it's a vault, or a door or anything. I can get in anywhere, anytime."
We were all surprised.
"How did you get that?"
"Remember that locksmith that got shut down? Well, my brother snuck in and stole two. One for him and one for me."
"So, let me get this straight. Your plan is to take that key and get in the mall?" I asked.
"Simple, right?"
Marcus and I exchanged looks. We were impressed. Jacob, on the other hand, wasn't happy.
"Oh, no," he said firmly. "Are you insane? I don't wanna take any part in this. You've done a lot of crazy things in the past, but this is beyond insane."
Ashton stopped him. "Before you walk out, think about this. Do you like the new PS5?"
"Yeah, why?"
"The mall has a GameStop."
"Mhm?"
"So....if we take this, key and you can..."
Jacob thought for a moment. He knew exactly what Ashton was talking about.
"Oh, what the fuck? Why not?" He smiled. He sat back down.
"This a simple plan. I got two more guys to help. So we'll meet tomorrow night at apartment at eight."
We left.
As I headed back, I felt good. I couldn't believe we were going to actually sneak in a mall. But then, all my energy faded out suddenly. I was stumped for a monet and then I realized I had work tomorrow! Goddammit. I really want to go to a bar, because that's what I normally do, the door before work, but with this dumb ass pandemic, I can't. I groaned. Utility works really sucks. Plus, I even though I hate this job, I don't wanna get fired. I need this money.
Then, an idea flew in my head.
