prompt exercise

Today's prompt - convenience store

I guess there is a time when the mind and reality crash. It is a moment when the hidden world we live in breaks through the mirror and stabs stakes in the ground declaring the two must now coexist. We happily walk through life keeping balance by keeping our mouth shut at moments of conflict by playing our true happy alternative in our minds. It has always worked for me. A customer decides to pay for their six pack with pennies already drunk and struggling to count - I sit patiently smiling while having visions of the pennies flying up in an arrow like in cartoons I watched as a child where the bees form an arrow. They then shoot down their throat making them gag as they grab their now exploding six pack in a last moment of desperation. I smile. An arrogant punk walks by while I stock shelves pretending to stumble sneaking a grope up my skirt. I hide my true knowledge and utter words of concern over his stumble while I let my mind wander envisioning a robotic arm grabbing his hand as a steel blade shoots out and makes a smooth quick amputation. I smile, because I need my job, and the customer is always right. A smile is survival. A smile hides my endearing alternate world. It is my sword of protection keeping the job I need and covering the true thoughts in my mind with a look of innocence.


Mr Jokawitz comes in for his morning lotto order and follows his daily routine. I smile at him ignoring the frowns, hems, haws, annoyed body shifting in the endless line that is expanding exponentially behind him. My co-worker Elaine grabs a clipboard feigning ignorance.

I know the routine, and I know even though I have made many suggestions in the past...

"Mr Jokawitz, you can fill these out in advance"

"Mr Jokawitz, we do have a random selection option."

"Mr Jokawitz, you could decide your lucky numbers before getting in line."

the idea of change is futile.

True lottery players are fanatics. I mean true fanatics. It often develops slowly. They start out with familiar dates, birthdays, anniversaries and such. Either failure or success, it really doesn't matter; the selection process evolves.

My nephew has Aspergers, and I often put him to bed while sitting for my sister. We originally started our good night tuck in with the words "I love you from here to the moon, to the stars and beyond." followed by a simple kiss on his forehead. Then one night I broke the routine and kissed him on the nose as an added bonus. My nephew doesn't like change, so from that day forward I was held to the nose kiss. You think that would have taught me to keep to the routine, but due to unexpected moments of adoration of my nephew, the routine eventually evolved to saying "I love you from here to the moon, to the stars and beyond." followed by a kiss on the forehead, a kiss on the nose, then the right cheek, then the left, a pinch of the nose and then the words "and even eternity can't outrun us". No swaying from the routine, if I kissed out of order we had to repeat until it was right in order for him to roll over and fall into his blissful sleep.

That is how lottery players are. A player wins five dollars on the day they picked a number from a weather forecast, a player loses on the one day they didn't pick up the paper from the store. Again, it doesn't mean if it was due to a win or a lose, they develop their own superstitions, each building upon the other until the fanatical routine is devised. Since the one time Mr. Jokawitz won five hundred dollars in the power ball his routine changed. That particular day he paid for his tickets using a silver dollar, so I was certain he kept some bank or coin collector happy to keep him in full supply. That day also, he had forgotten his planned list of numbers that I had finally convinced him to write and stood there methodically picking numbers on each of his 25 slips before me as I waited and smiled. I was now an integral part of his routine. He threw such a fit one day that I had taken off to get my car inspected that my manager bribed me with an alternative day off just to come in and process his tickets. I smiled as I did.

The lead snapped on the dwarf pencil the lottery agency provided as he tried to fill the circle by number 38. Instant dread fell upon me. All I could envision was a future of him attempting to recreate a pencil break on the same number.

I quickly handed him a new pencil hoping he wouldn't make some new pencil superstition before completing his task.

He paused.

A little girl a few customers back started yanking on her mother's arm squealing while performing a contortionist dance, "I need to go Mommy!"

I smiled.

I could see in his hesitation neurons in his mind were scattering and jumping around attempting to cross the cobweb boundaries to make new connections defining a future torture for me in the manner of lead collapse.

"Mommeeeeeeeee!"

I dove into my smile world. I grew magically in height with all the customers dwarfing in size. I could see beyond the barricade of the cramped line to see all corners of the store. I stood tall and saw all. Wings sprung out from my back, sparkling in a rainbow hue. Mr. Jokawitz began to shrink as he tapped the new pencil.

"tap"

"tap"

"tap"

With every tap I could feel a new breath of feathers blossom.

I swooped my wing across the counter Mr Jokawitz's lottery entries filled and empty flew into the air.

My talons slammed down on the counter creating a ripple map from each talon epicenter.

Miniscule Mr. Jokawitz stared at me in confusion. He no longer recognized the form before him. He no longer knew his token lottery component.

"You peon, you scrap of depravity, you insipid idiot lacking the intelligence of a gnat!" I paused while relishing his pitiful cowering, " You cannot defeat or deceive the great Shalantra!"

An evil laugh bellowed from deep within. It turned to a giggle as I again enjoyed my fantasy. I loved my alternative world.

My giggle quickly faltered as I returned to reality and looked across the counter.

Mr. Jokawitz was gazing at me shaking. Looking beyond, my gaze was met with a path of faces -jaws agape.The little girl who had been pleading for attention now stood frozen in her puddle of fear.

I was fired today. Apparently yelling a steady stream of profanity and insults is not smiled upon at Hinky Winkies. That is ok. Shalantra has found her voice, and that requires a new job.