#my shitty work

[cancern-anon]

Same thing.

Every day was the same. The boy with the hair that looked like a firework display on New Year's Eve would come in, looking around the store quietly. He kept the same pattern as he would walk through the aisles, and grabbed the three same things every day. He spun his bracelets around his wrist three times before deciding on his items. Then, he would look back and forth twice before walking to the line and smiling at me. Every single day, it was the same items: a pack of nerds, a pack of orange flavored sour patch kids gum, and a rose. The rose varied in color with no real pattern, which was what never seemed to make sense. I was working the night shift when he came in, moving slower than normal. Picking out his nerds and gum in that order, he then walked over to all the flowers. He finally decided on a single color and walked up to the register (after looking back and forth twice, of course.) He smiled and put his things on the belt in his specific order. "Hey, Connie," he said quietly, letting a small smile crawl onto him. "Hey," I responded. After him coming around so often, he picked up on my name and began using it in no time. "Just the usual today, huh?" I asked, watching him absently nod and look away sadly. "Yeah, just the norm," he replied, his fingers running through his firecracker hair. I finally got the nerve to ask him the question I'd been wondering since he started coming in. "Hey, if you don't mind, why do you get the same things every day..?" I asked. His eyes widened at the question, but he chuckled a little as he began to explain himself. "Okay then," he started, smiling nervously. He then began to give reasons behind his odd patterns. "The pack of nerds is for a kid who lives down the street named Alex. His parents got divorced and he doesn't go to public school, so I thought giving him candy and talking to him might get him out of his shell a little. I noticed that he really likes sour candy, and the rainbow nerds made him smile like he won the lottery." "The pack of gum has become a tradition where I work," he continued, laughing a bit at the statement. "You see, I work the late night shift as a jazz musician at this bar. I take two pieces and let everyone else take one. Exactly twelve minutes before we get up there, we split it up. Kinda funny, really." I looked at the Rose, biting my lip. Cance trailed off as he looked at the thrones flower he held in his hand. ".. And the Rose?" I asked carefully, seeing him gulp before trying to simplify the story. "Every single day, I get a rose. The color depends on what I think of the person I like, or the relationship I'm in," he admitted, shifting his weight to his other foot as he looked down. "Er, and what does the color...?" I started, and he looked back up. "It means I really like a person, but either they don't reciprocate the feeling or don't know it." He replied, his eyes darting away from mine. "What? Why wouldn't someone like you?" I asked, a laugh of disbelief escaping my mouth. "You always have the same routine, and even the tiniest thing could have a backstory behind it! Your hair makes me feel like it's the Fourth of July again! Every day when you come in here, everyone on the shift talks about how nice you are- I don't know how someone couldn't enjoy you and your personality," I finished, seeing his eyes widen a bit. He stood there for a good nine seconds before clutching the Rose a little tighter. "Actually, I think I need to switch colors," he said, dashing to the flower aisle and hastily scanning for the color he wanted. He finally grabbed a single red rose, matching the color of his face as he walked back up to the register. "And red means..?" I asked playfully, watching him squirm at the question. "Well, I suppose in this case, it means 'man I fell in love with a cashier and that's the reason I come to this store specifically every day?'" He said, unsure of himself. I smiled, taking the Rose. Before he grabbed his receipt, I took it from his hands and quickly scribbled out seven digits. "Call me, hot stuff," I winked at him as he room the piece of paper. He quickly nodded his head and ran out the door, only to cheer excitedly once the door completely closed.

[cityofdreams-writing]

Unfortunately, stories will take a lot longer from now on. My PC has been taken (again). I’ll be writing on my phone from now on.

Thanks for sticking with me, I really appreciate it. <3

I would also like to take a moment to thank those who have supported my works by reblogging and thus sharing my works. You guys mean the world to me.

I’ve noticed recently, that I have 123 followers as of writing this message. Thank you guys so much for loving my work and loving what I do. I love you all.

[thebiggestbugking]

Hey my Martians so i am so sorry for not doing like anything for the past few days. I have been really busy with school and my mental health has been steadily declining. i haven’t had an ounce of creativity and my brain has just turned into a sad pile of goo. i have no idea what to write about or who to draw and i have just had no free time. I am so sorry. If y’all could send suggestions of what to write it would really help me get the creative juices flowing! Thank you and i’ll attempt to be more active form now on! I love you my martians

[lemonyhummingbird]

Writing Blurb

Prompt: You come through my line at checkout with 100 coupons what are you even going to do with 40 boxes of orange soda? ~ Charlotte and Elanie ~ Dailyau

The monotony of this job is finally getting to me; scan one item, put it in the bag, repeat. Handing hopefully my last customer his credit card back, I glance down my aisle and groan.  I keep my face plastered with a smile as I ask her if she found everything okay. She nods and goes over to look at the magazine rack at my aisle cap. “Don’t trust The Inquirer.”

Her face drops as she turns towards my voice. “All of their articles have absolutely no truth in them.” She slowly puts this month’s edition of The Inquirer back on the shelf and gives me an embarrassed smile. The magazine’s headline shouts in bold white font that Hillary Clinton opened up about having a secret sex dungeon with Bill.

I shudder as horrific images come to mind of those creeps doing the nasty. I glance down the girl’s cart and see it’s filled with about 40 boxes of Sunkist. I have to make conscious effort not to drop my jaw. The girl notices me staring at her collection of soda and laughs a little. “Don’t worry, I have coupons for all of these.”

She takes off the dark blue Kate Spade purse over her shoulder and sets it on the conveyer belt to rummage through to hopefully find a wad of coupons for 24 packs of soda. “Do you want me to scan these for you while you look?” I ask cautiously. The girl gives me a nod as she proceeds to empty her purse on the conveyer belt. I glance up at her items on the belt as my brain goes into the monotony of counting to 40 as I repeatedly scan a box of Sunkist.

I see a bottle of lavender lotion, a tube of black mascara, a bottle of hand sanitizer, some car keys, a box of band-aids, and a granola bar. “Here they are, sorry about that.” I finish scanning and take the coupons from the girl before I go behind my counter. I flip through the coupons and see that indeed they are all for cases of soda. I start scanning the coupons and then I realize something horrible.

“Did you clip, like, 100 of these?”  I ask the girl with a hint of judgement in my voice. The girl blushes and starts to fumble with her arrow straight brown hair, taking a strand and twirling it around her pointer finger. “It's kind of silly but my mom is obsessed with coupons and my dad's a prepper so it's like a match made in heaven. I sort of picked up their habits.” She laughs a little and but it trails of with a sound of shame.

I finish scanning her massive stack of coupons and throw them into my trash bin underneath my station. “Does your family have a stash of goods in their basement, like in that extreme couponing show?” The girl nods and pulls out her phone. She shows me a few photos and I'm amazed at the amount of soup cans they own. “You know, you could sign up to be on that show.

“You're welcome to use my aisle if you'd like.” The girl puts her phone back in her purse and swings it over her shoulder. “No no no. There's no way they'd let me on their show. Nobody wants to see this face for half an hour.”

I glare at her as I give her a once over. She's tall, maybe 5’4 but she stands slouched with her knees turning inward. Her eyes are a brilliant green like a sprouting plant. “You are a bombshell. I would definitely take 30 minutes out of my day to watch you.”

Her eyes go wide. Fuck, that sounded really creepy. “Not that I would stalk you and take pictures of you from my car… I'm not making this any better, am I?” Surprisingly, she laughs, a real laugh.

“Actually, I wouldn't mind if you did.” She pulls out a piece of paper and scribbles down her number. The p.a. crackles overhead accounting that shoppers have 15 minutes to finish before the store closes. “I should probably get going before someone decided to steal my car.” She pulls out a credit card and  proceeds to pay.

I look down at the paper she gave me, “Elaine Metero - Coupon Goddess”. I can’t help but let out a giggle when my manager taps me on the shoulder. “What’s so funny Lottie?” I turn around to see Luke Spurlin, the biggest asshole I’ve ever met. If Bill Lumbergh from Office Space had been reincarnated, it would be him.

He would constantly take away my personal days and force me to work on holidays. Anyone else on our large staff at the Ralphs could take my place but no, my name and only my name showed up on the calendar. When I confronted him about last month when he had me down to work Christmas Eve and Christmas day, he brought up the point that I could always quit. Which is true, I could, but student loans, rent, and gas don’t pay for themselves. Thankfully though, Luke had another vendetta against someone else on the staff, my cousin Aaron.

Aaron did the customer service desk and I don’t envy him during Black Friday or any holiday. He had more shit to deal with on top of Luke. One year a women came in to return a blender because the blades were bent at the ends. I gave Aaron a pitiful look as the lady went on her long rant about she’s suing the store for false advertising and how all of us will lose everything we own just because she didn’t understand how to properly use a kitchen appliance. He would always laugh off everyone’s insane complaints since they made great stories when the family got together.

“Hey Lottie, Lottie, I’m talking to you.” I take in a deep breath as I turn to face my boss and his stupid face. I plaster on my fake smile again and slipped Elaine’s number into my pocket. “If you could just close up again since I’m leaving early to take my girlfriend out for dinner? That would be great.”

I nod and lock up my register, swallowing the urge to punch him straight in the throat. I turn off my aisle light and walk to the back to the store room. I smile at Aaron as he takes off his lanyard and hangs it in his locker. “Guess who’s closing again?” I ask him sarcastically.

He smiles as he grabs his wallet and keys. “Who was that girl who was buying all that Sunkist earlier?” I was caught off guard when he asks me. “Oh, um…” I didn’t understand while I was fumbling with my words. She was just another customer, a face off many I see everyday.

I try to shrug nonchalantly and hide my new sparked nerves. “She said that her parents sort of rubbed off on her shopping habits. You should have seen the stack of coupons she gave me.” Aaron smirks. Ugh he knows that I think she’s pretty and I know he’s going to pop his signature question.

“If she gave you her number, go ahead and text her. You don’t think know that look you get when you see a nice looking person.” Huh, not what I was expecting. I give Aaron a bright smile as I grab my car keys. “Have a good night blender boy,” I punch him in the arm and he grunts playfully. I lock up the store and head out to my beaten up junk pile of a car.

The paint has chipped away and the engine makes a weird noise sometimes but it’s my little prince. I start up my truck and wait for the heat to turn on. I pull out the sheet of paper from my pocket and debate about sending Elaine a text. Dropping the sheet of paper into my cup holder, I drive out of the parking with a clear set of evening plans. There shall be ramen and some couponing tips in my future.

[longhairfrnkiero]

[cancern-anon]

Frustration.

She never knew a piece of paper could be so daunting. She sifted through multiple sheets, attempting to decipher what was written upon them. They all appeared to be of a different, frustrating language. She looked around, making sure no one else was around to see her. Angrily, she balled her fists, clenching a pen in her left hand. 'At the rate I'm going, I won't get anything done!' She thought miserably, frantically rushing through the papers once more as she looked for some sort of clue. She had no success in her endeavor. She looked over past pieces she had translated and answered. She wasn't sure how she had even began to comprehend what she was doing, but she did remember going over it with an expert on the subject. She could clearly recall thinking that it was so simple; yet it flew from her mind, leaving her to futilely ponder what 'simple' steps she had to do. The more she looked, the angrier she got. She eventually closed her log of knowledge, not feeling satisfied with the loud 'boom' it made as the cover was slammed. Justine pushed away her binder a she slammed her head against the table. Moments later, a gentle hand was rubbing her back. "I know it's hard, kiddo, but your review packets aren't gonna do themselves," her mom said gently.

[myshittywork]