Chapter Text
A bell chimes as Tommy pushes through a sticky old door into the stale, cool air of the small dollar store. He looks down at his phone and double checks it’s on silent before slipping it into his pocket. There’s a balding older man on a yellow stepladder, loading boxes onto the top of a shelf, the manager, Tommy assumes. He wipes his hands on his jeans before stepping further into the store.
“Excuse me? Are you the manager? I was hired as a casual- today’s my first shift,” he swallows awkwardly throughout the sentence. He probably seems more like a wannabe roadman hopped up on vape and Powerade than a respectable new hire.
The man precariously pushes the box fully onto the shelf and steps down off the block, “Tommy? Yea, Linda told me to expect you- I’m her son, won’t be seeing too much of me though, mostly just come in to handle finances and deliveries. Have you got all your paperwork?” the man’s voice is soft but deep, and Tommy can see the resemblance with the older lady he’d met when he’d handed his resume in.
He nods eagerly and swings his backpack off his shoulder, fumbling with the envelope with all of his papers, trying not to moisten the paper with his clammy fingers. There was an ancient air conditioner rattling away somewhere, but the air wasn’t circulating, and the space around Tommy felt warm. “I think everything is all good- double checked and triple checked it all.”
“Ah don’t worry, we’ll chase you up if anything isn’t right- first job?” Tommy nods and he chuckles, stuffing the envelope in a pocket on the front of his shirt, “yea don’t worry- it’ll all be fine, come with me, I’ll show you where you can drop your stuff.”
He beckoned Tommy to follow him, and the boy shuffled quickly after him. They passed through the labyrinth of shelves- which all seemed randomly stocked and yet meticulously maintained. They pushed through a ‘staff only’ door into a small, minimally decorated room. The man gestured to a table shoved into a corner, a water cooler on top and a backpack and a tool belt under on a second shelf, “you can toss your stuff under here, if you forget anything don’t sweat it, nobody will pinch anything you leave behind.”
Tommy hesitantly placed his bag next to the other one, looking around the room after- there was a fridge and a microwave, along with a small TV that he would be surprised to hear worked. “I’ll give you a rundown of our basic rules and what’s expected of you, but I have to leave in about an hour so I’ll leave you with a co-worker you’ll be seeing considerably more of- he’s fine though, practically runs the place.”
Tommy felt his heart drop at hearing the man will be leaving, but he forced a smile and nodded as they headed out of the room back into the store. He listened carefully as he was shown around the space- which was a bit bigger than he’d first thought- stocking all manner of cheap and niche goods- including a whole rack dedicated to current and previous trends (he was pretty sure he saw a whole box of fidget spinners). Turns out this store had been running on a staff of the man and this other co-worker for a while, given Linda was getting older and couldn’t be in attendance too much anymore. The only reason Tommy had gotten the job was because the man, Darren, wanted to have some more downtime at home and apparently had unwavering faith in this other co-worker.
“Alright- you’ve only got another two hours to go, I’ll keep showing you around until Dexy shows up, he won’t be far off by now. He’s about your age I’d think- could probably buy this place off of Linda with pocket change if he asked nicely enough, brilliant young lad.” Now Tommy was fascinated- what kind of 17-year-old had the charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent to practically run a family-owned dollar store? A family that wasn’t even his own, by the sounds.
Tommy wasn’t wondering very long, because about fifteen minutes later, the bell chimes, and Alex (from Philippe’s school- fireworks in the hallway and close friends with Colin, somewhat of a local cryptid- Alex) walks in with a paper bag in one hand and his phone in the other. “I got you turkey, Barb said a flock of out-of-towners came in before me and polished up the chicken, so don’t shoot the messenger.”
“Here he is! Dexy, this is Tommy, and your responsibility for the next two hours,” he explained, taking the outstretched paper bag, which he scowled at for a moment before pulling a sandwich free from. Tommy wasn’t really sure why he was calling Alex ‘Dexy’ but he figured it was just a classic boomer nickname.
“Tommo! Y’know I was wondering if you were Tommo Tommo or just some random sod off the street, congrats for scoring one of the worlds easiest pay checks you’ll ever come across.”
“Don’t let Linda hear you say that” Darren mumbled, already halfway through the sandwich Alex had just handed him, “alright, I’ll leave you boys to it- lovely to meet you, Tommy, I’ll see you later this week,” and with that he was making his way off to the staffroom and then out the front door.
“I’m guessing he’s shown you around- he’s cool, not often around enough to be annoying, y’know?”
Tommy was just staring blankly at him, “wait, you actually work here? People actually trust you with things?”
Now Alex had the gall to look confused, “why wouldn’t they?”
“Alex, you set fireworks off in a school building- your license is on indefinite probation, I didn’t even know that was a thing- not to mention the stunt with the sheep at my school.”
“Yes, and?”
Tommy blinked once, twice, narrowed his eyes at the other boy, “point made, I guess.”
Alex shows him to the register- it’s old and analogue and Tommy can tell he’s going to have plenty of issues with it even upon this first inspection. Alex seems to know it inside and out though, and Tommy struggles to keep up with his lightning-fast explanations. He’ll just have to pick it up along the way, he supposes.
“Philippe is going to stop in sometime this afternoon, is that okay?” Tommy asked, as they stacked a shelf. It seemed like they got plenty of traffic through here, if the countless empty shelving units were anything to go by.
“Why wouldn’t it be? So long as you don’t start reproducing on the shop floor. Put’s people off.”
Tommy almost dropped the box he was holding, “wh- pardon?”
“You just seem like one of those couples- don’t get angry with me!”
“Well, we’re not, and if we were I wouldn’t do… that… at my place of work. By the sounds of it you’re even worse, anyway- so check mate.”
Alex heaved a box up onto the tallest shelf, Tommy was sure he should’ve used a step ladder, but something told him this place wasn’t exactly tight on rules and policy. “I ‘ave no clue where you heard that- sex before marriage is disgusting and foul.”
“I’m pretty sure I heard it from people who’d heard it from you.”
“So now you’re a gossip- did you put that on your resume? Seem to be an expert.”
Was this banter or was Tommy about to be fired before the end of his first shift? How could one tell with this guy?
They finish stacking the shelf, and Alex tells Tommy to go hang around the register whilst he ‘returns the trolly’ which apparently meant riding it down to the back door. Tommy felt a little stupid just standing at the register, staring at it’s archaic keypad and the scratchy carvings in the countertop- shit like ‘I’m bored’ ‘Darren is a Karen’ ‘Alex wuz heer 2k18.’ Then, the bell dinged, and a small flock of elderly women swarmed into the store, chattering amongst themselves and giggling about… whatever old women find funny, he supposed.
A couple turned to smile at him as they made their way down into the labyrinth of aisles and shelves. He could roughly track their location based on the amount of noise they were making. Especially when they all broke out into loud, erratic cooing and giggling.
He heard a couple of them call out to Alex, and then listened as the man himself listed them all by name, welcoming them back and engaging in that weird, playful banter young men sometimes have with old women- he wasn’t sure how else to explain it, but Alex seemed to be an expert.
Did he black out when he walked into the school gate and come-to the second he left? Granted, Tommy didn’t go to school with him, and couldn’t even imagine him writing in his notebook, but from what he’d heard from Philippe and seen at basketball camp, this guy seemed to be a walking Pandora’s box, and to hear him ingratiate himself with old birds with whom he seemed good friends with was just… confusing.
Tommy stayed in position behind the counter as Alex wandered around the store with the women- telling them about how school was going, and how his mum was faring with her new job, and whether he had any girlfriends (he didn’t) to which Alex responded, ‘I would if any of you ever let me shout you lunch,’ which of course had the old birds erupt in laughter.
To Alex’s credit, a bunch of them did end up buying stuff- including one lady who bought like seven packets of Jols- which Tommy always thought were just counter-filling crap people never bought. Alex didn’t leave their flock until the last of them shuffled out the door after giving Alex a pat on the cheek and well-wishes until next time.
“What on earth was that?” Tommy asked once they’d migrated out of view.
“That, my dear friend, was the weekly nursing home excursion into town,” Alex explained as he approached the counter, leaning into Tommy’s space. He smelt like a bouquet of old lady perfume, and Tommy wrinkled his nose, fighting back a sneeze. “The sooner you find out how to charm any woman over the age of fifty, the sooner you will rise in the ranks of customer service,” Tommy had no bloody clue what that was supposed to mean, but Alex seemed happy enough with Tommy’s nod to move on.
It's then that the bell jingles and Tommy looks up to see Philippe walk in. Alex also sees this, and opens his arms and announces Philippe’s presence, approaching the boy for a hug that’s instantly rejected.
“Alex, we have never done that before- what makes you think today is the day?”
“Wow, now I know why Tommy has been complaining about your unfulfilling sex life for the past hour and a half.”
“What? Do I even need to say that that’s absolute falsehood?” Tommy stammered as Philippe pushed past Alex to get to the counter. Philippe manages to steal a chaste kiss before Alex threatens to call security- which was himself, because he, Darren and Tommy were the only employees.
“How much longer do you have?” he asks, running a finger over the knuckles of the hand Tommy has rested on the counter.
“Half an hour- do you want to get food or something?”
“Of course, I’m suddenly…” Philippe glances back to where Alex is resorting an entire stand of Among Us merchandise, “very, very interested in your new job.”
Tommy rolls his eyes “damn, I thought you loved me and now I see you only want to hear about my deranged co-worker.”
Philippe smirks, shrugging, “nothing quite as attractive as multiple attempted arson charges and what’s likely undiagnosed BDP.”
“You are so mean today, Mr Guillet.”
“You would be too if you had to listen to Collins discuss- in detail- exactly how enjoyable his relationship is for approximately six hours straight,” Philippe backed away from the counter, squinting down at all the assorted snacks and lollies. He eventually drops a pack of Mentos on the counter, alongside a packet of sour jellybeans. “Show me how you work, dazzle me.”
Tommy scoffs, his cheeks turning bright red as he nervously taps away at the ancient register, heart thudding and praying to every god to prevent the machine from screaming at him at the slightest mistake as he puts Philippe’s items through. There must be someone listening, because he flies through the transaction without a hitch.
“What? No mates rates?” Philippe gasps as Tommy reads the total, although he’s sliding the cash over the counter before Tommy can think up something cheeky in response.
Once he’s handed his change, Philippe leans up and softly catches Tommy’s chin, pulling him into a kiss that’s a few seconds longer than the first. “I’ll just be outside, have fun,” and then he’s strolling back out the store, ignoring Alex’s request for his own goodbye kiss with practiced grace.
"That’s so weird how your boyfriend didn’t give me a kiss I asked for so nicely, can you talk to him about that?”
“Most definitely not.”