Niagara Falls- Tuesday
Aug. 25th, 2020 12:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fates_jayeOn Bianca's second day of work, Jaye noticed something.
Bianca handed a customer their merchandise in a store-branded bag, with a "Thanks for shopping at Wonderfalls."
"Hey," Jaye said, walking over to her. "That was perfect."
"Polite but detached, right?" Bianca said.
"No... well, yeah, actually your technique was spot-on. But I mean you got through that whole sentence without... Hey, say ‘polite but detached’ again."
"Polite but detached," Bianca said, without a single trace of the stutter that yesterday had rendered her unable to talk at points.
The Mouthbreather interrupted to point at the T-shirt stand, where things had been dropped everywhere as people looked through them. "Bianca, I thought I asked you to fold these t-shirts?"
"Some people messed them up again," Bianca replied.
"Then you have to re-fold them."
"Why should I when they’re the ones that messed them up?"
He frowned at her, then frowned at Jaye. "Tyler, can I see you for a minute?"
He pulled her aside, away from the register as a customer approached Bianca, holding a defective dart package and a new one and demanding to make sure this one worked before she left the store. That was Bianca's problem to deal with.
Jaye's problem was the Mouthbreather hissing, "What did you do to her?"
"I think I may have cured her," Jaye said, actually kind of impressed with herself.
"Of what? Her work ethic? Geez, Tyler. I entrusted you to teach her, not pass on your bad habits."
Jaye rolled her eyes. "Whatever."
"I should have trained her myself."
"Why didn’t you?"
"You saw how nervous she was around me. She could barely talk," he said, oblivious. "Wouldn’t have been fair to-"
That's as far as he got before a dart struck him in the eye, mid-word. Jaye turned back towards the register and saw Bianca holding the new dart gun, saying, "This one works."
Jaye stared at her, an equal measure of impressed and concerned, because by the look on Bianca's face, that hadn't been an accident.
*****
Mahandra was just all concern when Jaye told her about it at her place that night. "That is the most frightening thing I’ve ever heard."
"What?" Jaye said. "It was a rubber dart."
"Shot into a real eye."
"He’s fine. Well, except for the detached retina. We all got to leave early."
"Don’t you find it odd that this girl is willing to blithely carry out acts of violence on your behalf? She’s like your own personal Heinrich Himmler."
"There were no orders to hurt or maim. Bianca’s a free agent," Jaye protested. "And she’s fun. You should come out with us. I thought we could take her clubbing."
Mahandra arched an eyebrow. "Baby seals?"
"You’re overreacting. You’d like her if you gave her a chance."
"Can you hear the seals? They’re screaming."
Bianca handed a customer their merchandise in a store-branded bag, with a "Thanks for shopping at Wonderfalls."
"Hey," Jaye said, walking over to her. "That was perfect."
"Polite but detached, right?" Bianca said.
"No... well, yeah, actually your technique was spot-on. But I mean you got through that whole sentence without... Hey, say ‘polite but detached’ again."
"Polite but detached," Bianca said, without a single trace of the stutter that yesterday had rendered her unable to talk at points.
The Mouthbreather interrupted to point at the T-shirt stand, where things had been dropped everywhere as people looked through them. "Bianca, I thought I asked you to fold these t-shirts?"
"Some people messed them up again," Bianca replied.
"Then you have to re-fold them."
"Why should I when they’re the ones that messed them up?"
He frowned at her, then frowned at Jaye. "Tyler, can I see you for a minute?"
He pulled her aside, away from the register as a customer approached Bianca, holding a defective dart package and a new one and demanding to make sure this one worked before she left the store. That was Bianca's problem to deal with.
Jaye's problem was the Mouthbreather hissing, "What did you do to her?"
"I think I may have cured her," Jaye said, actually kind of impressed with herself.
"Of what? Her work ethic? Geez, Tyler. I entrusted you to teach her, not pass on your bad habits."
Jaye rolled her eyes. "Whatever."
"I should have trained her myself."
"Why didn’t you?"
"You saw how nervous she was around me. She could barely talk," he said, oblivious. "Wouldn’t have been fair to-"
That's as far as he got before a dart struck him in the eye, mid-word. Jaye turned back towards the register and saw Bianca holding the new dart gun, saying, "This one works."
Jaye stared at her, an equal measure of impressed and concerned, because by the look on Bianca's face, that hadn't been an accident.
*****
Mahandra was just all concern when Jaye told her about it at her place that night. "That is the most frightening thing I’ve ever heard."
"What?" Jaye said. "It was a rubber dart."
"Shot into a real eye."
"He’s fine. Well, except for the detached retina. We all got to leave early."
"Don’t you find it odd that this girl is willing to blithely carry out acts of violence on your behalf? She’s like your own personal Heinrich Himmler."
"There were no orders to hurt or maim. Bianca’s a free agent," Jaye protested. "And she’s fun. You should come out with us. I thought we could take her clubbing."
Mahandra arched an eyebrow. "Baby seals?"
"You’re overreacting. You’d like her if you gave her a chance."
"Can you hear the seals? They’re screaming."
