Mid day shift, gotta love 'em. Working in a corner convenience store wasn’t really all that special; you get the occasional student or employee stopping in for a snack or coffee, but that was about all the action you’d see. Customers weren’t much for conversation either, you’d get a quick “hi” or “have a good day”, but that’s about it. Most of the time you would just sit there playing on your phone or restocking shelves. You knew you weren’t supposed to be on your phone, but who the hell cares anyway? You were alone on your shift and none of the customers cared if you had texted someone while they were shopping around.
It was around 1 pm, as you sat in your chair staring off into space. You would be on your phone, if it wasn’t dead. And you would be stocking shelves if they weren’t already stocked to the brim. Sighing heavily, you refocused your eyes to read the clock. Sighing again, this time more annoyed. You still had 1 and a half hours left of your shift. Beginning to tap your finger, you watch people walk past the store through the window. At least that was kind of fun. Seeing everyone from businessmen with their briefcases and suits, to little kids and their moms racing to catch a bus. The buzz of the lights started to get increasingly irritating, wishing you had music or something playing, but your boss had banned it since the ‘incident’. (The ‘incident’ being that a customer overheard the music you had been playing and complained about the “inappropriate” lyrics…)
You were lost in thought when the doorbell chimes, someone walking in. You redirected your attention to the customer, straightening your posture a bit. Your eyebrows furrowed a bit as you examined the man. He was wearing some kind of… spandex suit? A costume? Over top of it he wore a grey jacket and a bucket hat. Tilting your head in slight confusion, you watched as he nervously approached your counter. His face was hidden by a mask of sorts, or so you assumed. His sunglasses resting where his nose should be. He cleared his throat slightly, leaning an elbow on the countertop. “You guys got uh- got an atm machine?” he asked, voice stuttering a bit. You looked him up and down one last time before answering. “Yeah, it’s in the back.” You point to the back of the store, near the coolers. “Cool.. Thanks!” he replied, standing up fully again, still kind of slouching. You watched as he walked down the aisle.
“What a weirdo.. I guess everyone has their quirks..” you think to yourself, keeping a close eye on him as he approached the machine. “I mean, he doesn’t look dangerous? Kind of silly and goofy…” your eyes wander down his back to his legs as he stood awkwardly. Laughing quietly at his ridiculous getup, you remove your gaze and stare out the window again. It’s probably best to give him some privacy while he takes out his money. Your peaceful people watching session was rudely interrupted by the sound of banging. Turning your head, you investigate the noise. To your surprise, the weird guy was attempting to shove the atm into a… a black hole??
Quickly you stand up, taking a step towards him. “Hey! What the fuck are you doing??” you shout from across the store. He turns his head towards you, still pushing on the machine. “Oh me? I’m uh- I’m just- don’t mind this! I uh- forgot my pin number!” he stammers, desperately shoving on the atm, trying to get it onto the hole. “C’mon man-” he murmurs to himself, as you reach behind the counter, grabbing the baseball bat your boss leaves there. Y’know just in case. And to you, this seems like a “just in case” moment. You approach him quickly, raising the bat to swing. A startled yelp comes from the man as he notices you, quickly making a move to dodge. The bat comes crashing down on a shelf instead of him, as he scrambles to get away.
You regain your balance and chase after him, taking the occasional swing when you get close enough. He’s quick- he’s also yelling random stuff at you, probably stuff to convince you to put the bat down. You were able to catch “handsome in scientist standards” but that was about it. He moved through portals half haphazardly, causing products to fall off the shelves. You caught up to him in the front of the store, raising the bat up again before he caught it mid swing. You pull back on it in an attempt to get it out of his grasp. Grunting and cursing, you notice that he’s actually pretty strong… and tall… He leans back more, using his weight to try and take the bat from you, bending your legs to keep steady. Unfortunately, your grip strength isn’t very good, and the piece of wood slips from your hands.
However, this turned out to be a good thing for you. When you let go of the bat, all his weight left the connection, and he went barrelling backwards. He let out a small “ouch!” as he landed on his butt, rolling a bit onto his back. Without thinking, you took this moment of weakness as an opportunity, jumping on to him. Quickly grabbing his arms, you tried to stop his desperate wiggling, eventually pinning his wrists above his head. You rested yourself on his hips, basically straddling him in order to keep him still. “Hey! Let me- Let me go-” he whined, struggling underneath you. “Stop moving-” you grunt, fighting his movements as he went to roll over.
His movements calmed, stopping his restless wiggles. Just as you thought you won, you felt your balance slip from underneath you, his hips tilting to the side. Letting out a yelp, you fall off of him, letting go of his hands. As you fell, you shut your eyes and waited to hit the floor, but the surface never came into contact. Surprised, you opened your eyes, only to be greeted with the sight of a shelf. “What the f-” you looked down at yourself, body seemingly merged with another shelf. Panic rose in you as you struggled in your spot. “Shit! Uh- s-sorry!!” you heard him call from the front of the store. You wanted to yell something back, but you honestly couldn’t focus on making a witty comeback when you are currently MERGED WITH A PIECE OF FURNITURE.
Struggling, you try to feel your legs, kicking them slightly. They hit a solid surface, meaning they were probably still on the floor. God, that’s so weird to imagine. You tried to envision the position you are in, your top half sticking out from the side of a shelf, and your bottom half… Well, you weren’t really sure, but you imagined your butt sticking out of the floor. Cringing at the thought, you shake the picture from your head as you hear rummaging from the other side of the store. Suddenly you feel something touch your legs, letting out a surprised yelp. “S-sorry- uhm! I’m gonna pull you out okay?” you hear him call to you, registering that he was grabbing your thigh and lower calf. “U-uh!” you can’t help but squirm under the touch.
“You gotta promise not to attack me again though!” you hear him add as his grip tightens. “You’re literally trying to rob me??” you finally respond, attempting to turn to look at him, only to be greeted by shelved products. “Y-yeah but- just let me okay? The money doesn’t even belong to you, really!” he answers, his hands shaking slightly. You let out an exaggerated sigh, loud enough for him to hear. “Fine. Whatever, man.. I don’t get paid enough to deal with criminals anyway..” You feel your legs lift, your entire body tensing up. “So is that a yes?” “YES! Just get me out!!” and with that, you felt your entire body shift as he pulled, letting out a small grunt. Your upper half moved backwards into the shelf, going through the portal.
Fully pulled out of the portal, you fall back onto the floor. You quickly turn around to face the strange man, immediately scrambling to stand up. “Woah hey! We had a deal-” he stammered, backing up from you, holding his hands up in a defensive way. “I know.. I still don’t trust you though..” you respond, circling him slowly. “Fair.” he admits, putting his hands down. “Is it alright if I just-” he steps towards the machine, which he had gotten relatively close to the door. “Go-” “Wait!” you stop him before he can open the door. “What.. uh…” you look him up and down, debating either asking “what are you” or “what’s your name”. Ultimately you went with the second option, to which he replied;
“I am…” he stands up fully, straightening his posture. He was taller than the doorframe, which was slightly jarring. “The Spot.” he finishes, standing proudly. “Huh?” you say, looking at him confused. “The- I’m- my name- uh-” he flustered, clearly embarrassed by your lack of a reaction. “J-just call me Spot..” he murmurs, hiding his “face” behind the hat. “Right… uh. Enjoy the money, Spot..” You watched as he wasted no time in getting out of there and scooted the machine out the door. All you could do was stand there, stumped at the events that just took place. Eyes followed him as he stumbled down the sidewalk with his new find, before turning around. “I really don’t get paid enough” you think to yourself as you make your way to the store phone, dialing 911.