Black Friday Blues

Black Friday is always a crazy time of year for everyone. I never understood why any store would let so much havoc go on all in one day; I would expand it through a few days maybe even a week. Sorry about that, my name is Veronica and tomorrow is my first time working a Black Friday in my life. I'm working in one of those big variety stores that have multiple floors within a mall. It's required for us to wear all black and look professional but I have never had any trouble dressing the part for a job.

Training was easy enough; they sat a bunch of us in a conference room and played a short introduction video. We then had to sit at computers and do all sorts of tests and watch some instructional videos. Some of the others that had a non-cashier position were allowed to leave earlier; that was the first time I saw him. He was wearing all black just like everyone else but his cloths weren't really as nice, meaning he was probably in a position where he had to straighten out the cloths or move boxes or something. I was never really attracted to him but I noticed that he seemed to have a different way about him; a nice calm feeling that the others, myself included, didn't have.

One day of training and a short orientation session later and it was finally time for Thanksgiving. I was having a wonderful time with my family but I was feeling extremely nervous about tomorrow. Going to bed at ten was something I absolutely needed to do, my shift started at four in the morning and I would need plenty of sleep if I was going to last the whole day. Settling down into my bed, I set the digital alarm clock for three in the morning and tried to get some sleep. I had a nightmare about all the customers that would be screaming and running around the following day.

Three fifteen in the morning and my alarm is blaring and my mom is knocking on my door, telling me it is time to get up and go. I turn the alarm off so it doesn't distrub my parents any further then I get dressed and walk out the door. After getting my coffee from the local coffee shop and making my way to the store, I have five minutes to put my things in my locker and clock into the system. After I clock in I walk into my section to see that it's not so busy right now; I was thinking that I may have dodged a bullet on the business of Black Friday. That was a thought I wished I never had.

Come six in the morning everything was picking right back up again and I was selling necklaces and rings like it was my job; then I remembered it was and giggled a bit to myself. Everything was crazy and we finally had a few minutes of downtime. “How goes it in Jewelery?” I heard the mid-level voice and turned to see who it was and saw it was the guy I had spotted a few days before in training. “Um, it's going okay right now, so hectic though.” I said back, not ever being one to have good small talk skills. “Yeah, jewelery and woman's shoes are the most hectic sections.” He explained, and I just now noticed my section was right next to his and that made me happier to have someone who was going through the same thing so close to me.

We continued to work throughout the day, mildly conversing and I smiled as he kept my spirits up. It was a weird feeling, I never felt so comfortable talking to someone and I never felt so calm around anyone. My shift seemed so long at the beginning but hours seemed to slip away like minutes as I talked to the new friend I had just made. That's when I finally made the decision that I wanted him and I craved a relationship with him more than anything in my life. “I'll be seeing you later, then.” He said and I looked distraught, he must have gotten there before me to be leaving now. I was so dumbfounded that he was leaving before me that I just waved and didn't even ask his name.

As soon as my shift ended I ran up the escalator and through the top level of the store to look at the schedule for tomorrow. It was then I realized that I didn't even know his name, I described him to the Human Resources Representative and she told me his name was John and I looked at the schedule diligently for his name. My heart and mood sank as I saw that not only was he not on the schedule for tomorrow but he wasn't on the schedule for the entire week.

I had to know exactly what happened to him so I asked the Human Resources Representative why he wasn't on the schedule for the week. I was disheartened when she said that the schedule was updated earlier today when John informed her that he was going to work somewhere else. That afternoon I drove home in silence thinking if I had scared him away or something. I went to bed without eating anything and set the alarm clock for my next day. I was in a melancholy mood as I cashed out customers and packed their new purchases in the appropriate boxes. That's when I heard that familiar voice. “How goes it in Jewelery?” I looked up and smiled at John and charismatically greeted him.

“Why did you decide to leave, I thought you didn't care for me?” I said to him, but he gave me a warm smile and made me feel just as calm as he did yesterday. “We couldn't be in that deep of a relationship if I worked here, now could we?” He said, kissing my hand and moving away from the counter so I could help others. “Go ahead and work, I'll be here when your done and I'm not going anywhere.” I smiled and went back to work as he watched me. That smile didn't leave my face all day.