Asa! Asa dayou! Asa gohan tabette gakkou ikuyou!
The intrusive sound of Archie's phone alarm ragged him from his peaceful sleep. It was a shame, really. His dreams were a grand litany of scenarios where he slew orcs and saved a thousand princesses all in his boxers. But that's what dreams are like after all and nothing gives that 'welcome back to reality' feeling like his torturous alarm tone. Seriously, why did he think it was a good idea to have that blurting into his ears every morning. He gave his eyes an intense rub in an attempt to bring himself around a bit more.
"What was it that I had to do today?" he muttered to himself in an absent tone, looking down at his crumpled bed covers. Blowing off the thought, he moved into the bathroom to brush his teeth and shower. The initial cold burst of water that fired from the faucet succeeded in waking him up, at least. Maybe it was a water-induced revelation or the sheer amount of sugar he accidentally spilled in his tea but as he sat in his living area a thought suddenly struck him like a bolt of lightning.
"Work!" he gasped in a panic. Watching him fly round the house, swiftly gathering his things, would have been quite humorous if the Sonic the Hedgehog theme was playing in the background but alas the only sounds were those coming Archie as he cursed repeatedly in alarm. Having his things, he slung his rucksack over his shoulder and ditched the last of his tea down the sink before jogging out.
Archie wasn't the sportiest of people, despite what his thin frame might have suggested, so when he arrived at his workplace he was panting like a dog in heat. Pressing his hands to his knees, he tried to recuperate his breath before looking at his watch in dismay. Oh, he wasn't late. That wasn't it at all. But he did remember he'd set his alarm an hour early to give himself time to readjust to the new routine. So, an hour before his shift was due to start, Archie headed through the doors of his new workplace. At least the dread and fear of the new environment, people and work helped him forget his earlier blunder.
As he entered, a quizzical look shot across his face. The place was practically a ghost town - even for a morning shift.
"H-hello?" he asked, a timid tone prominent in his voice. He wasn't loud enough for anyone to hear and he dare not disrupt the peace of the place. So, pressing onward, he looked around the store. The place was quite standard. Nothing fancy, nothing drab. A worrying tone in Archie's inhabitance of America. Unsure of how he arrived, he wandered into an area completely crammed full of books. It almost looked like a sort of pseudo-library which made Archie wonder whether they sold any Manga.
Might as well take a look, he thought to himself. Before finding the manga section, however, he came across the cash register where a girl about his age was sat. She looked sort of absent, as if she was waiting for something to happen - clearly an employee. This was his chance, he might finally be able to find out where they wanted him and what they wanted to do with him. Approaching, he noticed that she was with child and was initially put off asking her any questions. If she was pregnant, she may not be an employee and oh that old British social faux pas of asking someone if they worked in a place when they didn't was engraved on his brain. Still, you don't ask, you don't get. Alas, his psyching himself up for his first encounter was dashed as another woman wandered across. Wait a moment... she sounded like she knew what she was talking about... ish. But how to take advantage of this opportunity without looking like some creepy lurker...
Giving himself a brisk slap across the cheek to snap him out of his panic mode, Archie took a deep breath and headed over.
"Erm... excuse me," he butted in with a quite voice,
"Hi, so...erm... I'm new to this place and..." You didn't say you worked there! She'll think you're a customer! Quick, Archie, salvage the situation! "I WORK HERE!" Sometimes, I lament that I'm stuck as the voice in your head. Archie gave an awkward chuckle, scratching the back of his neck before continuing,
"I mean... I just started and I didn't want to be rude and interrupt but I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of where I'm supposed to go. I'm so sorry to butt in like this..." Well... at least apologising like a Canadian on a caffeine rush is a start...
The brunette fought the impulse to hide behind the counter when she heard the automated doors part and in came one of the employees she reluctantly worked with. There was really no reason to hide from the people she worked with, unless they looked and acted like Sammy of course...
