in there probably felt the same.
Emily gathered up the cards and began to shuffle. Virginia and Olaf both motioned that they weren’t in the mood to play, and so she set up a game of solitaire with a shrug.
Chapter Nine
SHELLEY took the school shuttle past Housing to the exchange garage, where she found the direct l ine to the Food-Mart. Finding herself bombarded with the bulk of her mother’s chores, Shelley held strong as she carried George’s debit card and the burlap grocery bags through the dense shuttle crowd. Virginia had always gone shopping on Wednesdays, insisting that it was the best day of the week for all of the good sales, so Shelley too went on Wednesday.
She wore a surgical facemask and plastic gloves, as Corporate had issued a red alert. She had gone shopping with Virginia before, to learn the process. Still, entering Food Mart’s Grocery Division on her own for the first time was overwhelming. The colossal establishment seemed much more crowded than usual. Several lines of people wrapped around the different vending booths in confusing and erratic patterns. People pushed their way past one another. Music played over a loud speaker, helping to offset the noise created by so many people trying to speak over one another at once. Occasionally , the music would pause and a pleasant voice would take over the speaker to announce overstock specials, news associate locations, and random Corporate pearls of wisdom.
“Attention , Food-Mart customers,” the voice announced. “For today only, the canned meat product booth is having a buy three, get one free sale (limit two free items). And remember, a hard worker is a happy worker. Thank you for shopping at Food-Mart.”
Shelley pulled her list from her bag, struggling to orient herself as panic threatened to freeze her where she stood. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and began to look over the items on her list, which she had listed by booth. Virginia had taught her always to go to the inner booths first, leaving the outer booths for last in case a rush came in. Shelley got in line for the soaps booth, as the family needed shampoo and would soon run out of dishwashing detergent.
Food-Mart’s Grocery Division was comprised of three dozen large booths, each set with a particular type of inventory. The booths were each manned by four to six cashier associates, and they consisted of deep, open-backed shelves and bins from which the associates could pull the requested items. On the other side was a small warehouse, where stock associates would keep a steady line of product coming as quickly as the cashier associates could pull it. The cashier associates wore bright red polo shirts with the words “Food-Mart” printed above their nametags, and khaki pants. The booths each stood at roughly the same size. The uniformity within the massive room was almost dizzying, almost like standing in the center of a very crowded house of mirrors. Shelley found that it brought out the claustrophobic in her.
“Attention , Food-Mart customers: a news associate in Area Three will be beginning broadcast in five minutes,” the voice on the intercom reported, and then happily added: “Don’t forget the face-masks when you stop by our health and beauty booth . T wo-packs are on sale right now for only ten ninety-nine. Thank you for being a Food-Mart shopper!”
The lines moved slowly, but eventually Shelley made it to a register.
The cashier associate was young, probably just eighteen, and she had a smug look on her face. Shelley figured she would be smug too, if being a Cashier for Food-Mart was the best she could ever do. Shelley felt thankful to have the opportunity to be more than a Mart employee, and then it struck her that her mother’s income was what made it possible for both her and her brother to receive their requisite education s .
“What can I get you?”
Emily gathered up the cards and began to shuffle. Virginia and Olaf both motioned that they weren’t in the mood to play, and so she set up a game of solitaire with a shrug.
Chapter Nine
SHELLEY took the school shuttle past Housing to the exchange garage, where she found the direct l ine to the Food-Mart. Finding herself bombarded with the bulk of her mother’s chores, Shelley held strong as she carried George’s debit card and the burlap grocery bags through the dense shuttle crowd. Virginia had always gone shopping on Wednesdays, insisting that it was the best day of the week for all of the good sales, so Shelley too went on Wednesday.
She wore a surgical facemask and plastic gloves, as Corporate had issued a red alert. She had gone shopping with Virginia before, to learn the process. Still, entering Food Mart’s Grocery Division on her own for the first time was overwhelming. The colossal establishment seemed much more crowded than usual. Several lines of people wrapped around the different vending booths in confusing and erratic patterns. People pushed their way past one another. Music played over a loud speaker, helping to offset the noise created by so many people trying to speak over one another at once. Occasionally , the music would pause and a pleasant voice would take over the speaker to announce overstock specials, news associate locations, and random Corporate pearls of wisdom.
“Attention , Food-Mart customers,” the voice announced. “For today only, the canned meat product booth is having a buy three, get one free sale (limit two free items). And remember, a hard worker is a happy worker. Thank you for shopping at Food-Mart.”
Shelley pulled her list from her bag, struggling to orient herself as panic threatened to freeze her where she stood. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and began to look over the items on her list, which she had listed by booth. Virginia had taught her always to go to the inner booths first, leaving the outer booths for last in case a rush came in. Shelley got in line for the soaps booth, as the family needed shampoo and would soon run out of dishwashing detergent.
Food-Mart’s Grocery Division was comprised of three dozen large booths, each set with a particular type of inventory. The booths were each manned by four to six cashier associates, and they consisted of deep, open-backed shelves and bins from which the associates could pull the requested items. On the other side was a small warehouse, where stock associates would keep a steady line of product coming as quickly as the cashier associates could pull it. The cashier associates wore bright red polo shirts with the words “Food-Mart” printed above their nametags, and khaki pants. The booths each stood at roughly the same size. The uniformity within the massive room was almost dizzying, almost like standing in the center of a very crowded house of mirrors. Shelley found that it brought out the claustrophobic in her.
“Attention , Food-Mart customers: a news associate in Area Three will be beginning broadcast in five minutes,” the voice on the intercom reported, and then happily added: “Don’t forget the face-masks when you stop by our health and beauty booth . T wo-packs are on sale right now for only ten ninety-nine. Thank you for being a Food-Mart shopper!”
The lines moved slowly, but eventually Shelley made it to a register.
The cashier associate was young, probably just eighteen, and she had a smug look on her face. Shelley figured she would be smug too, if being a Cashier for Food-Mart was the best she could ever do. Shelley felt thankful to have the opportunity to be more than a Mart employee, and then it struck her that her mother’s income was what made it possible for both her and her brother to receive their requisite education s .
“What can I get you?”
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