4-9 at a donut shop (571 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 1.9 on 13 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by <Art> (View user info) at 2007-05-02 20:52:11 EDT
"We can't all be morning people." Said Steve with a grimace on his face, clutching his morning coffee, as if holding on to what few meager pleasures remained as inevitabilities to his livelihood.
Steve was the shift manager, and it was his responsibility to make sure each individual did their job, including Paul, the newest trainee. Paul was under the age of 20, so obviously he was going to be a problem, sitting on unopened crates in the basement with a deck of cards and a curious smell emanating from the Phillies Blunt loosely hanging from his mouth.
He had been formally and informally reprimanded by Steve endlessly.
But alas, there he sat every morning, tempting the mountain of ash collecting at the end of the strawberry treat to hit the floor with the cacophony of a screeching freight train, at least from Steve's perspective. As Steve sat in his back office for a quick game of Solitaire, Paul graced the register with his presence, providing customers with strawberry treats of their own...
"One dozen jelly filled donuts, and they're free because of the trouble you caused me last time!"
Paul's eyes scanned the woman, first glancing down at her blouse, and slowly making their way up towards her unforgiving scowl. A vague memory of steaming coffee stained clothing and spastic movement flashed through his mind, as if a dying light bulb were flickering.
He hung his head in embarrassment as he accepted the coupon being flung across the counter, like projectile humiliation.
"That door opens and closes too many times each day" he thought to himself as he watched the clock on the wall seemingly go in reverse.
A massive yawn stretched across his face, as tears of boredom swelled in his eye ducts; he opened his eyes to the smiling face of a co-worker, and the chiming from hell, from the door closing behind her.
Beth was an older woman, about 43, but may as well have been a dinosaur in Paul's eyes. She always had an ear-to-ear grin for everybody, the customers loved her, and because of her shining personality, she had clout with Steve, who usually left her to her own devices, rather than sticking his head through the office door momentarily with skepticism, which Paul was most accustomed to when he was on register.
"No thanks, I don't drink coffee!" she would explain time and time again with an effervescent smile. She would chat with each and every customer, and lavished the clientele with absolute adoration, particularly children.
"Are you a good little boy!?" she would inquire as she handed a donut hole to each child that walked through the door.
Paul looked at her with contempt. "She's so fucking old! ...and working at a donut shop; what does she have to be so happy about?"
A burning sensation slowly made its way to his brain, as he looked down casually at his hand, grasping a now overflowing cup of steaming chai. In that split second he threw the steaming brown liquid across the floor, spattering on impact, now dribbling down his hand and the counter, like rain droplets on a windowpane.
He grasped his hand, screaming obscenities. He took a moment to look around and realized that regardless of his overwhelming pain, he had no choice but to calm down, as he was staring in to the eyes of a red-faced shift manager and an elderly woman, clutching her two grandchildren, as if she was staring in to the cage of an atrocious beast.
Quickly he slinked in to the bathroom, muttering as he ran his pulsating hand under ice cold water. He came back to his workstation to find Beth on her knees with a rag, cleaning up the bubbling mess. With guilt immersing each and every forced syllable, Paul managed to summon a thank you.
"We all have our days!" said Beth in a preoccupied, yet genuine manner.
Before awkward silence broke out, the bell from hell chimed, as a soccer mom hastily made her way to the counter, with a little girl, no more than seven, not far behind. Beth saw Paul, slouching towards the countertop, and quickly stood to her feet, with her sweetness and seniority giving her the right of way.
"One large coffee and 50 donut holes; that will be $13.25 please!" As the woman shuffled through her coin purse, Beth looked down at the little girl, giving forth the unspoiled innocence and purity of youth.
"Why, aren't you pretty! Have you been a good little girl?" The small child replied with a healthy nod and a gap toothed grin.
With a gleaming smile, Beth reached for a napkin, and from a container offered the girl a treat. With wide eyes, and overwhelming stimulation, the child gleefully accepted, only after observing a condoning smile from her mother.
It had happened a million times before, but Paul's patience was shrinking at the same rapid pace that his annoyance was growing. Twelve mucus filled cups of coffee later, it was finally time for Paul, Beth, and everyone else to punch out for the day.
The employees wearily walked towards their cars, with Paul impatiently leading the herd. Steve locked the doors behind him and cocked his head to the sound of wailing sirens.
Four police cars swerved in to the parking lot and the officers quickly leapt from their vehicles. Paul quickly reached in to his pocket to ditch the few meager grams he had in his possession and braced himself for impact as he closed his eyes, however the moment of darkness was never interrupted, and Paul opened his eyes to see Beth face down on the ground, the cops delivering a full onslaught, with blood pouring from her lips as she laughed maniacally.
Once she was restrained and cuffed, the officer pulled her purse from her side and emptied the contents on to the ground; out poured a barrage of donut holes.
The officer holding the purse immediately called for backup. Moments later, a paddy wagon with police hounds verified what the officers feared most. Beth was thrown in to the back of a police car, bloody, broken, and bruised.
A later search of her apartment would turn up more than enough evidence to prove her tampering, as well her intent to take the lives of seventeen children over a seven month period: a series of syringes full of hydrogen cyanide were all that remained, lying on a solid oak, flour drenched cutting board.
User Reviews
Submitted by TheUniter (user info) at 2007-05-03 21:07:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by Davros (user info) at 2007-05-03 11:59:32 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Pretty damn good.
Wandered a little bit at times, but nice ending.
Overall a +1.5 but I am in a good mood.
-Dave
Submitted by FALLEN (user info) at 2007-05-03 08:24:44 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
or coffee, for that matter.
Submitted by FALLEN (user info) at 2007-05-03 08:24:08 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Damn!
Never trust extra happy people and never, ever trust those that do not drink cooffee.
Submitted by czwij (user info) at 2007-05-03 05:59:08 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
didnt see that coming at all.
wow.
Submitted by sexualchocolate1984 (user info) at 2007-05-03 05:40:34 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
This was just awesome!
Really captured the boring atmosphere of the job and caught me totally off guard with the ending!
Damn good show old chap.
Submitted by Wildman (user info) at 2007-05-03 02:49:08 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by Franger (user info) at 2007-05-03 02:10:15 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Knew the police had to be there for Beth, had no idea what for though, I thought maybe just a drug dealer or something
Submitted by Amontillado (user info) at 2007-05-03 00:08:39 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
weird
Submitted by Benny (user info) at 2007-05-02 22:55:14 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I actually thought Beth might be handing over poisoned donut holes....that's why I said I was a bad little boy.
Submitted by obscenehaiku (user info) at 2007-05-02 21:45:40 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
"He hung his head in embarrassment as he accepted the coupon being flung across the counter, like projectile humiliation."
I would just like to say that projectile humiliation is now one of my favourite phrases- although I'm partial to anything containing the word "projectile".
Anyroad, I liked this. It was well-written and I didn't see the ending coming at all.
Submitted by darko (user info) at 2007-05-02 21:20:21 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
needed more rape
Submitted by St_Jimmy (user info) at 2007-05-02 21:18:30 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Outstanding!!!!
The ending really caught me off guard.
Excellent job!