After school, I began heading to work. It wasn't a long walk from the school to my work. Supermarkets are often close to schools and businesses for convenience purposes, according to my boss. He's an interesting guy. Oftentimes, he'll do the wrong thing on purpose so that people can correct him or fix his mistake. I think that he does that to make sure people are working but he does it so often. It feels like he just sifts through everyone's stations just to see how they're doing rather than actually helping. Still, he's always kind to me and generous with paychecks. He comes to the store as often as a regular customer and he always gives a tip.

Darkened clouds blotted out the sun. It may rain soon today. Though people often say that rain's a bad sign of things to come, it's always been refreshing to be rained on. Rain has always relaxed me after a stressful day or a painful event.

Just a few more blocks. I wonder if Thomas ever goes to the supermarket through this path. I'd imagine he goes to the grocery store instead. Milk is cheaper there. I've only gone to the grocery store myself when I'm already at the mansion since it's closer.

With a swift turn from the sidewalk, I was standing at the entrance of a downtown area... kind of. Unlike a big city, Ren has a stupidly small amount of places to go. If Thomas and I were to ever have a dinner date, I'd have five good choices, ten fast food places, and a couple of bad places. For a tourist attraction, there's more places to sleep and apartments than places to eat, which makes sense for a town popularized by sleep states and a dream watcher. Still, that makes the places to work way smaller in variety. Though I guess I wouldn't mind being a maid for a huge ten story hotel, I've always fancied myself as a cashier - until - I - finally - get - my - life - together type of guy. Most of my life has been financially focused so maybe after school's over for both Lisa and me, I can get everything sorted for once.

Ren is barely bustling or filled with cars. Even if there are cars here, there's not enough for a crosswalk to be necessary. Eventually, there will be absolutely no vehicles trekking through the streets except for a handful of lonesome automobiles. It didn't take long for me to find my way to the supermarket.

The supermarket is the opposite of remarkable. It's one of those generic stores that are fashioned after the city it's in, hence why it's called "Ren's Local Market". I believe it has an actual name but I think they're reworking it. Ever since I started working here, the name of the place has been missing from the store's front. Though the parking lot is huge, there's only enough to fit the whole town in it, ignoring the tourists. For Ren's largest market, it's about as big as a grocery mart someone would find in a remote part of the city. It's large for a small town but small for a big city and the quaintness of it is only amplified by the modest blues and purples for its color scheme. A dull supermarket with an odd charm taped onto it with effort yet a lack of haste. The only thing that's still there is "Ren's Local Market" and that's essentially its name to me. The original name of the store isn't even on the bags or posted around the aisles. It just is what it presents itself as: a boring yet attractive supermarket people are forced to go to.

I opened the two front doors as I entered another dead day with only a few people with me inside, not including my coworkers. The inside had a similar color scheme as the front but the floors and some of the walls were either a plain white color or tiled with white or creamy squares, just like the other few stores here. There was a section to the left where employees went to change into their uniforms that also functioned as a customer service booth while the right had the various cash registers. In the middle of all of that was the supermarket itself, which surrounded both of the sections. The left section was walled into a large square with a huge opening for both customers and workers to waltz into, which is just what I did.
This area had a desk to the left and a break room dead ahead. Customers usually come here to get money from relatives who live out of the city or to cash their checks. What I was more interested in was the break room, which I swiftly made my way into.

Despite how roomy the customer service booth was, the break room was tiny in comparison. The ceiling was much closer to the floor and the tables, tiled floors, chairs, and walls were either a bland white or a dull hue drained of most of its color. Sometimes, people are sitting in here when they're on break or having lunch but currently, it was as bustling as Ren itself. Nobody other than me was here. A staircase was nestled in the furthest left corner of the room, which I headed towards and quickly made my way up.

I made my way up into another generic room that rested above the rarely lively break room that had six doors, three on each side, that led to different changing rooms. My boss stood in the center of the room, glancing at me upon my arrival. He was a tall, well built man, though his body was usually slumped. There was a long, thin smile that spread across his face that emanated a unique, prominent calmness and sweetness that contrasted his towering height. His appearance comforted me. In a way, he was like a role model, someone who I might grow up to be visual-wise. With his smile contorting into a faint frown, he waved at me. Confusion filling me, I approached him. "Hey Spencer," My boss spoke softly, as if attempting to suppress something internally. "Was waiting for you to come..."

"Why's that, Boss?" I blinked. He hasn't ever told me something like that before.

"I have something disheartening to say," He sighed. "You know what downsizing is?"

"Making the team smaller," I nodded. "You mentioned that before. Does that mean𑁋"

"I'm being told to uh... lay you off," My boss mumbled.

My eyes widened. This job was the only thing that kept my living situation... situated. Now, I'm not able to keep it. I frowned. It's rare when I frown against my own volition. Frowning makes people react poorly or think the person that frowns is disappointed in them. I'm not disappointed.

I'm afraid. "Wh-what am I going t-to do...?" My lips sputtered words.

"You'll still get paid for this week," My boss replied, a meek sadness affecting his tone. "When you leave, you'll also get paid once more, since it's not like I'm firing you. You should still be able to live in that mansion for a little while𑁋"

"How long is that?"

He gave me a shocked stare before continuing, "I dunno. Depends on what you've been paying for it."

"Will Lisa be okay...?" Wet, spherical icicles slipped down each side of my cheeks.

"Your sister?" My boss sighed, gifting me a glance filled with disturbed grace. "...You should consider changing up your living conditions, if that mansion is such an issue. Most kids like you would be in an apartment𑁋"

"But my parents..."

"Your parents wouldn't hate you for it𑁋"

"My family𑁋"

"Look," He shook his head, a hand placed on his forehead. His eyes met mine. I could barely tell. Tears likely enveloped them. "Just... calm down, get to work, and I'll see you next time you come here. I'm deeply sorry that I have to do this but it wasn't my decision."

"Whose was it?" I swiftly asked.

"People above me," My boss answered. "Otherwise, I would've let you stay. You're one of my favorite cashiers. I wouldn't ever let you off."

"...I understand," I mumbled, stepping in front of one of the changing room doors. In reality, I didn't remotely understand. This feels unfair. This wasn't meant to happen. Whatever occurred to me just now was meant to occur in an entirely different timeline within a specific variant of my lifetime. In a matter of a month, I just won't have enough money to remain in the mansion. Everything other than my everything has grown unfair, unjust, and unreal. I hate it.

I don't remember opening the changing room door. It obviously was unlocked, since if it weren't, then someone else would be in here. The person who was in here was me, only me. Just my tears and me. Strictly me.

I put on my uniform. It was falling apart.