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Saturday Shift

"...It's unbelievable," I heard Izzy yell. "The guy doesn't have a damn clue what he's doing."

"Bit much maybe," Dane replied.

"You're gonna defend him? Really?"

"Hey, I ain't defending anyone--"

"He's a fuckin' liability."

"Look, all I'm saying is..."

I could hear my coworkers loud and clear from out in the back office. Yeah, I might have only just that minute walked into work, but that's all the time I needed to get on their level.

After slipping my jacket onto the rack, putting my phone into my locker and adjusting my shirt for the sixth or seventh time, I felt ready to head out onto the shop floor in anticipation of another mental Saturday shift.

I grabbed the door handle, slammed it down and barged my way through. At once, Izzy and Dane spun my way, eyes wide and jaws hanging.

"Damn it, Marlon." Izzy huffed. "Thought you was him."

"Nah, you're good. Wrong mouse," I replied, turning from the panther to the wolf beside him. "All set for another day in paradise?"

"I'm beside myself. Really. Can't wait." Dane batted at one of the model phones on the display beside him. "Amazed you came back after yesterday."

"Much as I'd love to fuck this off for good, I need the cash 'fore classes start up again."

"I thought you were gonna swing for him at one point yesterday," said Izzy. "For real."

"Damn well coulda. Two weeks in and I'm done with him. Always hovering, panicking, picking hole in everything I do. It's getting old. Big time."

"Tell me about." Dane stepped away from the counter, arms folded. "Missing Lori like crazy right 'bout now. Can't believe head office moved her on."

"You know they demoted her as well?"

I jolted at Janelle's voice suddenly adding to the conversation, spinning around to find her in the doorway.

"Right?"

"What the hell," Dane barked. "First Marlon, now you. Springing up outta no place."

"G'morning to you, too," she shot back, strolling over.

"Gotta stop creeping round like that."

"No-one's creeping. Might wanna try using those big ears of yours."

"Ah, do one."

She grinned, turning to me next. "Had you going too, huh?"

"Pfft, not my fault you foxes are shifty as hell."

"He's gotcha there, J," Dane called, back to fooling around with the display phones.

"Hey, what was you saying?" Izzy cut back in between us. "Lori got demoted? For real?"

Janelle nodded. "I heard it from Tami over at Market Street. She's the supervisor there now."

"That's bollocks."

"You're telling me. Head office seeing things different as usual."

"C'mon," rumbled Dane. "Ain't no way we was underperforming."

"Things were chilled," Izzy added, "but we always put work in. Always."

"There's gotta be like three, four stores in Bromford alone with worse numbers, and all in places with way more footfall than what we got here."

"Hey." Janelle threw up her paws. "Don't go shooting the messenger. I'm just telling you what I heard."

I had to get my two pennies worth in, too. "Pretty sure none of those stores have Requorans managing them. Can't hurt."

All eyes flashed to me. Not that they stayed there for long.

The office door rocketed open, sending us all jumping in response. Our conversation died there and then; the four of us silently watching our manager, Travis, skulking out onto the shop floor.

He looked to us one after the other, like eyeing us up for the kill or something. The older mouse grumbled, not waiting long to fire off his first snippy question of the day. "What, no Becca this morning?" No answer came, prompting an angrier, "Anyone?"

"She switched to the afternoon shift," I replied. "Think she's got an appointment at--"

"Great," he snapped. "Looks like we're one down this morning. So glad she told me."

She had, and it was listed clear as day on the rota, but I chose to bite my tongue.

"The rest of you are here at least." We watched him march off behind the service counter. "Line up. Let's get started." He reached down for his stupid clipboard and pen, flicking through his even stupider notes. Honestly, Lori never needed this kinda junk for our pre-work meetings. Such overly formal crap. Right down to his perfectly pressed shirt, collar popped and buttoned all the way to the top like a complete prat. All work, no damn play--

"First things first. I need to remind you that smart appearance is_absolutely_ crucial." Another glare towards us. "This is a customer-facing role and how you dress, how you present yourself, is the first and most crucial impression you'll make..."

I think I tuned out in record time. Now, what would he pick on first? Would it be the pink highlights in Janelle's headfur? Maybe he'd go for something as stupid as Izzy's scuffed shoes, like back on Monday. All this excitement sure left me giddy!

"Marlon." Everyone turned to me. Oh good. "I appreciate this isn't the army, a convent, or anything like that, but long fur needs to be presentable." He jabbed his pen towards my chest. "Grooming is important. From your head to your neck to your chest."

Good god. Was he for real? Was he actually calling me out for having my head fur long? For keeping my scruff thick? Mate, I coulda blown all up in his damn face...

"I don't have to tell you that we're a long way below target. My being here is testament to that fact. But, if we pull together, we can get back on track--"

"Spare me."

"What was that?" Travis boomed. "Does somebody have something to say?"

I looked down the line, glad not to have been the first to snap. Shouldn't have been surprised to hear Dane pipe up to defend himself.

"Ain't nothing wrong with our performance." He took a step forward. "Our target jumped like five percent last quarter. Same the quarter before. How's that work?"

"It works because that's what head office expect of you."

"Yeah, and what if I expect to sprout wings and fly? Don't mean it's gonna happen, does it?"

Travis slammed down his clipboard, rounding the counter in a flash. Not good. "You can make all the smart comments you want..." He got right up in Dane's face. I seriously thought it was gonna kick off right there and then. "...But it doesn't change the fact that_those_ numbers are what you're judged on, and _those_judgements are what determines if we get our bonuses at the end of the month."

"Y'know, this don't help, yeah?"

"_What_doesn't?" Dane stepped back, but Travis didn't back down. "Well?"

"Don't need to shout."

"Excuse me for taking this seriously, but this team most of all should know what happens if you consistently miss target."

Dane hurried all the way back into line, ears folded.

"Now, does anyone else have something to say?" For the second time that morning I bit my tongue. No way did I want a repeat of that coming my way. "Fine. Then I'll continue..."

Unfortunately, that was just a taster of things to come. Travis didn't calm down any once we'd opened up the store. Nor did he ease up on any of the usual irritations.

He spent most of the morning hovering, interfering with anything he could stick his nose into. That in and of itself might not have been enough to get me worked up. After all, he wanted what the rest of us did: sales. Sales meant money, money met targets, and targets meant no-one else would wind up getting the same kinda treatment that Lori got. What really did it for me was the bossy, super stressed attitude he had throughout. It was enough to get my hackles raising, and send my own stress levels racing up so fast that they swerved past eleven and ploughed straight into twelve.

"In terms of a recommendation..." I picked up a neon green handset from its display stand, holding it out for the middle-aged stoat I was showing around. "This phone right here is probably my favourite."

She took it from me, giving it a once over. "Does this one have a camera?"

I kept the 'of course' that jumped to mind to myself. "It does... One of the best on the market right now."

"My daughter likes to take a lot of photos you see. Selfies I think she calls them."

"She'll certainly be able to do that," I replied, keeping my chuckle polite. "On top of that, it's one of the best performing handsets when it comes to reception. It's lightweight, but also sturdy and well-built. It's definitely top of my list for when I'm due an upgrade--"

"Does it come in pink?"

"Uh, sorry?"

"Pink. It's her favourite colour."

"Got it... I... don't think it does. Sorry."

She met my reply with a grunt. Into her handbag she dipped, pulling out her own phone; some big, black brick from a decade ago. Maybe longer.

Her purse came along with it. Against her wishes. It fell to the carpet, coins and cards tumbling out everywhere.

"Darn it." She bent down, rushing to gather everything up again.

I followed, grabbing up a few coins that landed around me. By my shoe, I spotted what looked like a contact card for... the 'Bromford Requoran Social Club'--

"Thank you," she snapped, snatching the coins from my paw and the card from the carpet. As she jammed it all back into her bag, my focus instinctively turned to her neck--

"Janelle!" Travis barked from across the store, jabbing a finger towards the entrance. "Go help them."

The customer along with everyone else in earshot turned to the vixen in the middle of the store. Janelle shrank back, looking around as if searching for someplace to hide.

The rabbit by the door hadn't taken it much better. "Sorry," I heard him mutter to her. "I'm just browsing."

Another masterclass from Travis. Top performance, really.

"Good morning!" Not that he was done there. Another customer an aisle across from me was his next target. "How can I help today?"

"Oh!" The otter in Travis's crosshair almost jumped out of their fur. Clearly unfamiliar with his typical 'one step from a heart attack' intensity.

"Is that the G200 you're looking at?"

"It is--"

"Great." His arm darted towards the handset, almost knocking it from the display in the process. What a complete shambling disaster of a mouse. "Let me tell you a little more about it..."

"I think I'll hold off for now," said my customer. "I can't get hold of my daughter, and I want to know exactly what it is she's looking for."

"Can I suggest some models for you? We have some others that might be of interest--"

"No. I'd prefer to wait." Great. Bye bye, commission. "Thank you."

I watched her turn and head for the exit. It didn't take long for the inevitable paw clamping down on my shoulder to come.

"What happened there?" Travis barked.

"What?" On reflection, I could have asked the same of him.

"You lost the sale."

"I didn't lose anything, I can't..." My tongue was sore with all this biting. "I tried, but she wasn't much for all the techno-spiel. Wasn't interested."

"You have to be more forceful." A shake of my shoulder was an example I didn't much appreciate. "Gotta work for it!"

"What d'ya want from me?" I shrugged his arm away. "I can't hold them down and make them buy something. If someone wants something, they want it."

"Excuse me." That got a few customers' attention. "That's not the attitude I expect."

"What attitude?" That got even more. "I'm just telling it as it is."

Out came that jabbing finger again. "Careful."

"What?" I squealed, throwing out my arms. "Tell me what I've done."

He kept that finger fixed on me. One hell of a glare, too. "Just... careful."

What the hell? Was he gonna try and spark me out or something? None of this made any sense. At all. Par for the course here. I stood there staring back, wondering where all this anger was coming from. Travis didn't feel obliged to give me a clue. Instead he just huffed, storming off out into the back. At least he was outta my face... even if he'd left a boatload of customers behind, quietly judging me...

Break time couldn't have come soon enough. Hard as I tried not to let all this drama and hostility get to me, it always had an effect. I saw to two, maybe three more customers before I took myself off of the shop floor. Not that remembered much about them. Mentally, I'd checked out the moment Travis upped and left in typically unstable fashion.

At least I had peace out here in the back. No customers to bother me. No boss to chew and spit me out over precisely fuck all. I was gonna do my damnedest to enjoy my hour away from here. Maybe take myself down the street to get something better than sandwiches for lunch--

A loud thump echoed out from the office behind me, stopping me in my tracks. Travis' familiar grumbling followed. That alone was enough to convince me to ignore it.

I reached for my coat, but again, a solid thud stole my attention.

"Damn it," I heard him groan, adding a few mutters I assumed to be yet more moaning.

My head told me to leave it. Why would I want to face the guy again until I had to? It wouldn't be anything major, so why should I care? Of course, the smallest, most niggling voice would be the one to tell me to go and check. Just in case.

Curiosity got the better of me. I left my coat for the meantime, padding past the rear exit in order to investigate.

"Travis?" I poked my head around the office door. "All good in--?"

What I found shocked me. Hard. It's there that I found him... Travis... staring back at me from atop his desk... standing frozen about the same height as his stationery holder.

"What the hell?"

"Close the door," he snapped. Well, he tried anyway. His shouting sounded more like a shriek. "Now!"

I did so, but not before I stepped inside. "You're Requoran." One more step towards the desk. "I didn't know."

"Wait there!" He squeaked, little finger jabbing my way. "Don't come any closer."

"Alright." I hung back. He didn't do much else than that. Just... waited... looking like how he'd made me feel not thirty minutes ago. "What are you doing there?"

Travis glanced down to his desktop, rubbing the back of his neck. "I lost something of mine."

"...Your cloaker?"

"No!"

"Okay." I lifted my paws. "Sorry. Only asked."

"Don't ask me how... but I've managed to lose a contact lens under the back panel." He got down onto his knees, trying to pry a paw into the space where the two sections met. "Figured it'd be easier to get it out like this."

He strained and struggled, yipping away in the otherwise silent office. God, this was awkward. Why didn't I just go out for my lunch?

The loudest squeak came as he flew back onto his butt, grasping the edge of the stray lens in his fingers. I decided against asking if he thought putting that back into his eye was a good idea.

"Thanks for the help."

I rocked back from the snark. "You did ok."

"The offer would have been nice."

"And what exactly could I have done that you couldn't?"

Here came that signature finger jab. "I told you earlier about your attitude--!"

"Y'know it's tough to act the hard nut when you're outsized by that fuckin' pen of yours." The gawk smacked across his face didn't stop me there. "You know that, yeah? off with all that hostility, please."

"What the hell would you know about it?" He jumped back onto his feet. Gained a whole couple of inches along with it. "About what's_hard?_"

"That don't matter a damn--"

"Hard is what Neotrians make it for Requorans. What right have you got to be standing there, lauding it over me?"

"Where's this coming from? I ain't lauding a damn thing!" I shook my head, stepping forward. The step back he took in reply, rushing to hold his cloaker ring ready, stopped me from taking another. "But could you blame me if I was? You've been on my case since you got here."

"How?"

"What you chatting how?"

"Tell me how I'm on your case."

I scoffed at him, holding up a paw to count out every single one of these damn 'hows'. "You constantly chime in when I'm with customers. You pressure me, give me a full-blown dressing down whenever a customer walks away. Outside of that, you explode over something every five seconds. That's not even to mention the meeting this morning."

"And what about the meeting?"

"How you went and starting picking on me over some nonsense like 'grooming'. I mean come on..." I swiped a paw through my head fur, sweeping it back from my shoulders. "This is something to get on my back about? Really?"

He fell quiet. Went within himself. "Alright, I'll level with you... I was trying to do a little digging with that."

"Digging? What you digging into?"

He seemed to scan the desk for something. "I've seen more and more Requorans keeping their fur long and their scruffs thick since Registration. Helps hide the damn collar."

"Wait." Those eyes on me softened. Mine along with them. "You thought I was Requoran? Seriously?"

His arms folded. "You make it sound like it's a bad thing."

"No, I'm... I don't think..." Even with Travis standing a few inches tall on his own desk, all the awkwardness here was mine. "Just surprised is all."

Judging by his smile, I think he could sense the same. "But yes, I did. Or at least, I suspected."

"Sorry to disappoint you, I guess." All this talk about it had me getting real self-conscious about my scruff. Enough to start it itching something chronic. "I just like keeping it thick is all." As I scratched away, my focus settled onto a whole different kind of collar. "The way you wear your shirt makes a whole lot more sense now."

Travis looked down. He loosened the top button to reveal more of his own white fur... and the registration collar cutting a path through it.

The door opened behind me, carrying on what seemed to be the theme of the day by catching me completely off guard. It forced me to turn and stagger away in one rushed motion, mindful all the while of my proximity to Travis. Izzy walked in, with Dane following right behind.

"Alright, mate," said the panther. "You seen--?" He zipped up fast, shock clocking him, and Dane, square in the jaw. They stared right past me, directly at the miniature mouse down on the desk. I'd have loved to have known their thoughts the moment they saw him there. Sadly, Travis made sure to leave little chance of that.

"Don't you know how to knock?" He roared... as best a naturally-sized Requoran could. "Bursting into my office like that, what's wrong with you!?"

The guys must've reeled off a sorry a second, retreating outside even faster than they rushed in. They pretty much tumbled through the door together; a sight and sound that started Travis huffing with laughter.

"See? It's not all about size."

"Never said it was." I glanced down over my shoulder at him. "Just saying you don't have to be so hard all the time."

"I do."

"No, you--"

"Listen to me." Calm as they were, the snap of his words stopped me fast. "I was moved three times in six months at my previous company. Not_once_ before that did I have my performance questioned... Before Registration. These days, I need to be twice as good to get half of the credit."

"I get you. Our last manager here probably would, too."

"Oh, don't worry. I know all about Lori. And I know I'm probably on a hiding to nothing here, too, but damn if I'm not gonna give my all to get this place into top shape. Because face it, 'getting by' might be enough for you Neotrians, but it's curtains for us Requorans."

Much as I'd have liked to, it was damn hard to argue with any of that. "Still... it wouldn't hurt to tone it down. Just a little bit." I settled into the chair across the desk from his. "Trust me, we're all still pissed over Lori, and shouting the odds all the time ain't gonna do nothing but get people walking out on you." Leaning forward helped bring me that little bit closer to his height. "Tell us what you want outta us, and we'll do it. We'll work for you.Especially if it'll defy the pricks at head office."

"I appreciate that." He let slip a hint of a smile. First time for everything. "I suppose I can try to dial it back a bit..." In another first, I experienced a gentle version of his finger jab. "Not that that's an invitation for you to put any less effort it."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

His shoulders shook with a silent snort of laughter. "I should get back to work with next week's rota."

"Might wanna remember your cloaker."

Travis opened his paw, peering down to the tiny ring shining in the centre of his palm. With a hard clearing of his throat, he looked back to me. "If you don't mind?"

"Right..." I jumped back out of my seat and made my way towards the door.

He took a seat atop the desk as I clasped the handle, returning to his cloaked height in the time it took to turn it.

"Marlon?" I glanced back halfway out of his office, watching him stand. "Thank you."

"No worries." I offered a smile of my own, leaving him to head off on my long overdue lunch break.

From there, things slowly got better for me at the store. The others, too, as far as I could tell. All the talk of 'walking out' and 'never coming back' became a lot less common at the very least.

It might not have been as fun or enjoyable to work for him compared to Lori, and hard as I tried, I couldn't stop all his micromanaging and sales 'coaching', but Travis did manage to dial it back. Also, those shop floor temper tantrums were a thing of the past, thank god.

To top that off, the biggest improvement that came after that chat of ours had to be the atmosphere around the place. Travis managed to talk us into this 'us against the world' way of thinking. To bring us all together and do whatever we could to stick it to the suits at head office. To prove that we weren't 'underperforming', or whatever other crap they tried to accuse of us. Plus, personally at least, I wanted to do what I could on behalf of Travis, and of Requorans in general. Hell, I wasn't an activist or anything close to that. No marches or protests for me... but treating anyone differently for something as stupid as height is bullshit, y'know? Just like Janelle's pink highlights, Izzy's scuffed shoes... or my long fur.

But, as great as all that was, what really helped me to look past my frustrations, to enjoy things there all the more, was the mad bonus I got at the end of the month. Because let's face, at the end of the day, a job's a job!