"Hey" he smiled at them after a quick glance before returning his attention to the items on the counter.
Sienna waved at him with a polite smile on her face, while Callie replied wearily, "Hey,".
"You should restock soon, and maybe consider adjusting prices in anticipation for market change" she said and Carter nodded, not failing to notice the relieved expression on the blonde girl's face as he scanned her last purchase.
"That will be four thousand dollars ma'am" he said, his face maintaining a warm smile.
"Ma'am," she groaned sarcastically. Digging into her purse she produced a debit card which he gestured for her to insert into the POS machine. After inputting her pin, the machine displayed a debit notification which she promptly confirmed. By this time, Carter had packed her items into two white nylon bag which he offered her as soon as the screen on his side displayed a successfully transaction.
"Thank you, have a nice day" he said.
"Likewise, handsome" she added the last as if an afterthought. A teasing smile on her face.
Pleasantly surprised, Carter watched her walk away and kept staring at the glass doors even after she was gone from the store.
"Before you let that get to your head know that she probably found the dust mask you have on amusing. Mockery or teasing, I'm not sure what that was, but don't be quick to conclude" Sienna poured cold water over his parade with a less than interested side glance.
Carter's expression immediately twisted into a scowl and he glanced down at the reflexive surface of the PoS Machine. The reflection was blurry at best but he could make out a darker skin tone that what he knew he had.
His scowl deepening even further, he turned around, heading for the staff bathroom which was the only auxillary room in the store.
Shrugging nonchalantly at his reaction, Sienna proceeded to take his place as some of the earlier group returned to checkout their purchase. Callie stared at her for a while eventually losing to the young girl's adorable smile.
****
The staff bathroom was quite simple, there were no stalls, instead it was more like a house bathroom. Carter stood by the window, rinsing dust off his face with the water. When he finished, he stared at his handsome face for a long while, his expression hardening as some unpleasant memories surfaced in his mind.
"Carter, this is my Mom. Mom? Carter, isn't he cute?"
A cold voice interrupted the seemingly cheerful memory.
"He looks like a wild porcelain doll but our family doesn't need vase"
****
Sighing, he splashed a handful of water on his face and as he wiped with a towel, his expression changed back to normal. At this time a chime resounded in his ears.
\
[Assignment Complete]
[Quest Update: Take advantage of the stirring unrest. Earn $1M and serve 100 satisfied customers.]
[Quest Progress]
[Earnings: $12,560 / $1,000,000]
\
"That's. . . Not easy" Carter blanked.
Feeling a rush of determination, he hurried out of the bathroom. He was curious to see what this system was and what it could do for him. To see that, he needed to complete the quest. From when he learned from the introduction, multiple people were chosen as Host Candidates and the first to complete the quest would get the system, the pressure was real.
Back behind the store's counter, Carter opened the drawer behind the counter to reveal a slick computer installed as if into the counter. He began resetting the prices of the things mentioned by the group earlier while simultaneously dropping the price of perishable foods. When he finished, he printed a list of the new price and went around the store changing the price tags on the shelves while Sienna helped checkout customers.
By noon, a truck arrived at the store carrying goods Callie had ordered for. The woman had decided to invest some her savings in Carter as a show of support for her son. Carter gladly opened the storage doors for the delivery men to unload while he supervised the arrangement of goods in the storage, not wanting it to be the same as when he father was running the store.
Walking back into he store with an exhausted expression, he noticed Sienna still as vibrant as when she arrived in the morning attending to customer. They never stopped streaming in after that girl and the group in the morning.
"You must be tired. Thank you" he said to her, sincerely grateful for her presence. Callie assisted a bit but had to go home to rest since he would be working overtime again the next day.
Sienna glanced at him with the corner of her eyes and flashed a quick warm smile while her hands simultaneously scanned the customer's purchase.
After packaging their items in a white bag, she glanced at him while waiting for the next person to check out.
"It's alright, just pay well." She replied.
Carter deadpanned, his brows raised at her as if asking, "Really?".
Night soon came, Sienna had fallen asleep sometime after he thanked her and he had to continue her work. It was past 11am when the stream of people died down, he had to change the door sign to stop more from coming in. After the last person inside had left, he drew down the antibuglary protector to cover the glass doors.
"Hey, Sienna. Let's go" he woke Sienna after packing up his books.
On getting home, Carter immediately washed up and collapsed on his bed, before his eyes closed in sleep, he checked his quest status.
[Quest Progress]
[Earnings: $113,230 / $1,000,000]
A satisfied grin graced his face as his eyes closed.
That night Carter had a dream, he was a mighty CEO owning a chain of many large stores and a familiar Redhead was begging him to see her mother again and apologizing for something. With a wave of his hand, the guards pulled her out and away from his presence. Then everything changed when Sienna appeared in his dream and a beautiful fantasy became a terrifying nightmare with the young girl's adorable grin.
****
Somewhere in the Universe
A small dark room sat as if suspended in space, the doors wide open. Around it a kieledescope of colors zoomed past forming parallel lines twisting and turning upon itself. Inside the dark room, the walls glittered as if countless glass squares were used to designed them forming an unsettling view. The glass cubes assembled into a wall reflected the keiledescope of infinite colours outside the room making the room's interiors glitter and glow, sometimes dimming when there was fewer colors outside.
"The System chose only one Candidate this time. Was it because of me?" a cold unfilling voice resounded in the empty room, the lights increasing in intensity, following the voice's tempo
A pair of eyes opened In the middle of the room, causing the lights to flicker and die, sinking the room in darkness, only two burning glows visible in it's emptiness .