Evan let out a sigh as he placed the bottles of water on the shelf. He had an idea of what was waiting for him when he got to Aisle 5. That aisle had all of the tomato sauces and other sauces for pasta. He had cleaned up that aisle countless times since working at the store. It was such a pain as it always cut into his time from finishing up his other duties. Since Evan was the most recent hire, he was always told to clean up the aisles as no one else would do it.
He grabbed the walkie-talkie from his hip and pressed the button on the side of it to speak. "Copy." He walked toward Aisle 5 to get an idea of what he was going to have to deal with. As soon as he stepped into the aisle, Evan let out a groan of despair. There was tomato sauce all over the floor and what was worst was that there was a small child who was standing in it and laughing. The little boy's shoes were covered in the sauce and he was stomping in it. Next to him was his mother who was talking to Evan's co-worker Grace in an apologetic voice. Grace saw Evan and gave him a sympathetic look.
The little boy laughed with glee as he kept stomping in the tomato sauce. He was having the time of his life as the sauce splattered on the other products and even on his clothes. The boy looked up at Evan and giggled before running up the aisle. His footsteps left a trail of tomato sauce prints on the floor.
"Bobby! Stop that this instance!" The little boy's mother shouted at him. "Look at the mess you are making!"
The boy laughed and kept running around. Evan sighed and retreated to the breakroom to grab the mop and bucket. When he stepped into the breakroom, he saw several of his co-workers lounging about and laughing. His manager was with them and laughing the loudest. Evan's manager was chubby with short brown hair and always wore suits. He was in his early 30s and had been working at the store since he was 16. He acted like he was a big shot and would talk down to those he deemed inferior to him including Evan. His name was Todd and he had several favorite employees like the shift supervisors that he gave special privileges to. One of the shift supervisors was sitting across from him and grinning from ear to ear. Her name was Maura and she was in her mid-20s and she was tall and very skinny. She micromanaged everyone. She did not do any work at all but would make sure everyone that she was in charge of was working their butts off.
Maura saw Evan and looked at him with that grin still on her face. "Did you hear about the cleanup on Aisle 5, Evan?"
Evan nodded. "Yes. I am going to go clean it up now."
"Make sure that the aisle is spotless and that you put the signs out to prevent anyone from slipping and falling," Maura said.
Evan grumbled under his breath. "I know."
"What was that?" Maura asked him.
"I'll do that, Maura," Evan said in a fake chipper voice.
"We don't want anyone suing us for a slippery floor. If that happens, we are taking that money out of your paycheck!" Maura laughed which caused other people in the break room to laugh too.
Todd guffawed. "Better make sure those signs are out, Evan, my boy!"
Evan grit his teeth and did not reply. He walked to the closet where the cleaning supplies were and grabbed the mop, bucket, and signs. There was already dirty water in the bucket which no one wanted to change. He wheeled it out and still heard Maura and Todd laughing. Evan wondered why he was still working at this horrible place. He had been at Mikey's Store of Everything for about two and a half years and it was absolutely terrible. He liked only a few of his co-workers and that was it. He knew that he needed the job as he was trying to save up to get out of town.
As long as Evan could remember, he had wanted to leave his small town of Sedona Ridge. It was a sleepy town and was incredibly boring to Evan. Nothing ever happened there! He lived with his unhappy parents in a small dilapidated house. His family was poor but his father had been born into a wealthy family but he had squandered all of his inheritance before Evan was even born. His mother would always mention that to his father during the heat of the many arguments that they would have when they were home.
Both of his parents were always gone as they were either working in an adjoining town or hanging out with their other unhappy friends. They didn't have time for him. If Evan was being honest with himself, they neglected him. Weeks would go by without him even seeing or speaking to them. He practically raised himself.
Evan had a variety of jobs since he started working at the age of 16. He mowed lawns in the better areas of his town, helped pick up trash, shoveled snow, and also had a paper route for some time before working at Mikey's Store of Everything. The money was never enough as he had to buy food to feed himself, pay for the bus ride to school when he was in high school but now for work, and to also try and save as much of it as he could. His dreams of leaving Sedona Ridge always felt out of reach.
While in high school, Evan had hoped to get scholarships to go to a school far away from Sedona Ridge but juggling working and going to school was difficult. He had always been a star pupil but once he started working more, his grades slipped and the only school that accepted him was the local community college that accepted everyone. Evan chose to pick up more shifts at Mikey's Store and that was his life.
Evan wheeled the bucket to the aisle and groaned again as he looked at the mess. A cart had even gone through the tomato sauce on the floor and wheel marks were all over the floor. Evan began to mop the floor. It took a while before he was able to get all of the floor cleaned up and the signs put out at the ends of the aisle. His shirt was drenched with sweat in the hot store. He was wheeling the bucket back to the breakroom when he walked into Grace. She was leaving for the day as her shift had ended. Evan had a crush on Grace ever since high school. She was Mexican with very pretty with light brown eyes that always made Evan feel warm inside when she looked at him. She had long brown hair that she kept in a bun and was short and petite. She had a beautiful laugh that always made Evan want to hear it often.
She was two years older than him as she was 21 and had always been kind to him since he started working at the store. She gave him a sympathetic smile now as she saw him drenched in sweat and pushing the bucket. "How are you doing, Evan?" She asked him in a soft voice.
"Okay. You're done for the day?" He asked her. He was suddenly so aware of himself and wondered if he smelt from sweating through his shirt.
"Yeah. Are you getting off soon?"
Evan shook his head. "No, I'm closing tonight."
"But didn't you start work at 8 am?" She asked him in surprise.
"yeah, but since Wallace and Bryant called out, I am going to stay later," Evan said.
"Damn, that sucks!" Grace said and shook her head.
Evan chuckled. "It's okay. I get some overtime pay which is nice."
"Don't kill yourself working here, Evan," Grace said. She touched his arm with her soft hand and it made Evan feel so good inside. "Take a break when you can. Don't let Maura and Todd work you to death, okay?"
"Okay," Evan was touched by Grace's concern. Her light brown eyes looked at him with so much warmth. "I'll keep that in mind."
"I'll see you tomorrow, k?" She said. Her hand was still on his arm.
"Okay. Have a good night."
Grace smiled at Evan. "You too." She then walked away to the exit. Evan watched her go and felt a strong urge to call out to her. But what was he going to say? He couldn't tell her that he had a crush on her. She had a boyfriend that she had been dating for several years! He watched her step through the doors of the store and then he let out a sigh and wheeled the bucket back to the breakroom. Todd was in his office and had his feet up on his desk with his cell phone in his hand. He was grinning as Evan passed by him. There was loud laughter from Todd's cell phone and he began to laugh too. Todd's laugh was loud and obnoxious. Evan tried to ignore the sound of it. He poured out the dirty water in the drain and then put the mop and bucket away.
For the rest of his shift, Evan worked to put away all of the products from out of the bins. There was so much remaining that he was exhausted by the time the store was closing. He couldn't wait to get home and fall into his bed. He helped Maura close the store as Todd had left already and then he walked toward the bus stop. Maura walked to the parking lot and got into her car and peeled out of it.
It was dark, cold, and dreary outside. It had snowed the previous night with an accumulation of about three inches on the ground. Evan had to be careful as he walked but kept sliding on the ice patches on the ground. His thin coat could barely keep the cold at bay. He shivered as he walked. He was so tired that he could barely keep his eyes open. Several times, his vision would get blurry with sleep as he walked. The bus stop was two blocks away and it felt like a real trudge.
He was crossing the main intersection when a car slid on a patch of ice on the street. The car was speeding and it caused it to spin rapidly toward Evan who was several feet away from the opposite sidewalk. Evan stared in fear with his heart pounding so hard in his chest as the car spun toward him. There was the sound of the brakes which was deafening to Evan's ears but the car would not stop. It slammed into Evan and he shouted as he was lifted into the air. There was immediate pain that shot out through his body as he flew several feet. He landed on the hard ground and slid on a patch of ice before coming to a stop. Evan heard screams and loud voices as everything went black.