“You better be on your break,” Basil said as he headed out the door. “I’ve got to get back.”

Trinity sat down across from Amy and Ruth Anne. “Seriously, what did he want? Are you guys fired? You can talk to me.”

“Were you two creeping around the hall eavesdropping?” Amy asked.

“We’re gathering information that is critical to staff morale,” Trinity said.

“No one’s fired,” Ruth Anne said.

“Told you so,” Matt said to Trinity. “I knew they’d never fire Ruth Anne.”

Trinity stuck out her tongue, and she and Matt began to flirt-fight. Amy had heard that Trinity and Matt were hooking up, but she’d also heard the same rumor about Trinity and half the floor partners, male and female. She was the sort of revved-up party girl that guys found irresistible and Amy found irritating.

“I gotta go,” she said, standing up.

Trinity put herself between Amy and the door. “If you weren’t getting fired, what did Basil want? Do you have to do diversity training? Is he putting you on part-time? Is the store closing?”

“Sorry not to give you your daily allowance of store drama,” Amy said. “But I’ve got more important things to do. Like floor checking Tossurs.”

“Matt and I have used science to show that big changes are coming,” Trinity said. “Things in this store are approaching a crisis point. Any information you have will help us complete the big picture.”

“Seriously,” Matt said. “Is the store closing?”

“Come on, Ruth Anne,” Trinity said. “What happened? We need hard data.”

“I think it’s probably best if I don’t say anything,” Ruth Anne said.

“You’re killing us,” Trinity said. “You are literally killing us.”

“Good,” Amy said. “Maybe then you’ll stop being so annoying.”

And with that, Amy abandoned Ruth Anne to the two most irritating people in Orsk and walked back to her shop where she spent the next two hours comparing Tossur inventory numbers.

When her shift ended at four o’clock, Amy drove around for half an hour, then decided to get some sleep before the secret overnight shift began at ten. She couldn’t risk going back to her apartment without the money she owed, and Basil had made it clear she wasn’t getting paid until the overnight shift was finished. She was too embarrassed to nap in the Orsk parking lot with all of her coworkers walking by, so she drove a mile down Route 77, pulled into the parking lot of a Red Lobster, parked by the Dumpster, and leaned her seat all the way back.