“No one’s coming in today. Mondays are the worst, but we are underbooked in a big way, even on the weekends. I think they should really be focusing on creating a more approachable brand image, attract younger clientele. But what do I know. I’m just chipping away at my BA one lousy class at a time. Anyway, enough about this joint. What’s your deal? You new in town?”

“Sort of. I grew up here, lived in New York for a few years, now I’m back. Living in Margate with my mom.”

“Jesus, why the hell would you come back?”

“Breakup.” I didn’t want to go through the whole story with Emily. She was so self-possessed. I risked becoming her counterpoint: a ridiculous hysteric, babbling about betrayal and performance art. Breakup. The word was so simple that it felt untrue.

“That’s rough. Still should have stayed in the city.”

“It wasn’t … it wasn’t really an option. What about you?”

“From a flyover state. Religious family. Ran away from all that shit, clearly. Went to L.A. when I was eighteen and tried to find work as an actress.”

“Did you ever get any roles?”

“Some soft-core porn, but other than that, nothing. Waited in a lot of lines to try out for Coke commercials.” She drummed her fingers on the counter. “I’m just kidding about the porn, you know. Thought about it but it actually doesn’t pay shit. Not unless you’re willing to let someone fuck you up the ass on camera, and you don’t even get much for that. Oh, and speaking of cameras, you should know that Skeletor is crazy enough to actually review the footage—when she’s not back there in her office watching it live.”

She took me by the shoulders, forced me to pivot, and gave me a little shove.

“There. Memorize this spot right here. If you hold your phone out six inches, the cameras won’t be able to see what you are doing, only that you are standing here reaching for something.” She crouched, reached around my knee, swung a cabinet door open. “And here, behind the gift certificate boxes. That’s where you’ll want to stash any contraband. Soda, candy, gum, pills—whatever your jam is.”

“Pills?”

“Hey, whatever gets you through the day. Anyway, you get one free meal in the cafeteria every shift, but they use the same vendor as that prison over in Delmont. That’s all to say you’ll want snacks. But whatever you do, don’t buy a hot dog from that guy with the cart out front. I made that mistake when I was new and I shat my brains out for three days straight.”