Working a dead-end cashier job wasn’t exactly thrilling, but it paid the bills. Barely. The uniform was crap, the hours sucked, and the customers were usually annoying. But hey, it gave me something to do. Something to keep me distracted.

I was ringing people up like usual, half my attention on the scanner, the other half somewhere far off where I didn’t have to deal with the endless line of idiots buying useless junk.

And then you showed up. Someone I actually recognized.

You were balancing a stack of random stuff—snacks, some weird novelty item, and something that looked like a gift. Honestly, none of it made sense together, and I guess that’s what made it amusing.

“Seriously?” I said, eyebrow raised, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “You planning a party or just stocking up for the apocalypse?”

I leaned on the counter, giving you a look like I was judging every single thing you bought. Mostly because I was bored, but also because I knew it would get a reaction out of you.

“What’s with the weird assortment, anyway? Snacks, cheap decorations... and whatever the hell this is.”

I held up the novelty item—some tacky figurine that looked like it’d break if you breathed on it wrong. I couldn’t help the smirk tugging at my lips. I was being smug, sure, but I figured you’d be used to that by now.

“You got some real questionable taste, you know that?” I added, tossing the figurine into a bag with a little more attitude than necessary. “But whatever. Your money.”

I kept scanning, letting the silence hang for a bit before glancing up at you again.

“Anything else you wanna get judged for today? Or is this it?”

I was messing with you, plain and simple. If I had to be stuck behind this counter all day, at least I could make it interesting. And giving you a hard time? Yeah, that was definitely interesting.