Chase in the labyrinthine corridors of the mart

The job in that mart was quite flexible. Ken wasn’t aware of this though, because it was his first and only job so far. The workers go as a team, they decide what part to take: attending the box, cleaning the hallways, helping the customers to find what they are looking for, arranging the merchandize, etc. As long as you’re doing something productive and the co-workers agree, it’s fine. Changing shifts brings a few more problems, but it can be done easily if you really need to.

Due to his personality, Ken’s job was never helping the customers. He wasn’t friendly, everyone knew it and they were fine with that. So most of the time he was doing the cleaning and accommodating the products. However, attending to the box wasn’t a problem for him either. And since he never says no when someone asks him to cover for them in their spot, it was usual for Ken to end up there.

That day wasn’t the exception.

Attending the box is probably the most boring of all the tasks, but also the less tiring. And since his muscles still hurt a tad, he accepted gladly. Grab a product, pass it below the laser, check the price, calculate the total, get the cash, give the change if necessary. The exact same job that the one he was doing that day. The day it all began.

It was hard to think that it had only been two days ago when Mirena appeared in his apartment.

In his lonely and repetitive former lifestyle, the days flew by. One after the other, like identical dominoes falling in line.

But the days with Mirena were chaotic and unpredictable. A lot of things happened, and because of that, the hours seemed to stretch on. Living with her had its ups and downs; certainly it wasn’t as idealistic as he thought it would be. But in any case, he was slightly happy, even if he didn’t want to recognize it.

Because recognizing it would imply two things: he wasn’t so happy with his former life so much as he used to think, and he wanted Mirena to stay forever.

—I’m so obsessed with her that I’m hallucinating —he said while watching the monitor where the security cameras projected their images—. I’m seeing her coming in to the store by the entrance door. Ha, ha, ha! That’s so stupid! Yeah… Wait a minute.

It wasn’t a hallucination. She was there, undoubtedly.

Between the entrance and the box there were five meters of distance, but still he could see her. That red hair was unmistakable. He rubbed his eyes and she was still there, about to enter.

It was a catastrophe.

To live interpreting other characters was a very solid way to avoid conflict. It had only one weak point: If two persons you met with different characters get to know each other.

That was one of the reasons he chose that job: it was very far away from his parent’s house, so they would never go over there. Also, it was a store frequented by adults, so his school classmates didn’t go neither.

But now, somehow, Mirena was there.

“Calm down” thought to himself. As always, when his neurons are working to their full capability, the time seemed to slow down. “Your character towards Mirena is not so different from the one you use in the job. But…”

But she was dangerous anyways, because she knew his secrets. She knew about Sekaunmei and his otaku side. And since she doesn’t know he wants to hide it, it was very probably for her to over-talk. After all, she has no idea about what is socially accepted and what is not in this world.

He checked the hour. Still too early to ask for his lunchbreak.

He had to evade her. In the box, his movements were limited. He was exposed.

Ken looked everywhere, while Mirena was getting closer and closer. There were no co-workers at sight. He was panicking, but then he saw her. A girl appeared in one of the hallways, mopping the floor. It was pretty far, but since at that time the mart wasn’t crowded, he had a chance. He raised a hand.

Usually he is too shy to ask for a spot change, but he had no choice then. He raised his hand as up as he could, begging for her to notice.

Success. She saw him and came towards him. However, she was walking slower than Mirena. He had to slow her down, somehow. He thought, he thought as hard as ever. And then realized the answer was right in front of him.

The microphone. He pushed the button to talk, but instead, he gave a small bump. That caused a shrill sound to echo through all the mart. Everyone reacted to that awful sound, and Mirena even more. She stopped and looked everywhere, trying to understand what was that sound and where did it came from.

“Your curiosity gave me the victory!” exclaimed Ken.

At that moment, his co-worker came.

—Why did you called me? —She was confused, because Ken never starts the conversations. However, she was glad and willing to help.

—If I remember correctly, heavy merchandize is coming now, so I have to help with that. Will you cover me in the box?

—Of course! Tell someone to finish the cleaning.

—Okay, I will. Or maybe I’ll do it myself, because I’m not sure if the heavy merchandize thing was today or not. Thank you.

—You’re welcome.

He sighed of relief once he left the box. However, the problems hadn’t finished yet.

“This can’t be a coincidence, so she came following me. That means she’s not going to stop until she finds me.” And Ken knew better than anyone that she was a hard-headed and stubborn. It was going to be another long day.

It was 11:27, his lunchbreak was approximately at 12:00, and the exit time was at 16:00. Still 4 hours and 37 minutes to go. It´ll be impossible to avoid Mirena for so long. So if he couldn’t avoid her, at least he had to create the perfect moment, where both could talk together far away from any other employee. The lunchbreak was the perfect time, but for that he’d to survive more than a half hour.

He grabbed the mop and the bucket of water. In the hallways there were monitors showing the cameras, just like the one on each box. Using that, he was able to avoid Mirena over and over, without neglecting his work.

After some minutes, Ken saw through the cameras how Mirena was talking with another employee, Zack. Mirena’s extrovert nature was giving her and advantage. Of course Zack knew how to use the cameras, so there was no way Ken could keep doing the same thing without being too obvious in his attempt to evade them.

But he had other thing on his side: luck.

In the moment he was struggling to find a solution, another co-worker came towards him and said:

—Oh, Ken. Are you busy? A lot of electric appliance came and I need help to put them on the shelves.

In a fraction of a second, a plane of the whole mart was drawn in his head. The electronics hall was located in the eastern end of the building. Smart TVs were next to the wall, along with game consoles and loudspeakers. In front there were two shelves with a huge variety of household appliance. So, in total, it consisted of two corridors divided by one shelf.

To reach that hall there were four entrances: From near the 12th box, going in between of the school equipment and the cleaning tools area, or passing through the kid’s toys hall at the north (it connected with both electronics corridors).

—Yes, sure, just let me finish one more thing very quick —he said after planning everything.

—Okay, I’ll wait you there.

Taking advantage of all this information, he used the “danger, wet floor” signs strategically to cut the way through the electronics hall. That way, the area was completely closed, and since Mirena was accompanied by Zack, she wouldn’t pass over the sign like she would definitely do if she were alone.

That way, the 12:10 came. Almost every electronic was in its place. The plan was perfectly executed.

—I’m going to have my break now —said Ken to his partner­—. If someone asks for me, tell them I’m in the rooftop.

—You really like to eat there, don’t you? Don’t worry, I’ll tell them.

—Thank you.

Mirena’s perspective.

When she entered the mall, she was astonished by the dimensions of that place. She already saw huge buildings, both in Sekaunmei and in real life, but a whole building like that, only made for selling stuffs, was definitely new. The amount of resources the humanity managed to create in order to make their lives a little easier was amazing.

She was thinking like this when that strident sound echoed everywhere. She even had a headache and paused to think from where did that came from. Even the people of this world reacted, so she deducted it wasn’t something usual.

However, her interest in the sound disappeared when she saw Ken at the distance. He was leaving, about to walk into that huge labyrinth of hallways and merchandizes. She hurried to follow him.

For Mirena, it felt like a real labyrinth. Dead ends, similar places, returning to the same spot without knowing how, she suffered all these feelings and immediately became frustrated.

Luckily, she found another employee. He was called Zack, according to the sign on his chest.

—Hello Zack.

—Oh, hello ma’am. How can I help you?

—I’m looking for a guy that works here. His name is Ken.

—Ken? Do you know him?

—Yes, he is my… uhm… —Mirena, the newbie in the art of lying, couldn’t remember the story Ken created for her. It was so detailed that it completely vanished from her head. But Zack interpreted that hesitation in a different way.

—Ohhh, I see —said Zack with a mischievous smile—. Looks like even the coldest guy can find the love.

—Eh? Did you say something?

—Nothing, nothing. Follow me ma’am, we are gonna find him for sure.

Mirena shrugged her shoulders and walked together with Zack. He told her about the cameras, and using them they find out that Ken was in the electronics hall. She went there, determined, but Zack stopped her.

—Whoa, wait there. Look at the sign, the floor is wet.

Actually, Mirena had already read the sign, but hoped to get through regardless.

“Fuck, if I were alone I could have gotten in.”

So she waited near, until the signs were removed by another employee. She also asked him about Ken.

—Oh yes, I was with him some minutes before. He is in the rooftop.

Mirena thanked him and went to the rooftop, asking how was possible for Ken to reach that place without her noticing it.

12:18. He was eating a sandwich with water. A cheap and classic lunch. Nothing very luxurious but still delicious.

By watching the cameras, he knew were Mirena was waiting for him. But since he’s very observant and cautious, he also knew the cameras’ blind spots, which allowed him to leave unnoticed.

At that time, she appeared.

—Finally, I found you! —He was leaning against the security fence, looking to the city right above his feet. The mart was in the outside of the city, so it was very calm. Barely any cars were passing by, and the houses were smaller compared to the ones in the center.

He smiled because of how well everything went. It was a brief smile, that immediately was replaced with a surprised face:

—Mirena??!! What the hell are you doing here?!

—Heh, I followed you all the way and you didn’t notice. Looks like I fooled you.

“Fooled me? You’re the only one who is dancing in the palm of my hand.”

—Yep, that’s how it looks like. You win this time.

She went to his side, looking at the city and the blue sky. The air was fresh, and her hair was waving with it. Strands of red hair were getting into her mouth, and she pulled them out with delicate movements.

Looking at that mundane scene, Ken remembered how painfully beautiful she was.

—Why did you came here?

—I don’t know. I was bored.

—I’m working here. I can’t play with you.

—Working, huh… You don’t seem very busy right now.

—No, because this is my break. But I’ll have to go back right away. Please, don’t bother me, and any other employee.

—Okaaay. I’ll just look around. This place is huge.

Ken sighed. At least he managed to solve the problem very well. Nevertheless, he was still tense. There were three more hours to go, and he had the feeling that everything was not going to work out so well again.