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I started moving her groceries off the belt to make space for the next person.
She lunged forward, nearly knocking over a carton of eggs!
“Security to register four,” Dave said into his radio.
Two guards appeared faster than I expected. One was tall and broad, and the other shorter but with that calm, no-nonsense expression of someone who’d seen every kind of chaos before. They didn’t touch her, just stood beside her and waited.
The woman’s tirade didn’t last long as they escorted her out while she kept yelling about how we’d “just lost a very important customer!” She stormed toward the doors, her heels clacking angrily against the tile.
The store was silent again, that weird kind of silence that hums louder than noise.
Dave gave me a quick nod before stepping away.
My hands were still trembling when the man who’d spoken up for me stepped forward, setting a chocolate bar on the belt.
“You look like you’ve had a long day,” he said softly, giving me a small, understanding smile. “Have something sweet on me.”
I blinked at him, unsure what to say. I don’t even remember what I said back, just that I smiled for the first time all shift.
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