A Toy Store (Alt Option)

As far as part-time jobs went, you couldn’t really complain. Working inventory and product testing might seem like a lot of maintenance, but you lucked out with this specific niche: a toy store. At age 18 you pretty much found the lowest-scrutinized job in this tiny little town. Think about it, kids don’t really play with toys anymore, and they’re definitely not going out to buy these dumb new female-led toy lines that Disney and Warner Brothers have been pushing lately.

Whole shipments of live action Disney Princesses, Harley Quinn and Wonder Woman, Rey from Star Wars and the ladies of Game of Thrones were sitting boxed up in storage right now, as was the fate of the latest order just in today, the entire surplus of new Captain Marvel figures, with every look she had from her solo movie up to Avengers: Endgame. After a half-shift of no customers, the manager straight up left an hour ago, only asking where a bunch of his office supplies went, before just shrugging and leaving you alone in the building. They had some kind of new AI interface that was supposed to change the game, but with how much it cost to make them vs how few people cared or bought them, you figured someone must’ve been fired for that. But to you, it was just one more box on your to-do list.

You just had one more inventory count to take care of, then you were free for spring break. Mom and dad were traveling like always, so you have the house to yourself for at least a week. You whistled to yourself and headed back into the warehouse, to…