The blaring of an alarm clock awoke a younger man from his bed, the fading evening light slowly pouring in through the windows of his bedroom. He looked over to see that it was 9:00 PM, only an hour before his shift at work started. With a sigh, he climbed out of his bed, scratching at the patchy growths of facial hair along his neck and chin as he walked into the bathroom. For a moment, he only stared at himself, his eyes dull while he looked from the messy dirty blonde hair on his head, then his shorter, slightly pudgy frame beneath it. He was Taylor Montana, a 31 year old man born and raised in Houston, Texas. Taylor looked around the inside of the bathroom, noticing the dust and grime gathering and thickening around the space. This bathroom had been the same one he had started his day in for nearly every day of his life since he could remember. He remembered days spent here during his school, where he readied himself for his AP exams, for the college courses he took while in high school, yet now… "...where did it all go wrong?" Taylor thought, brushing his teeth before turning around and grabbing his Grocer's Supermarket uniform. "I thought I had it all lined up for me. I'd get into a good college, coast through with some scholarships, then… then make something of myself." Taylor sighed, stepping over in front of his computer desk, looking between the eccentrically colored PC rig placed on the side of the desk, some stickers of various characters from Kantai Collection placed along its glass and front. It had been some time since Taylor last turned on this device. He looked down at this grocery store uniform, a frown tugging at his lips while he pulled at the shirt and vest. "There's so many cool new games out, but," Taylor shook his head, stuffing his wallet into his pocket and beginning to walk out of his bedroom. "I just… haven't had the ability to play them. Every day, it feels like I'm coming home from work with less and less energy." Taylor thought to himself.
After walking through his parent's home for a moment, Taylor came across his father, seeing the older man sitting at a kitchen table with his mostly eaten dinner across from him. He looked up at Taylor with a slightly disapproving expression, crossing his arms and leaning back in his seat. "Heading to work?" Taylor's father asked, Taylor nodding his head in response. "Yeah." "Still ain't got no girl, huh?" He spat, Taylor raising his eyebrows, thinking for a moment before managing an answer. "I… s - sorry, dad, it just… hasn't really been a priority." "Oh? Well what is your damn priority, boy? Working that damn minimum wage job?" Taylor's frown deepened, him rubbing anxiously at his own wrists as his father continued to berate him. "You ain't got no drive boy, no nothin'. You just coast by every day, doin' the same shit and expecting something to happen. Well lemme tell you, son, nothing's gonna change." "What… w - what am I supposed to do? I have to work, I can't just - " "Fuck you mean 'what am I supposed to do'? You're a grown ass man, Taylor! Been living off of me and your mama for over 30 years, and you still ain't got shit to show for it." Taylor exhaled deeply, nodding his head as he began to walk towards the house's exit. "...s - sorry. I have to go to work." "You better figure this shit out soon, boy. Your rent is gonna be comin' up soon, and I think I need to up that shit by another 100." Choosing not to protest such a decision, Taylor only stepped through the door and shut it behind him, walking over to his car and plopping down into the driver's seat. He remembered times when his relationship with his father wasn't so bleak and latently hostile. He remembered his father's pride when he saw Taylor's performance in schooling, about how many dreams his father had in Taylor succeeding in college and achieving a well-paying job with a big, beautiful family. The teasings about Taylor dating his coworkers gradually grew less comedic as the years passed, turning to talks about how his father had already had a family whilst Taylor was still living with his parents. Taylor didn't necessarily feel wrong about still living at home; after all, a lot of his coworkers around his age were doing the same. But being constantly reminded about it, about how far behind he is in life, it only struck Taylor with a sense of despair. "...probably didn't help that my dad found my Esdeath body pillow last year." Taylor thought, a slight, self-deprecating chuckle leaving him as he pulled into the parking lot of his job, readying himself mentally for a second before going to clock in.
"Alright, so…" Taylor's manager began, clicking her long, red nails together as she gestured inside of the warehouse, aiming her hand at the semi-trucks backed into its entrance. "We gonna need you on that truck, get that done before lunch. And then - " "W - Wait, you want me to unload a whole truck? Is anyone helping me?" Taylor asked, looking down at his shorter and older manager, reading the name Fayth on it past her braided, slightly greyed hair. "Taylor, honey, you been working here for almost 10 years. I think you can handle that little truck by yourself, I mean…" Fayth shrugged. "It's got, what… like 3 or 4 pallets worth of stuff in there?" "Yeah, but you… y - you want me to do it in only a couple of hours." "I do, so," Fayth snickered, waving her hand towards the trucks. "You better get to it." "Wait," Taylor let out, Fayth turning back towards him and tilting her head at him. "Can we, uh… talk once I'm done, though?" "Sure thing, honey. But get on them pallets now, okay? Okay." With a sigh, Taylor nodded his head, taking a sip from his bottle of water as he readied to begin sorting the goods from the truck's cargo onto pallets. While he worked, he looked around the warehouse and the grocery corridors leading out from it, seeing a couple of familiar faces, but mostly new ones amongst his coworkers. The amount of employee turnover he saw at the store was always surprising, though he couldn't say that it was without reason. The poor scheduling, the even poorer management, always being on their feet every second of the day, even Taylor contemplated just tossing off his vest and leaving every time he clocked in. He knew he could likely find somewhere that paid better and didn't torture him with constant switches between 1st and 3rd shift, but Taylor simply couldn't find the energy for such a thing. This Grocer's Supermarket position clearly didn't have any growth, nor any expectation for Taylor to stay any longer, but Taylor still clung to the idea of coasting day-by-day, finding a faint comfort in the stability.
Exhaustion wracked Taylor's body, and he felt hunger clawing at his stomach ravenously, but through great effort, Taylor managed to unload the truck before it was time for lunch. He almost felt a sense of pride from this, but as he stepped towards Fayth's office, he knew that any happiness he felt would be quickly squandered. After a knock on the door, he heard Fayth's voice allowing him in, Taylor opening the door and stepping inside. "What's goin' on, Taylor? You getting ready for lunch, ain't ya?" Fayth said with a smirk, Taylor shrugging, laughing softly as he sat across from her. "Y - Yeah, I guess. But - " "Oh, you got them pallets done, right?" "I did." "Good, good. Now, what you wanted to come in here and see me for?" Taylor sighed, rubbing at the side of his neck for a second as he gathered the courage to speak. "Well… you know, I… h - haven't really used any of my PTO or sick days this year, and…" Taylor swallowed, Fayth eyeing him suspiciously as he continued. "I was wondering if maybe… I could use some of my PTO next week?" "Huh? Whatchu need to use PTO for?" Fayth questioned, Taylor shrugging his shoulders before he explained. "I just… you know, I've got some… stuff at home to take care of, and maybe I could just… take the week to maybe relax and all that, too." "Hehe. Honey," Fayth shook her head and pushed her chair further into her desk. "You can't just be requestin' PTO for no reason. You need to, like… actually have something wrong that you need the time off for." "C - Come on, Fayth, please, just… j - just one week. I won't use any more of my PTO, I just need a while to… to relax." Fayth clicked her tongue, clicking her nails together while looking Taylor up and down. "Well… see, that ain't exactly my problem, honey. What is my problem…" Fayth held her hands together, finger-tenting while she continued. "Is that we don't got anybody to cover you for them days. Most our third shift is still getting trained, and if we ain't got you to check 'em, then," Fayth chuckled and shrugged her shoulders. "We might as well just not have nobody for them days." "I, but… I d - don't know if I can show up next week, Fayth, I'm sorry." Fayth's expression became more stern, her eyebrows furrowing while the slight smirk on her lips faded. "Well, you better figure something out, Taylor, cuz if you don't show up next week, well," Fayth snorted. "You better not show up any weeks after. Cuz your ass will be getting fired. We've got holidays coming up, and we can't afford no backlog right now." Taylor looked a little confused by her statement, narrowing his eyes as he spoke. "Huh? It's… i - it's August, though." "I know what month it is, honey. We've got Halloween coming up, then it's Thanksgiving, then it's Christmas right after," Fayth shrugged her shoulders, turning back and forth in her seat slowly while leaning back. "You should know this by now, Taylor. Now, uh," Fayth cleared her throat. "You're clocked out, right?" "Uh… n - no, but - " "Oh, so you're clocked in while you're standing there yapping away in my office?" Fayth questioned, Taylor wincing, slowly beginning to stand up from his chair. "Yeah, that's gonna be a formal warning, Taylor. Now go get your lunch, and once you're back, go get on the front. Our new guy running the register just quit, so you gonna need to pick up the slack, okay?" Taylor sighed, nodding his head as he stood up and turning towards the office's exit. "Okay." Taylor replied, Fayth nodding, waving him away before going and picking up her phone.
Resting his hands in his pockets, Taylor walked across the street and towards a chinese restaurant. There was little he looked forward to in his job, but one thing that always felt like a perk was how close it was to Bellaire and the Chinatown district within it. Every other day, Taylor came to this district for his midnight lunch break, visiting the same restaurant each time. Walking up to the store simply named "China Bistro", Taylor walked in to see his typical order of black pepper beef already awaiting him, Taylor looking over to see the older man working the story simply giving him a wave, recognizing him as the owner. "For you." The owner stated, poking his finger down on top of the styrofoam container. With a smile, Taylor reached into his pocket, stopping when the owner shook his head and waved his hand away. "No money. For free." He warmly spoke, Taylor nodding his head, his smile widening while he took the food. "Thanks, Zhao." Taylor said, Zhao giving him a thumbs-up, watching as Taylor turned around and left the restaurant. Though his day had been draining and monotonous so far, the act of kindness was enough to lift his spirits, Taylor walking out of the district with a newfound energy and back towards the grocery store.
The walk back was surprisingly pleasant, Taylor finding himself lost in the city lights and how they softly shone along the dark, starry night sky. Despite being so late into the night, the city was still fairly lively, people walking up and down the sidewalks while the occasional car passed by. Taylor felt almost refreshed as he took in his surroundings, him letting out a relieved sigh as he began to walk across the street, opening his takeout container and inspecting the food within. "...huh." Taylor let out, reaching in and seeing a couple of extra egg rolls inside. "Maybe I should talk to Zhao after work. I know there's a bit of a language barrier, but…" Taylor looked over in the direction of the Chinatown district. "He's always been a nice guy. Maybe - " Taylor's train of thought was interrupted when he heard a deafeningly loud truck horn blare out from behind him, his eyes widening as he quickly flipped around on his heel, seeing one of the semi trucks hauling the goods for Grocer's Supermarket speeding down towards him. Before he could even fully register what was happening, Taylor's body was crushed beneath the frame of the truck, his body contorting at painful, mutilating angles as his legs were flattened beneath its tires. A howl of pain left Taylor's lips, turning to a raspy, dying breath as he felt his blood quickly drain out from the tears in his body. His vision blurred as he looked down to see bone jutting out from the injuries in his legs and arms, the truck driving over him and stopping, with the driver quickly hopping out of it. "SH - SHIT!" The driver shouted out, a couple of horrified shrieks leaving the passerby as some went to dial emergency services. The adrenaline coursing through Taylor's body made him mostly numb to the pain, but the feeling of his life fading from his body was still present, Taylor's vision darkening as the last thing he saw was the bright flashing of red and blue lights.