Franklin Checked his phone. It was 12:58.
“Ok, I really got to go.” He hurried to the back of the store even as James was making a wise crack. He had just enough time to turn off his phone and shove it in his locker before he clocked in. His manager, Dian, handed him a nametag and a pair of gloves.
“Here,” she said. “I want you to wear the nametag and the owner wants you to wear the gloves. Trust me, do it. Some of the stuff you’ll be shelving and pulling will be, shall we say, hazardous.”
“Uh, yes ma’am,” Franklin said hesitantly.
“So it’s pretty easy, like I said in the interview. For now, I just want you to put things on the shelves where they go. Every item has a tag that tells you what aisle. Some of them have a warning sign. Make sure those go with the right item.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Franklin said.
“Alright, go,” Dian said. Franklin took the cart full of things and started rolling towards the doors to the sales floor. “Oh,” Dian said. Franklin stopped and looked at her. “One more thing. If you see anything… strange out there, just come get me and I’ll take care of it.”
“Odd?” Franklin asked. “Like what?”
“Don’t worry, you’ll know it when you see it. Now go.”
Franklin ducked his head and pushed the cart on to the sales floor. He pulled the first item out of the cart. There was a tag hanging off its arm. ‘Toys- DO NOT HUG’ Attached to the tag was a larger sign. Seemed like an oddly specific warning to Franklin but he shrugged and found a place for it in the toy aisle. He put the charming old bear on a shelf at eye level.
The next thing in the cart was a lava lamp. Franklin took it to an aisle full of lamps. Several had sings that warned employees not to turn them on in the store. He found a place to put the lava lamp on a low shelf. No warning this time.
When Franklin saw the next item, he legalized he should have been looking a little more closely at what he was pulling out. It was barbie doll and had to go in the toy aisle on the other side of the store.
“Work smarter, not harder,” Franklin told himself. He riffled through the cart to find the other toys and set off to the appropriate aisle. He arrives to find a young man who Franklin guessed was maybe in college or just out of it. He had a roguish beard the matched his hipster like wardrobe. He was holding the teddy bear that Franklin had just shelved.
Franklin wasn’t sure if the man should be holding the toy, but as a new employee he wasn’t ready to confront a customer on his first day. So, he started shelving the items while pretending that he hadn’t noticed the customer holding the bear. Out of the corner of his eye though, Franklin watched what the man was up to.
The man was holding the bear up and staring into its eyes. He was talking, almost whispering, to it.
“You’re just so cute,” he murmured. “And so soft.” He stroked it gently with on hand. He brought it close and nuzzled the bear’s head.
Franklin averted his eyes, aware that the man hadn’t noticed him. Before Franklin could even think to stop him, the man pulled the bear in close to his chest, giving it a hug.
In a moment the man’s beard thing out and disappeared, leaving him smooth-faced and much younger looking. At first Franklin though that was all that had happened until he realized the man really was getting younger. His muscular frame thinned and he shifted from looking like a man to looking like a teenager. Franklin stared in amazement as the teenaged boy started losing height. His face rounded out as he dropped under five foot and as he dropped under four foot his pants slipped to the ground. In moments, where a man had been standing there was a preschooler hugging a stuffed bear and surrounded by his oversized clothes.
Franklin ran to the back of the store.
“Dian!” he called. “Dian! Something weird happened!”
Dian was sitting at her desk. With a sigh, she stood up. “So, what aisle?”
“The toy aisle,” Franklin said. “A guy turned into a little kid!”
“Uh-huh,” Dian said. “A lot of the toys do that. Alright, let’s go and take care of it.”
Dian led Franklin back to the toy aisle. The boy was still there, sitting on the clothes playing with the bear. His bare feet sticking out of the bottom of his shirt. Dian crouched in front of him.
“Hey there kiddo,” she said. The boy looked up at her with big brown eyes. “What cha got there?”
“Teddy,” the boy said.
“Uh-huh,” Dian said. “Why don’t we put the teddy back on the shelf? I’m sure I can find something much more fun for you to play with.”
The boy seemed hesitant but he handed the stuffed bear to Dian.