Not a smalltown girl

rōnin was a fair coworker over at sunrise, he was someone who carried the team when needed and at the bare minimum he did his share of the work. he would never be content with letting the others pick up his slack, especially when he had people on his team who had suffered the worst by being victims in the attacks. rōnin thought that it was inhumane that the victims had to go back to work in the places that a lot of them almost saw the end of their lives, and if anything, he thought that he should even be doing their share of the work, all things considered.

but with all of that being said, rōnin wasn’t one who liked to judge others. he didn’t need to put more negativity into the world when it was already so full of the absolute worst, so typically, he didn’t. alice wasn’t rushing to tend to his returns, but rōnin didn’t bother worrying about it as he didn’t think she needed to; it’s not like it was affecting him, to wait until he had left to get to the work. he would have preferred her not to be an employee who didn’t leave the work to the others, not when so many of them like bo and orwell had almost died in this very building, but he thankfully knew nothing of her intentions. 

“i would love to have some juicy details to share with you, but unfortunately we’ve never really talked about you.” he shook his head. “i mean, he talks about work sometimes, but we’re both such big fans of films that we usually get stuck into talking about what we’ve been watching lately, and outside of that, we see each other most at home so we just talk about what’s going on around the apartment complex, talk about his partner or his cat or something.” he explained, only to make alice aware of the fact that the absence of her name in bo’s mouth wasn’t likely a bad thing. “but on the bright side, at least that means he’s not saying anything bad.” he added light-heartedly with a laugh. 

She couldn’t help but wonder how it felt, to be seemingly content with the life you had. It was a comfort that she had never known, she was always itching for something more and even when she reached that something, she still craved more. She often wondered if perhaps she was one of those who was destined to want more than life could ever grant her, no matter what that was. She’d dreamed of travelling, maybe falling in love with a stranger for a few weeks and seeing the wonders of the world, but instead she found herself at Showtime, where the only excitement was the stories in the films. 

She glanced at the movies that were returned and nodded her head. “Some good selections here,” She stated honestly, having watched most of them herself. If the humdrum of her daily life got too much, she could always escape into a movie or a book for a few hours. “Why didn’t Bo just return them when he came in?” She asked curiously. “Or did you see me and think I needed some excitement? If so, I should really thank you.” 

“Yeah, from your dreams.” Hector smirked as he walked into the store and went towards the section closest to the register. “My cousins do love Dumbo but I think we’ve had enough of that. I’m definitely looking for something with some explosions and action. Exciting but mind numbing shit. I still need to get something animated though. Always have to have something on deck for babysitting duties.” That and even if Hector wouldn’t admit it, he loved Halloween. Sure shit was spooky enough around here already but the spirit of it and watching some classics with his band of cousins and siblings had always made him happy. And he loved a good costume.

“You just having a shitty day or did someone come in and annoy you cause you know, I could kick their ass.” Even if she didn’t always remember him, with how often he came in and out of Showtime, he certainly remembered her. With a few possible films in his hand he went towards the counter with a smile. “You eat lunch today?”

Alice quirked a brow at him but shrugged her shoulders, slapping her hands down on the book. “If you’re looking for some mind-dumbing shit, you can never go wrong with Friday the 13th. You have sex, you die, best to remain a virgin for the rest of your life.” Though she loved her horror movies, she’d always had issues with how people like her were portrayed in horror movies, always the first to die and if the current situation in town was anything to prove, she definitely wasn’t the first to be hacked to pieces. 

“We still have some copies of Mary Poppins left and The Lord of the Rings.” Nodding to the book still resting on the table before shrugging her shoulders. “Depends how much you want to traumatize the kids, we also have Oliver Twist. My mother used to threaten to send me to an orphanage like Oliver Twist if kept my behaviour up,” leaning across the counter slightly, like she was about to share a big secret. “but it was even worst, I got sent here instead.” 

Max was convinced that whoever wrote the schedule only put him and Alice on shifts together when they really, really had to, because it was something that seemed to happen about once in a blue moon. Given what they were doing now instead of work, it probably made sense, at least from the perspective of their coworkers.

“I think you could - “ Max said, but he didn’t finish his sentence as the videos fell. “Well, I guess that question answered itself.” He said with a shrug, leaning on the counter. 

He had been absolutely delighted when Alice had applied to work at Showtime. They’d met when Max had first moved to town, angry and fresh off an expulsion from his old school, and looking for trouble, and had become fast friends. 

“Believe me, if I had any actual good ideas, I would have done them by now. How long until we close again?”

Alice continued to lay on the front desk, glancing at the delicate gold wristwatch and groaning loudly. “Five whole hours.” Really, it wasn’t that bad, but the way Alice was acting, it may as well have been the end of the world. Though the shifts with Max were always her favourite, they were few and far between, so she always tried to make the most of it. Getting up to as much mischievous as she possibly could, she knew their co-workers no doubt hated coming in after they had a shift together, but it kept them from going insane. 

Though she’d never admit it aloud, she now considered Max one of her closest friends. There had been a kinship the moment they met, full of anger and frustration and masking that behind shenanigans and expulsions. Sometimes the angriest were the ones who made the most significant show about being okay. 

Alice & Max 

Alice giggled softly as she sauntered through the video store, balancing the stack of videos atop her head, her hips moving to the soft music playing in the background. Letting out a laugh as the videos almost fell, making even more mess for them to clean up later but it was better than actually doing work, the jobs that they were actually required to do. “How many do you think I can stack before it goes to shit?” She asked curiously, hands going up to stop any videos from falling before actually letting them to fall with a loud bang around her.

Shifts with Max were always her favourite, it was the one time at work that she wasn’t greeted with disapproving looks either for something that fell out of her mouth without thinking or something she did, like when she decided to make a fort out of the video cases rather than placing them on the shelves. Ignoring the videos on the floor and skipping to the edge of the desk before propping herself on it with ease and laughing once more, laying across it and letting out a dramatic sigh. 

Technically Devin was supposed to be at work. She’d been there already for a few hours and had gotten through a decent chunk of the tasks she had at hand, leaving her with plenty of time to go do something else for a bit. After slipping out of the radio station, Devin had ambled her way on over to Showtime to see about getting herself something for after work that she could play on her NES. Barreling into the door with a bright grin, Devin was amped up for both a break from her job and a peek at what might be on the shelves. 

Brows lifting a bit at the greeting, Devin gave a small chuckle, hand lifting in a salute. “You got it, boss. No Dumbo, no Critters. I think I can live with that,” she assured the other woman, bouncing over towards her direction. Eyes catching a glimpse at the book on the counter, Devin’s smile grew a bit wider, her excitement leading her to tumble over against the counter. “You read that before? It’s pretty great, huh? I’ve read it like…a few times. I don’t even read much, but this one I did.” It was a small thing to connect with someone over, but the book lent itself entirely well to Devin’s interests and she’d used a lot of Tolkein’s lore as inspiration for her own Dungeons and Dragons games. 

“But um - maybe from here probably. I come in like…sometimes. A lot. I  guess a lot. I was lookin’ for something to rent for games tonight, if you have anything new maybe?” she questioned as a hopeful smile lifted her lips. 

Alice could already tell that the girl was the type to find everything exciting and cool. Perhaps the opposite of herself, someone who was always looking for the next thrill, anything to get out of her own head or to escape the endless loop of boredom she found herself trapped. Even with a maniac running around, she almost wanted the thrill of having to escape that type of situation though she would never utter that aloud, not with everyone on edge. 

Leaning forward, a smirk on her lips as she pulled the book away slowly. “I thought it was a book about how to bag a rich husband,” she uttered before laughing softly and shaking her head. “I mean what other prospects does a woman have other than marrying rich?” Quirking an eyebrow and trying to maintain a straight face before dissolving into laughter once more, clearly entertaining herself as opposed to helping a customer.

rōnin hadn’t originally planned on staying in shrike heights, not when it became apparent that the first attack wasn’t going to be the only attack, but he found himself feeling glad that he had stuck it out and been brave enough to continue to reside here regardless of what was happening. in shrike heights rōnin had found himself at home, and two years later, he couldn’t ever imagine leaving all of the people who he now considered to be his family. 

one of the people who rōnin considered a favorite in shrike heights was bo turner. it was a shame he hadn’t met him sooner in his life, back when he was reported to be a whole barrel of laughs and maybe too much fun, but regardless, rōnin was appreciative of any version of his neighbor and now good friend that he had in his life. bo was the reason why rōnin had come into showtime in the first place; he wasn’t expecting to see him working there, having seen him at their shared apartment complex only ten minutes earlier, but he had a stack of videos that belonged to both himself and the turner-vogt household that were in need of returning. 

he walked up to the counter with a smile, welcoming alice’s question. “from here maybe?” he questioned, putting the stack of tapes on the counter. “i come in here all the time, films are like, my favorite thing ever. but i’m also friends with bo, so maybe you’ve seen me hanging around a bit?” he shrugged his shoulder. “or else i’ve been living here for a couple of years, so you’ve probably just seen me around. shrike heights isn’t a very big place.”

Snapping the book shut when the stack of videos was placed on the table, letting out a dramatic sigh at actually having to do some work. Reaching them and placing them unceremoniously in front of her but not making any bother to start returning them, that could be a later job or for the person doing a later shift, it wasn’t uncommon for Alice to leave work for others. Even the most simplest tasks while working seemed like too much effort for the blonde to complete. 

Scrunching up her nose at his reply and shrugging her shoulders. “Could be both.” She answered bluntly, leaning back onto the desk, tucking her chin in her hand once more and smirking at the male. “Does Bo ever say anything about me?” She asked curiously, she never shied away from some workplace gossip, even if it came from an outside source or she made it up herself. 

music was his main media of hyperfixation , however it wasn’t unknown for pj to delve into deep detail when it came to speaking on his favourite movies . jaws , gremlins , bill and ted’s excellent adventure — conversations with the male were dangerous games , especially if you were somebody with tight schedules or upcoming appointments . once the male began , it was impossible for him to stop ; his brain was a rolodex of pointless facts , of easter eggs and cameos and obscure quotations . 

entering showtime that afternoon , philip john bolton was on a mission . him and his girlfriend had bonded over their love for the tiny , shin-high , hairy creatures in gremlins , the coffee-brown mogwai’s that were infuriatingly cute , enough to bring a tear to the eye of the most heartless of watchers . the idea had hit him as he was navigating the circuitboards at the radio station — a date night , with popcorn and slushies and the movie that started it all . with the ring of the door announcing his presence , the male’s nose scrunched at the insinuation he would be renting any of the missing titles . 

“ i’m looking for a copy of gremlins , if you have it , “ spoke the male , although he was quickly distracted by the collection of rainbow-coloured candy at the counter , positioned to coax children ( and juvenile-minded men , it seemed ) . a brow cocked , before a glint of recognition in those cowlike eyes of his . “ don’t tell me you’re the big sleep’s first ever groupie ?? “ 

Alice popped the piece of gum that was in her mouth before slamming the book shut and sliding it beneath the counter. The last thing she needed was the rumour spreading that Alice Howards liked things like fantasy, she still had a reputation to live up to and it did not involve rereading Lord of the Rings. Glancing up at the figure that walked in, still trying to pin where she knew him from, he didn’t seem like a regular at the store, though maybe she could be mistaken about that too, she wasn’t exactly one to pay attention. 

Arching a brow at his question. “I said Critters and Dumbo, no mention of Gremlins so we have it.” She replied bluntly, pointing in the general direction in which the highly popular Christmas (and yes, it was a Christmas film) resided. “Though I personally think the Crites from Critters are actually cuter than Gizmo,” shrugging her shoulders. “What do I actually know.” 

Alice had always pictured her first job as glamorous, maybe interning at a magazine in New York. Where she was surrounded by elegance and far away from Shrike. She hadn't expected to find herself wearing a polyester polo and surrounded by the sickening smell of candy and worn furniture, a scent she wasn't even too sure how it got there in the first place. Yet it had been the only job she had been able to secure since getting fired from her last one for too many sick days.

The frayed copy of Fellowship of the Ring was laid out on the counter of Showtime as Alice flipped over the page. Working a day shift on a weekday was always the most boring, full of either old people with no lives or perverts trying to discreetly rent some porn, not even bothering to glance up when she heard the ring of someone entering the store. "Welcome to Showtime," she muttered under her breath, her eyes scanning over the words, her chin resting securely in her right hand. "Just to let you know we are all out of copies of Critters and Dumbo, so sorry to disappoint if you're looking for those two today." She muttered, flipping the page once more and letting out a bored sigh.

florence pugh, bi-sexual, female + she/her ― hey look, alice howards! she’s twenty-four years old, she’s lived in shrike heights for ten years, and she’s currently working at showtime. i heard she’s pretty abrasive, but i think she’s so loyal at the same time. can she make it out alive?