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I arrived at my new job bright and early the next day, nervous at what
I might find, but glad for the free coffee. (Munchables were fifty percent off. Cheapskates!) Having worked at
similar positions in the past, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Mindless work, after all, is the same from one
job to the next. It wasn't until the end of the day that something strange occurred.
I was cleaning up in the back of the store when I heard a strange noise coming from the wall behind me. It was
muffled and just barely audible, but it was there, nonetheless. I pictured the layout of the store in my head and
realized that the wall I was hearing things from wasn't abutting any other store. Only the other two walls did
that, not counting the wall that was adjacent to the storefront. Again, I sensed something wasn't right.
Since I was alone in the back, I walked over to the wall and placed my ear against it. Still muffled, but there
was definitely something happening on the other side. But how to find out what was another question; perhaps one
I didn't necessarily want the answer to. I did know one thing, though: there was no way to find anything out, there
and then. I'd have to wait until I was alone and couldn't hear any noise coming from behind the wall. Then at least
I could snoop around. Of course, I didn't even know how to get back there in the first place, but where there's
a will, there's a way. I simply had to be patient and bide my time.
I wouldn't have to wait long. I was asked to open up the next morning and was given a key and the security code
to get in. I suppose they were very trusting at Starbucks. Then again, what was there steal, other than some day
old danish? The money left with the manager every night. Now all I had to do was sneak back there before the store
opened and have myself a good look around.
***
I arrived an hour before my actual shift started. That would give me plenty of time, I figured. (Or prayed, at
any rate.) If something amiss was indeed going on back there, losing my job was the least of my worries. Still,
someone had to do something and that someone might as well have been me. After all, I didn't have anything else
occupying my time.
I went to the back room and again pressed my ear to the wall. No noises, this time. I sucked in my breath and knocked
gently on the wall. Definitely not a solid wall, I realized. But how was I to get on the other side? I tapped up
and down and all around, and nothing happened. I couldn't feel any seems or handles to pull on. There was, it appeared,
no outwardly way in. There was, however, an underly way in.
I noticed it just as I was about to give up and go grab a day old muffin. (Screw that half off nonsense. I was
all ready in up to my neck, what were a few more inches?) The floor beneath me was tiled. Perhaps one of them lifted
up to reveal a way behind the wall. Sure enough, one tile easily came up and off, revealing a small, silver knob.
With my heart pounding, I gently turned the knob. Instantly, the floor in front of the wall started to shift downwards,
creating a short staircase down. Not exactly the technology you'd expect at a Starbucks, I thought.
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