Shoplifters Will Be Persecuted
Chapter 5 – The Juniors Department
”Regional vice president is visiting today! Everyone on their best behavior! No more whistling or hooting!” Mia ordered as she was locked into her normal coach’s pose on top of one of the benches so that she could stare out over the entire department.
The arrival of a VIP meant that Lauren, as one of the department’s best sellers, got to be in fangear. While the revealing jersey/dress was beyond skanky and she would never have cheered for the Lakers in her life, she got to be next to Jason and that was worth any discomfort. She could sense how close he was and imagine herself holding his hand- if not more, as she was lined up with one leg slightly bent, hands high in the air, while Jason was in full Trojan gear. But despite the impending vice-president’s arrival, the day went on as normal. Lauren couldn’t resist telling cheerleader stories, while Jason couldn’t resist teasing her about her old Kentucky home.
In the mid-afternoon, the RVP arrived in a coal black skirtsuit and sharp black heels that all but scraped the floor as she walked. The salespeople scurried in horror as she walked through each display, scolding everyone in sight. That would have been more intimidating thought if Lauren were still real, but she felt immune; she couldn’t see the RVP holding any cell phone or PDA, so as far as the RVP was concerned, Lauren was just a hundred pounds of solid plastic. But the woman eyed every mannequin up and down, measuring everything to the millimeter. Something started nagging at Lauren, and she tried to place exactly what it was.
”Why so nervous, babe? She can’t hear us. No computer,” Jason said.
”Not that. I’m trying to picture her in plastic.”
”Whoa! Didn’t know you swung that way!”
”Not like that, you perv. She looks a lot like someone who was one of... well, us. Blonde, snobby, very serious, sometimes downright mean, and she’s got the same shape. I thought she was older, but it’s hard to tell under all that shell. No way. I think that’s Ashlynn. She was my den mother on the escalator. Real piece of work. I thought she was gonna be a denizen, but I guess they let her loose. Why am I not surprised she didn’t leave the store when they got her out of her shell?” Lauren mused, trying to shake off the weirdness.
”What? That’s pretty freaky. I mean, I’ve seen some familiar faces coming back as salespeople or one of the window dressers. Not anyone I knew well, but... but a regional vice-president for someone who was plastic a few months back. I think someone’s getting a little lonesome for freedom and imagining-”
”Shut up!” Lauren interrupted, seeing the RVP whip out her BlackBerry.
“I thought you would recognize your opportunity eventually. Excellent. I’ve heard nothing but the best from everyone. It’s time for you to move into fashion,” the RVP said in a flat, drab voice, and Lauren’s heart sank. That would mean leaving Jason, especially if this was Ashlynn; there was no way Ashlynn had the heart to let Lauren and Jason stay together.
But every thought was visible on the BlackBerry, and the RVP read the words without a flicker of expression. “Ah. That explains that. There’s no shame in it. If he’s behind your top sales performance, it doesn’t make sense to split up a winning team. Say goodbye to the rest of the dumb jocks. You’ve earned it,” she said, as if unsure what to make of Lauren’s so-called sales being due to her brain being attached to Jason. But Lauren would take the moments of comfort and escape, since they were all that kept her sane, and she was relieved that she would be able to keep her companion even if she didn’t know what to expect in the next department.
Before leaving, the RVP struck a familiar pose, one that Lauren remembered from the escalator. “And I remember you well, Lauren. When you walk again, it will be with me.”
Part of Lauren wondered why Ashlynn never mentioned her own name, especially as arrogant as she was- but the rest of her was busy worrying as the prod forced her into a standing position and two of the blue jumpsuits wheeled her off to a back room. At least Jason was by her side, and the sight of him kept her from panicking. Then they laid her flat on a table, and her connection went away, leaving her in total silence and darkness.
The scream in her mind was still echoing when her vision returned; panic had slowed time down to feel like hours, but when she looked around, she realized she had only been out a few minutes. And she understood why as her new eyes scanned the room. The colors were different and sharper. They must have given me new eyes. Oooh, they cover more ground than just in front. I forgot what it was like to have peripheral vision! But the excitement dimmed after a moment’s thought. Great. I’m a security camera now. They’ve got me looking for thieves. Or prey. That must be how they got me. If they’re putting me on one of the popular floors, they must be worried about shoplifters.
“All done. Our apologies for the blackout. I hope you weren’t too afraid, but it’s for the best. You’ll be excellent at fashion. Welcome to the big leagues,” Ashlynn said condescendingly as Lauren was turned towards the mirror. Everything was intact, although the torn daisy dukes, knee-high boots, and white cutoff tee made her wish she was dismembered. She realized that she was headed toward the juniors department. Thrillsville. The land of empty heads and emptier customers. She looked for Jason, but she couldn’t see him, and guessed that he was getting the same treatment as she had. Her vision cut off as she was wheeled into the freight elevator with four other girls in the same uniform, all chattering excitedly.
The juniors department was agonizingly loud. Lauren wished they had taken out her earpieces, but if anything, they’d made them stronger. The bubblegum pop made her wish she could throw up from the beginning. She saw banks of televisions showing music videos and other teenage junk and felt a pang of loss for her adopted Dodgers. She felt herself being hoisted on stage with the other girls and mounted in line right in front of the department’s denizen, a pop star princess in sparkling jeans with a three-digit price tag and a tube top that hardly covered anything.
”Hi, girls! You’re with me until you learn our department! You’re here to be your sexiest, and you totally don’t know what that is yet, but don’t worry, you will! The customers here want to be as hot as possible, so you have to be that much hotter! And we’re hot plastic to begin with, so this is going to be a total blast!” the denizen said with giggles in between each statement. The voice sounded familiar, but Lauren couldn’t place it for a moment.
”Oh, God, I’m going to puke. And I thought the denizens in linens were messed up,” someone’s thought buzzed in Lauren’s brain.
”You too? I think I know her- oh my God, that’s Ellie! She didn’t last a day on the escalator, she was just that... that...” Lauren trailed off trying to find the word.
”Yeah, most denizens are,” the other girl replied, and Lauren could feel agreement coming from the rest of the newcomers.
”And that’s me!” Ellie announced with a squeal. ”Oh my God, you’re Lauren from the escalator! I thought you looked familiar, but there are so many people! So glad you’re here! You better sell those shorts! Summer never ends in LA, so no excuses, okay? This is gonna be so fun! Let’s see- oh, I know just the thing!” Ellie said with a giggle that Lauren recognized too well from high school; she was going to be on the receiving end of some less than pleasant treatment. She tried not to think about it, wondering if she would really see Jason again, as Ellie’s rambling put her to sleep.
But the blasting music was not helpful in achieving the total disconnect she yearned for, and she came to slowly and begrudgingly as she watched the window dressers and salespeople walking through the aisles, getting everyone ready. She wanted to shudder when she felt the prod behind her knees lowering her into a squat, then into her chest so she was leaning back onto her hands, with her head high in the air in a physically improbable position as she stretched. Her new eyes could still look over the scene, and sure enough, there was Jason across the wide aisle, wearing nothing but a tight pair of jeans with the other construction workers in his display.
”What, no dayglo orange jacket?” she teased. She didn’t know she could reach that far, but she could tell that if she could see someone that she could direct her thoughts to them like a tap on the shoulder, and she did get a clear view of his chest from being that low.
”Wow, sexy!” Jason replied. Lauren thought of a smile. He was always interested in the girls’ exotic poses. And his teasing tone didn’t come across with the distance between them, but she could tell that he was joking.
”Thought you’d like your boyfriend looking right up between your legs! Now use that hot pose to sell now!” Ellie ordered- if the empty brain in the plastic shell could be called Ellie anymore. Lauren was no fool. She knew that by how quickly Ellie surrendered that there was nothing left of who she had been. If she walked through that door and saw herself now, would she be happy or mortified at what she’s become? Did she ever want to look like the next pop tart out of the toaster?
But the doors opened in real life and Lauren set her mind to her work, chatting with Jason, letting her past taking over, and acting like she wasn’t humiliated to be in such a degrading pose. She could see the young girls lingering, chatting, and striking poses of their own, and she started to wonder if Bonnie was right about their thoughts being used to broadcast under the music, but she stopped short, not wanting to think of herself as something out of a horror movie. The day wore on until one brunette with a smirk that screamed trouble shoved a few tank tops into a shopping bag from another store. Lauren wanted to look away for the girl’s sake, but she had no control over her eyes. The store, or the computer, or whatever owned her shell, did, and she locked on the shoplifter with perfect aim. Put that junk back and run like your ass is on fire! she prayed, hoping that at least that thought would get through to the brunette, but instead, the brunette went for one last tank top. Lauren’s eyes darted to one of the salespeople lurking in the racks, and the brunette fell to the floor as the salesperson darted her. Lauren heard the music pick up in volume as the salesperson whisked the unconscious shoplifter to the back, and then things went back to normal.
”Well, isn’t that why they gave us those eyes? So we could do that? At least it’s a gentler way of handling them? Talk to me, Lauren,” Jason said to her, but she would have none of that.
”I made someone like this,” she replied in anguish. If she still had the ability, she would cry; as it was, she felt the urge and had no way of expressing it.
”First catch of many! Learn to love it! It’s the only excitement we get around here,” one of the other girls said. Lauren couldn’t tell who was speaking, and she didn’t much care, but the other girl continued, ”Sorry, I’m Alana, death from above. You must be Lauren. You knew just had to do. You didn’t let your panic cloud up the interface, just calculated where you needed to look. Good focus. Salesgirl had a bead on her in seconds and had the needle in the haystack within a minute. Couldn’t have been any cleaner if we’d done it for the displays. Think about it this way: she gets to wear those tank tops for years to come. Don’t be too shocked if you hear her thank you if she ends up here.”
Lauren could tell that this Alana was a veteran from her sales pitch voice and calculated nature, but she seemed more like Ashlynn and the den mothers, not Ellie and Mia, who might as well have been robots. At least there was something human in Alana, even if it was no one’s friend. Lauren kept trying to withdraw in remorse, but all she got were virtual pats on the back, even from Jason. She felt herself pulling away, and in the same way, she felt Jason trying to pull her close. ”God, and I thought they were joking when they said the clothing industry was toxic,” he said. That sounded more like the Jason she had come to love, and she knew that if he could, he’d have his arms around her, shielding her from all the unwanted attention. The warmth from his presence was better than a real hug could ever be.
”Let her go to her boyfriend. It’s still new to her. She’ll learn,” Alana said to someone, but Lauren ignored the comment and kept chatting with Jason all day and night. The sound of people moving in the aisles made her realize that she’d been up all night. Pulling all-nighters was something she was used to, but never in a non-moving state, and it weirded her out, especially since all the static in her head was a reminder that she was far from alone among the mindless chatter of the other girls and the boys across the aisle.
The blue jumpsuits came and dressed Lauren up in even tighter and brighter pants, coordinating her with the other backup singers in her display. This time she was allowed to stand up, strutting her tube top like she was born to it. She could object to her location and her predicament all she wanted, but she couldn’t deny how good she looked in the bright blue top that matched her eyes and hugged her curves like it had been sewn for her. She was used to the normal moment of weakness in front of the mirror, and her cheerleader training allowing her to show her assets the way the store intended them to be shown, but she couldn’t help but think that this look had outdone the others. A warm feeling of contentment filled her as she was brought away from the mirror and put back on stage with her companions.
”Not bad! Rock that and roll ‘em today!” Ellie said from her spot as Britney Spears’s plastic clone at the front of the display. Lauren giggled at the pun. Maybe the lack of sleep was getting to her, but she felt like she was getting accustomed to her new department. It wasn’t the home she had found in sporting goods, but she figured that if she had to be a mannequin working at a department store, at least having the ability to wear the hottest styles was a nice benefit, even if being encased in plastic was the cost. As her eyes automatically scanned her section, Lauren sent a whistle in Jason’s direction, and he responded with a flirty comment that would have made her blush and show more if she could.
”Guys! Save it for when the doors are open!” Ellie protested, and that was a chilling reminder of what she was. The whole “selling” bit was still too weird to handle, but the evidence was impossible to ignore. Too many people suddenly declared that they were going to buy what they saw when they laid eyes on Lauren and her friends. She didn’t want to know the mechanics, and didn’t want to think about what that meant, so she sighed inside and readied herself for a day of work. Her daily stress-buster of flirting with Jason was enough to sell out her rack by the middle of the day- or maybe it was the evening. With no clocks and no way to tell time, the hours melted together.
”Oh, God, I’m losin’ it!” she yelled towards Jason, hoping he would reassure her.
Instead, Alana cut in. ”As far as I’m concerned, there are four seasons, and that’s a year. Prom, Fourth of July, Back to School, and Christmas. Don’t bother trying to count. You work, then you don’t. Makes it easier that way.”
How long has she been a mannequin if that’s the way she thinks? Lauren wondered, disturbed. I’m starting to lose track of myself. That’s the last time I’m goin’ all night, that’s for sure. And as soon as the last customer went home and Ellie finished her rambling speech, Lauren zoned out.
”Already tired? Such a drama queen,” Ellie said by way of wake-up call the next morning.
”Like that machine would know anything about keeping sharp,” Jason taunted from the other side of the aisle. Lauren took his words to heart; at least someone understood what was going on. But she couldn’t deny her results, and she had won the day. That got her off the stage and into a pair of tight jeans and a branded t-shirt, and positioned on the edge of the sales floor.
”Get ‘em in, we’ll do the rest,” Alana said reassuringly.
The one problem with Lauren’s new position was that she was out of Jason’s line of sight, so she was working alone. She reached down, mustered up all her courage, and began her day, trying to ignore the giddy idiots behind her, occasionally humoring their silly pop culture talk with what little she knew of reality TV and current music. The day went by, not fast enough for her liking but not in agonizing slow motion, and she was wheeled back into line to watch the latest celebrity gossip. Being back next to Jason had its advantages.
”Hey, hot mama! Ellie can’t stop gloating about you. Your side hit more sales than anyone else in the store. I won’t mention the security stuff anymore. That creeps me out. Who would have enough bloodlust to want to do to other people what they did to us?” he said.
”Thanks,” Lauren said after a long moment to process. She had to admit that she was proud of her accomplishments, and it felt good to put in an honest day’s work, even if she was doing it in a plastic shell. She let her memories come to the forefront, and a flirtatious note into her voice, as she went on, ”Should I tell you now how I used to rock these blues when I was a cheerleader back at Kentucky?”
”Kept the boys’ room so full people had to go outside to smoke?” he retorted.
”Don’t you know it. I was the finest thing you’d ever see in the blue and white, never mind that cheap hoochie at all the games,” Lauren declared, and with that, they were off on a nostalgia trip.