Steve broke his silence. “There is no rat problem. Please never utter the word rat again. There are no rats. I repeat, no rats, no mice, no rodents of any sort, whatsoever. However…”
Josie and Dhanesh looked over at their boss in newly-found fascination. It was the way he said the last word. “However?” they both asked in unison.
Steve sat down in one of the booths. The other two ran over and sat in the facing seat. Steve inhaled, deeply, and then continued. “However, the ghost story is not so far-fetched. You guys haven’t been around that long; us old-timers have all seen it, or heard it. Well, not seen it, exactly. But knobs do get suddenly turned on. The microwave starts beeping for no apparent reason. The registers shut down, even though they’re all plugged in.”
The pair sat there, slack-jawed. “Um, sounds like an electrical problem to me,” Josie finally said.
“I suppose. But then there’s the death thing to consider,” Steve responded, with his characteristic straight face.
“D…death thing?” Dhanesh asked, almost in a whisper.
“Yep. Guy died in here, oh, about fifteen years ago. Just after that, the strange things started happening. But if either one of you brings it up while the store is open, I’ll firmly deny it.” He pointed a cautionary finger at them.
“Well,” Josie said. “That brings me to what I was getting at. Seems to me we have a whole storeroom full of Ouija boards, not to mention one apparent dead guy. I say we contact him and ask why he’s still hanging around this dump. Did he not get correct change or something before he died? I mean, I’dve gone into the light a long time ago. Sounds to me like this guy is one French fry short of a Happy Meal, if you get my drift.”
She was up and running before her coworkers could say anything. Quickly, she returned with one of the Ouija boards. Dhanesh and Steve looked at her, appalled. “You’ve got to be kidding,” Steve said, to which Dhanesh added, “Yeah, kidding.” Then again, neither got up to leave.
“Of course I’m kidding. After all, we have to stay recreational. Besides, what have we got to lose?”
“Our dignity?” Dhanesh said.
“Too late. We work at McDonald’s.”
For the first time, possibly ever, Steve laughed. “Fine. I give it five minutes. Then we’re out of here,” he said.
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