Write a story starring a store cashier, during the busy pre-holiday season.

Posted in Holiday on Nov 18, 2022

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✍️ 27 stories

“The Wrapping Paper Store” by Alyssa Telgenhoff

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #173

“This is the twentieth time we’ve heard All I Want For Christmas Is You,” I say to Alicia. “No, Faith, this is the billionth time we’ve heard it.” She rolls her eyes, grinning. Alicia is my favorite person to work with at The Wrapping Paper Store. I’m not kidding, that’s the store's actual name. It’s so long, it barely fits on the green sign above the front door. At TWPS we sell, surprise, wrapping paper. For any occasion, birthdays, baby showers, and weddings, but our busiest time is the holidays. Today is November 1st and i...

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“Take the Yak” by Story Time

Submitted to Contest #173

“I need a price check on this yak.” Nobody will respond to my call. I’m behind enemy lines. It’s every man for himself. Every man and/or sixteen-year-old young lady attempting to make some extra cash so she can buy her sixty-year-old neighbor’s broken-down Buick at some point in the near future. That’s how you wind up working the cash register the day before Christmas Eve at Felicity’s Department Store at a mall that only has three stores left in it other than the one you’re working in. A pretzel stand, a frozen yogurt emporium, and a pet ...

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“ExpressLane” by Olivia Ard

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #173

It happened on Halloween. It was supposed to be my off day, but I ended up working a double shift because Tim and Nora both called out. They were the latest victims of a nasty stomach bug making the rounds at work, which we'd taken to calling the Panacea Plague.Tim and Nora were pharmacy technicians, so their calling out wouldn't normally affect me, but since the other two techs had just quit, Mike had no choice but to move Zach and Carla from cashier and photo to pharmacy, since they were the only cashiers with active tech licenses. From th...

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“A Reasonable Facsimile of Life” by Delbert Griffith

Submitted to Contest #173

Deidra looked at the long line in her checkout lane and sighed. If she had the chance, and a reasonable expectation of avoiding detection, she would kill at least fifteen of them. Especially the old lady she was checking out; the old bat had twenty-five tinned fruitcakes with twenty-five coupons. This one should die horribly, she thought. Slowly as well. “That’s one, dearie. Two…three…no, four. They stuck together, lordy lordy!” The old lady slowly peeled the coupons apart and kept on counting. The holiday crowd behind her was becoming a lit...

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“Adventures in Retail” by C. J. Peters

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #173

I clock in at 9:53 and drop into a wobbly chair in the break room (I’m not getting paid for those extra seven minutes anyway), barely suppressing a shudder at the reality of what my life will be for the next eight hours; a sales shift on a weekend during the holiday season (no such thing as "pre" anymore). The large table in the center of the room is adorned with a seasonally appropriate plastic tablecloth, but the snowman and reindeer seem to mock me, smiling and prancing about, knowing they will be safe back here all day.I check the schedu...

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“Gas, Gripes and Gratefulness” by Annabella Bones

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #173

“I ain’t working Christmas Eve. I’ll walk out!” Linda took a long slow drag off her Strawberry Vanilla vape and exhaled dramatically. “Are you smoking again?” Toni asked, her voice intermittently fading, just strong enough to push through the weak signal. “Vaping,” Linda answered. “Since Jordan was diagnosed with asthma last month. I swear it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done but, what can you do?” Her lips tugged at the warm electric pen. Feet propped in a red plastic chair and eyes locked on the puddle collecting at the foot of the staff...

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“All I want for Christmas is Jus” by Rebecca Miles

Submitted to Contest #173

Christmas: peace and good will to all mankind; well, that was certainly not the case in the London supermarket where I worked. My boss, nicknamed Mr Blotchy by all the employees forced to endure his red-faced rants, found running the store during the big Christmas lead-up stressful, to say the least. I’d taken on the holiday job as cashier and stock clerk to earn a bit of cash, help pay off the student bills, perhaps save a bit for Fran’s gift; I wasn’t expecting a bonus packet of high blood pressure and nervous tics. And that was before I b...

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“Eddy and Tom at the Walmart Part V” by Mustang Patty

Submitted to Contest #173

Life was certainly different for Eddy. At his mother’s insistence, he’d taken a part-time job at the local Walmart. He was immediately trained on the register, so he spent at least four hours a day standing on his feet and forcing a smile. Does anyone else understand how difficult it is to say the same thing over and over to every person? Sometimes he’d switch it up. Instead of saying, “Hi, how are you today?” he might say, “What about this weather?” Neither question got a great response. Some people grunted and watched him take each item ...

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“Night Shift” by Claire Harding

Submitted to Contest #173

It was just after midnight, and not a soul was in the store. I tapped my foot nervously on the floor, thinking of the family dinner I had missed taking this shift. The store advertised online and had placed signage at kiosks and displays announcing discounts for tonight only. Sales were double commission. This shift paid time and a half, and I desperately needed the money. When I told my mother I would not be there for Thanksgiving, she blasted back at me with every blame she had in her. I hung up the phone and put it in the back of my mind...

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“The Customer is Always” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #173

Just so you know, I hate this time of year. Oh, I’ve heard some half-wits crow on about what a wonderful time of year it is as Christmas rears its consumerist head and people spend money they don’t have on things they don’t need ,so that after the Winter Festival, they are deep in debt and even deeper into a depression the Winter Festival was supposed to lighten. Whatever they are referring to when they say wonderful, gods know what exactly they are focused on, it’s certainly not the miserable, damp mornings and the dank and depressing aft...

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“The Cashier, the Bears, and Burger King ” by Roberta C.

Submitted to Contest #173

The line snakes through aisles four, five, and six, with half of the aisles’ contents on the floor. Some parents are haphazardly returning toys their screaming children were trying to sneak into their baskets. Other patrons are wipings shelves clean of wrapping paper and Christmas bags. As for me, a Dollar Tree floor sales associate with five shoplifters caught under my name, I just want to clock out and get my Double Whopper from Burger King. “Next in line to register three!” As I call the next person, I see an elderly lady with a silv...

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“Angel Knows Best” by Joyce George-Knight

Submitted to Contest #173

While it wasn't the last day of shopping before Christmas, nor was it even a week before the day children dream about, the check-out lines' winding barriers controlled the impatient shoppers. Certainly, it's a hectic time for all Christmas shoppers, what with school events to attend, company parties, family gatherings to plan, not to mention the daily routines. Shoppers, I found, tend to be focused on their goals, wearing invisible blinders to those around them. During my years as a box store cashier, I witnessed numerous arguments, brawls...

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“Scary Christmas” by Greg Gillis

Submitted to Contest #173

It was November 25th, Black Friday, and to me, the scariest time of the year. Anyone who thinks Halloween is the scariest time of the year, has never worked in a retail store on Black Friday. That’s where I come in; my name is Sam, and I am a cashier at your local Walmart store. I always dread this time of year, not because I don’t like Christma...

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“Of All the Gin Joints” by Edward Kennedy

Submitted to Contest #173

THIS HAS ADULT THEMED TOPICS MENTAL HEALTH, ADDICTION, DRUG USE BUT THERE IS A POSITIVE MESSAGE. THE STORY ONLY HAS TO BE ABOUT A STORE CASHIER IN BUSY HOLIDAY SEASON SO....MEET TOM.“Congratulations Tom, you're hired. The Store Manager Stewart happily relayed to Tom. "You start tomorrow be here by 8 am. We are ramping up for the holiday so we need all hands-on deck and we are getting you right on the cash register so bring your A game” Stewart was a short stocky older gentleman and when he spoke you instantly liked him. “Thank you” Tom repli...

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“The Lost Art of Family ” by Somer James

Submitted to Contest #173

The snow hit hard against her face as she lay on the asphalt of the parking lot of Kmart, making snow angels in the freshly dropped flakes; she and the other front-end managers were watching and filming each other on their phones, one by one, Andrew than cat than April. She is close to these here, besides her. They managed the entire store because they worked best with each other. This was the customer service desk managers, here with our most loyal friends; April sat ba...

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Write a story starring a store cashier, during the busy pre-holiday season.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 27 stories

“The Wrapping Paper Store” by Alyssa Telgenhoff

“Take the Yak” by Story Time

“ExpressLane” by Olivia Ard

“A Reasonable Facsimile of Life” by Delbert Griffith

“Adventures in Retail” by C. J. Peters

“Gas, Gripes and Gratefulness” by Annabella Bones

“All I want for Christmas is Jus” by Rebecca Miles

“Eddy and Tom at the Walmart Part V” by Mustang Patty

“Night Shift” by Claire Harding

“The Customer is Always” by Jed Cope

“The Cashier, the Bears, and Burger King ” by Roberta C.

“Angel Knows Best” by Joyce George-Knight

“Scary Christmas” by Greg Gillis

“Of All the Gin Joints” by Edward Kennedy

“The Lost Art of Family ” by Somer James

🌟 Similar prompts

Coming up with a gift idea was the easy part — getting your hands on it is another thing entirely.

End your story with a character receiving a deeply meaningful gift they weren’t expecting.

Write about a character going to great lengths to return an unwanted gift.

Write a story that includes the phrase “Thank you! It’s just what I wanted.”

Contest #173

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

168

Contest entries

79

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: