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

“Christmas Trading” by Kerri-lyn Bryant

Submitted to Contest #173

Kate lent against the wall and took a breath hoping that Shane or Stephen or whatever the hell his name was had got the message and would not turn up to the store. She needed this casual position to pay off some extra debt she had accumulated now that she was newly single and holidaying back home with her mother. Only, it was becoming clear to Kate that this job and Christmas, along with her recent break-up... ALL of it ... was wearing her down physically and mentally. Every day the plastic Christmas tree in its fake pot was feeling heavi...

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“That Time of Year” by Ian Gonzales

Submitted to Contest #173

It’s that time of year again. The time when everyone suddenly realizes that they’ve put off their holiday shopping a little too long. When everyone decides, on the level of some kind of group consciousness, that they need to get all their gift buying done right now. And it seems like every last one of them decided to come to Bart’s Mega Mart, where I work. I guess I can see the wisdom in their choice. I mean, here at Bart’s you can find everything you might need. I mean, you can buy novelty garden gnomes, big screen 4K TVs, and custom-flavor...

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“A Cream Cracker Christmas” by Erica Ward

Submitted to Contest #173

Violet was still chilled through from her morning shower; Frank hadn’t had the hot water tank fixed yet, and icy rivulets had trickled down her aching body as she shivered in the dimly lit cubicle. The supermarket insisted that staff wear their oversized blue tabards over shirts – no jumpers or cardigans allowed – and her teeth chattered as she smiled mechanically at shoppers while Christmas music blared over the tannoy. “Would you like to donate an extra one of these to charity today?” Violet cradled the tin of own-brand soup and smiled a...

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“The Dangers of Retail” by Shakeela Pouncy

Submitted to Contest #173

Wally tucked and rolled into the aisle of Halloween costumes, then army crawled his way to the other side. He was nearly spotted, but his military training put him at an advantage to keep a low profile and out of sight. Reaching the end of the aisle he sits up, back against the aisle, and holds his knees to his chest. Sweat pours down his face and his heart races, thinking back to how he was nearly taken captive. He never thought working as a cashier in retail could be so dangerous. Some of his co-workers were already taken against their ...

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“Holiday at the Winery” by Douglas W. Carr

Submitted to Contest #173

Like a lot of folks around the holidays, Mary loved to watch the classic holiday movies from It’s a Wonderful Life to Miracle on 34th Street to Home Alone and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. She always related to the well-known scene in Christmas Vacation and the exchange between Clark Griswold and Mary—the department store sales assistant/cashier. She found humor in the scene because she also worked as a cashier and sales assistant in a small village holiday store albeit they didn’t sell lingerie. Mary was on the later side of her ...

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“Retail” by Craig Thompson

Submitted to Contest #173

Retail James was standing behind the register, staring at the pos screen and sighed. He had just clocked in and walked up to his register. The little, time-clock thing where he swiped his badge had told him where he’d be spending the next 8 hours of his life. Where he would be wearing this stupid ass, blue vest he wore. He was zoned out staring at his screen still trying to comprehend the turn of events in the last year. A little more than a year ago, he was a sous chef at one of the trendiest ...

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“The Holiday Crazies” by Gloria Parker

Submitted to Contest #173

The smell of a mall is a mixture of stuffy air and French fries from the food court. It didn’t smell half bad in the store, because we were in between one of the entrances and the food court, which meant the stuffy air was almost all let outside every time the doors opened, which resulted in the smell mostly just being French fries. Of course, there was the occasional day where no one bought French fries and then it just smelled like Thai food. Today it was a mixture of them both. And the occasional hot chocolate smell, which ...

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“THE LINE” by Les Clark

Submitted to Contest #173

THE LINE By Les Clark Cashier Emeritus, Amanada Forrester (she of the Silver Service recipient at Barnaby, Smythe and Okstein) looked up briefly. She had been scanning an unending sea of bar-coded tags all twisted with themselves from a mountain of children’s clothing high enough to block her vision of the impatient toe-tapping line yet to cross her register’s path. They’ll never make it on that dancing show. ...

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“Another Register” by Sharon Catlett

Submitted to Contest #173

She bulleted through the mall entrance just past the old cooking oil stench of King Burger. Their cleaning crew tried to cover the smell but instead created a new aroma of old oil a la Pinesol. Vanessa hated parking on this side of the Fairview Mall as it always meant she had to pass the last place she was fired from. But she was almost late (again) to her new job and this was the quickest path to it! She was determined to make this fourth week at Marianne’s Dress Shop a good one You see this was her thir...

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“Training Day” by Marcia H.

Submitted to Contest #173

Kina waited patiently for her new trainee to come to the store. She had been a cashier there for the past six years and was finally put in charge of training the new cashiers. This was her first trainee and she could not wait. The training room was apart from the store. It was a room in the basement where they had a cash register set up and some clothing and other accessories that they could scan and go through the motions of what a cashier does. Kina would train them for three days before they get “thrown to the wolves” as Kina calls it. So...

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“Making Soup” by Wyatt Stanley

Submitted to Contest #173

“I’m making soup.” The customer’s face was drawn, the color mostly drained away with only a few blemishes and zits bringing splashes of red to an otherwise pasty and featureless expanse, a human salt flat that would doubtless become slick and reflective in the rain. His eyes somehow looked in two directions at once, not cross-eyed, more a human tuatara surveying the magazines by the grocery counter. One eye lolled over at “Snakes of Central Texas”, a handy laminated brochure designed to remind you which one kills a fellow and which one is...

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“A Familiar Panda” by JW Bella

Submitted to Contest #173

Well this is a weird prompt, Sancha told himself. He looked at the writing prompt on the Blackboard assignment with his head cocked to the right side and his eyebrows furrowed. Describe the perfect person you have never met. Provide a physical, emotional, and mental explanation of the person as if they actually exist. Usually, Sancha’s imagination could fabricate wild kingdoms, alien planets, and talking animals immediately. It’s been his super power since the first grade. In between his chaotic family, selfish associates he ...

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

Submissions are closed

✍️ 27 stories

“Christmas Trading” by Kerri-lyn Bryant

“That Time of Year” by Ian Gonzales

“A Cream Cracker Christmas” by Erica Ward

“The Dangers of Retail” by Shakeela Pouncy

“Holiday at the Winery” by Douglas W. Carr

“Retail” by Craig Thompson

“The Holiday Crazies” by Gloria Parker

“THE LINE” by Les Clark

“Another Register” by Sharon Catlett

“Training Day” by Marcia H.

“Making Soup” by Wyatt Stanley

“A Familiar Panda” by JW Bella

🌟 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: