[Team Three] Technical Difficulties

[yrindor]

In which Hiromi attempts to do a favor for his manager and ends up locked out of the shop instead. Sk8, pre-Hiromi/Oka, G, 1k
Oka was in the back of the shop inventorying spare wheels when the front door crashed open. He jumped up and grabbed a bungee cord from the wall. According to the weather forecast, the typhoon wasn't supposed to arrive until late evening, but apparently it was early.

He rushed out from the back, and in his haste to secure the door, he failed to notice he had a customer.

He crashed into their chest, and his feet went out from under him, dumping him in an ungainly tangle on the floor.

"Oka-san, I'm so sorry!" Hiromi shouted. "I didn't expect you to come out so fast. Are you okay?" Hiromi knelt down beside him and offered a hand.

Oka held up a hand to pause while he took stock of his body. He wasn't in high school anymore, as his body reminded him on a regular basis. "It was my fault," he said as he brushed himself off. He'd have a few bruises tomorrow, but otherwise he seemed unharmed. "I thought you were the typhoon, and I wasn't paying enough attention."

"Typhoon's not supposed to hit until late tonight."

"Wouldn't be the first time the forecast was wrong. So what brings you in here today? Please tell me you're not planning to go out tonight."

Hiromi shook his head. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm not even supposed to be here, but I can't go back to work."

"Why not? What happened?"

"I told my manager to leave early. The shop's been quiet today, and I didn't want her to be caught in the storm later; she doesn't have a car." Hiromi's face fell, and he turned around to rub his eyes with his apron.

Oka took him by the elbow and led him to a stool behind the counter. "Sit down and start at the beginning. Whatever it is, I'm sure there's a solution."

Hiromi sniffled before he continued. "Manager didn't want to leave me alone all afternoon, but I told here I'd be fine. It was quiet after all, and I've covered the shop alone for an hour here and there before. Everything was fine until the afternoon delivery truck came; I even had a chance to update our social media accounts. We were expecting a half dozen boxes of vases, and I didn't want to risk them getting broken, so I went to unload them myself." Hiromi paused again, turning away to stare at an invisible spot on the counter.

"Did something break?" Oka asked gently. "You know it happens to all of us at some point. Just yesterday I accidentally cut through the cover of a new book while I was unpacking boxes."

"Nothing broke," Hiromi said. "At least, I don't think it did, but I haven't unpacked anything yet. I couldn't bring the boxes in to unpack them. I forgot to prop the back door open before I went to the truck. Annoying, and stupid, but not a big deal, except I'd been the only person in the shop when the delivery came, so I locked the front door."

"And you don't have a key?"

"No, that's the problem! I'm supposed to have a key, but it's attached to my wallet, which is in my bag behind the counter! I told Manager she could trust me to cover the shop for her, but all I've done is fail to bring a delivery inside and get myself locked out! I can't even call and ask her to come back or she'll definitely get caught in the storm. I think it's moving in early; the wind's already picking up outside."

Oka laughed and clapped Hiromi on the shoulder. "If all you've done is accidentally lock yourself out, I'd say you're doing pretty okay in the grand scheme of things, and you've come to the right place. It's been dead here today to, so how about we go on a little adventure together? I think I have a solution for you."

"A solution?" Hiromi brightened, turning around on his stool and losing the uncharacteristic kicked puppy expression that had plagued him since he'd walked in.

"Come into the back with me for a second," Oka said as he pushed away from the counter. "Did you know that skateboarders are notorious for losing their keys? They go falling out of pockets somewhere along the way, or slip out of fingers and fall down a storm drain, or someone buys a brand new lock and promptly forgets the combination. No matter the reason, half the time the skaters end up back in here hoping I can help them out since I sold them the gear in the first place. I swear half of them assume I have a magical drawer full of spare keys somewhere or something."

He ducked through the curtain to the storeroom and held it open for Hiromi. It was a bit of a cramped fit for two adults, especially with all of the spare parts, half-finished projects, and old prototypes shoved onto every free surface. He kept meaning to clear out all of the obsolete junk, but there never seemed to be enough time. He stepped over a box of mismatched wheels and pulled out a narrow drawer along the wall.

The overhead light flickered, and he held his breath that it wouldn't decide to blow out now. He didn't usually have non-employees in the back, and now that he did, he was suddenly self-conscious about the state of the place. It was an absurd worry. No one who regularly careened down old mine paths and through abandoned factories would care about a little dust and a few cobwebs, but here he was.

He switched on a task lamp and turned his attention back to the drawer before his thoughts went too far off course. "The secret key drawer rumors are false, but they're not entirely wrong."

"Lock picks?" Hiromi asked. His breath was hot against the back of Oka's neck as he leaned in for a closer look.

"And I know how to use them. How about we go let you in your back door?"

Hiromi heaved a sigh of what could only have been relief. "You'd be my new hero."
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