((install)) | Last Shift

There’s no big speech at the end. No slow-motion walk through the parking lot. Just the click of your locker for the last time. The turn of your name tag over in your palm. A final “see ya” that hangs in the air, because everyone knows you won’t.

You walk out the door. The air smells different. Fresher. Scarier. last shift

The weirdest part? You spend so long looking forward to leaving. And then, in the last ten minutes, you’re not sure you want to. There’s no big speech at the end

You find yourself doing the motions you’ve done a thousand times—restocking napkins, wiping down the counter, checking the back door is locked—but your hands are on autopilot. Your mind is elsewhere. Replaying the inside jokes, the meltdowns in the walk-in cooler, the regular who always ordered the same thing and asked how your day was. The turn of your name tag over in your palm