you ever have one of those shifts where everything just… feels off? like the air is thick or something. I had one today. I work the late shift at FreshMart, just stacking shelves, sometimes cashier if Brenda’s on break. It's usually chill. headphones in, kinda zone out. whatever. but today, around 8:45 pm, this lady came in. she’s a regular, you know? always buys formula, diapers, those little fruit pouches. I know her face. She used to work at the factory, the one that shut down last month. My mom’s friend got laid off from there too. anyway. I was stocking the baby aisle, putting out the new shipment of formula – the expensive kind, Similac Advance – and she was there, just kinda staring at the shelves. her cart was empty except for like, a single banana. just one. and then she did it. she looked around, real quick, like a bird. then she grabbed two of the big tubs of formula. tucked them right into her giant coat. like, so obvious. anyone could’ve seen. I was right there. five feet away, maybe less. my heart just started doing this THUMP-THUMP-THUMP thing. like it was trying to escape my chest. I froze. I swear I stopped breathing for a second. what do you even do? you’re supposed to say something. it’s like, rule number one. "deter theft." but… it wasn't a choice, you know? not really. I just turned around. started rearranging the organic baby food, even though it was already perfect. pretended I didn’t see anything. I could feel her walking away, like the air around her shifted. I heard the automatic doors swoosh open a few seconds later. she was gone. the rest of my shift was a blur. I just kept thinking about those two tubs of formula. like, that's almost $80. for baby food. and her face, how tired she looked. you just… sometimes you just gotta let things go. even when you’re not supposed to. I’m probably gonna get fired if someone finds out. my manager, Mr. Henderson, he's a real stickler for the rules. but what if I had said something? what then? what if that baby really needed it? this gig work doesn’t pay enough for me to save up for a lawyer, lol. it’s just me and my dumb phone. now I’m home. 2:17 am. can’t sleep. feel like a complete… failure? for not doing my job. but also, for maybe doing the right thing? idk. feels like total sh*t either way. just staring at the ceiling, thinking about those two tubs. and that banana. like, she only bought a banana. what even is that. sometimes life just hits you with the weirdest stuff.