8:57 p.m. While tempted to close the shop early, Peggy resisted; not out of integrity or loyalty to the establishment that hired her less than two months prior, but out of apprehension. Kal-Eye-disoscope Visionz, voted Best Headshop in a 2015 edition of Manayunk Magazine, hosted several surveillance cameras. The owner of the shop, Harold, made Peggy aware of the surveillance upon hire – his approach subtly suggested that its presence was more so for the employees than shoplifters. While not a fireable offense, Peggy sensed that an early dismissal would be tracked and noted. She would withstand the three remaining minutes.
Just as Peggy angled towards the back of the shop to retrieve the key for the register, a chime from the entryway penetrated the shop’s silence. A tall man in his ambiguous-30s guided the door so that it sealed shut behind him. He donned an undersized wool jacket and leather gloves that were mere sirens away from being classified as Firetruck Red. The man surveyed Bob Marley tapestries before walking directly towards Peggy. His disposition emitted a sense of certainty; there was a momentum to his movement that was too swift to be possessed by someone who didn’t have intention. In the brief period where no words were spoken, but eye contact was made: a fog of caution infiltrated the scene.
“I’m surprised that you are still open. Not much traffic and it seems like it is just you in here. I expected the door to be locked.” The man’s disapproving grin as he uttered the word “locked” prompted Peggy to highlight the shop’s omnipresent surveillance.
Fighting through the tension, she countered “well… we stay true to our business hours. Besides, my boss keeps an eagle-eye on what happens here.” Her head tilted in the direction of the overhead camera. “Is there anything that I can help you with?”
The man looked at the lens as he ignored the latter formality. “Cameras… they are helpful. Right? If a customer comes in and knocks over a glass pipe, the footage will capture the blunder. If an employee – not you, I assume – were to pocket cash from the register, the footage will justify their termination. Most people will subdue nefarious or even negligent instincts with the threat of being watched looming above them.” The man’s eyes glided back down to Peggy’s. “Note: Most.”
Both of their eyes widened. The man imposed a smile; the reveal of his teeth was akin to a blade being pulled out of its sheath. Peggy could not prove that she was in danger, but she could feel it. A soundless alarm blared from her nerves – its vibration was absorbed by the man.
“You’re right.” Peggy was just as unsure of her statement as the man was. While fear-stricken, her intuition would not allow her to fully shrink. “Some people don’t care if they are being watched. There can be several… or even dozens of cameras monitoring them and it wouldn’t stop them from doing whatever it is that they want to do. Perhaps… perhaps that’s even good. Our cravings, angelic or demonic, shouldn’t be muted by the statehood of constant surveillance.”
The man’s smile ceased.
“We shouldn’t have had to be force-fed Orwell AND live through the world he wrote about.” Thrusted by a motivation unknown to her, Peggy then turned her back to the man, looked directly at one of the cameras, and gave it two notable fingers.
She turned around to see the man’s smile return. This time, there was no threat between them. She couldn’t prove it, but she could feel it.
“I can appreciate the sentiment. Zamyatin would too.” The man then walked directly towards the exit. “I think that you’re closed now.”
Peggy allowed the chime of the entryway to penetrate her beating heart. 9:05 p.m.
