I was doing something in the back room, I can't remember what, when the buzzer for the back door sounded. It was about 9:30pm, not the time when we would expect anyone to ring the buzzer. The door had long since been locked, so I walked to the managers' office.

Manager D was in the office, so I told him that the buzzer had sounded. He didn't believe me, but went to look through the peephole to see if anyone was outside. There was someone. He unlocked the door and opened it.

Both of us stared in amazement to see P, the queen of the flakes, standing outside. That's right, the girl who had skipped out on the second chance she did not deserve was standing outside the back door of the store.

"Oh, hi, gigglegiggle, I was wondering if you had any boxes I could have, gigglegiggle," she asked the man who had fired her not many days ago.

D looked at the stack of boxes on the cart and told that no, we didn't have any boxes available.

"Oh, okay, gigglegiggle. Thanks anyway."

D closed the door and muttered "idiot" under his breath. I put my head down on the receiving counter and started laughing silently. It was a truly bizarre scene.

Does this girl have any clue how thoroughly she has burned this bridge?

I was glad for the distraction. I had been through a minor incident with a customer who, thankfully, had a sense of humor about the whole thing. In my defense, the guy was mumbling, and there was a lot of background noise. And "Tesla coil" and "testicle" can sound a lot alike.

Remember P, the girl who blew the second chance after leaving mid-shift?

She hasn't given up on the job.

Yesterday, she spent about an hour at the information desk, chatting with whoever happened to be there. When M showed up, she mentioned that she had really loved her job at the bookstore.

"Well, you can come back any time you want to ... to shop."

That's pretty damn blunt for M.

She was in the store again today. Why? I don't get it. The girl has no shame.

Two new people started today, and were treated to the legend of P after we closed. The fact that both were amused and amazed by her behavior was a good sign.

Scout has lost her collar. I'm not sure I want to know how.

Party tomorrow. I can't wait.

I am going to pretend to be social tomorrow. Be afraid.

This is the time of year, of course, when we hire the most new people. Invariably we end up with a few, um, memorable, new employees. A girl I will call P is one who certainly stands out.

She joined the store a few weeks ago and seemed a bit flaky, but not unusually so. We have always had a few people in the store who are a bit ditsy. She was considered to be a bit high-maintenance when it comes to supervision.

One day, she left for her meal break and didn't come back.

That happens with at least one holiday hire every year.

What surprised me was hearing that she returned the next day to talk to D, the store manager. Even more surprising was that she clocked in for her shift the next day. She had been given a second chance.

But she didn't show up for the shift after that.

Once again, she came in the next day to chat with D. She said "I know I'm on the schedule for tomorrow..."

"No you aren't," was the response. I don't blame him in the least. I don't think I would have let her come back after the long lunch.

Another employee, this one in the cafe, flounced after getting fed up with the cafe manager. I saw her in the store today, calmly reading a book while sitting in one of the comfy chairs. Bad show.

I have a meeting at 7:00 am tomorrow, followed by a closing shift. Joy. I hope they don't expect me to be coherent.