Tipping Point at the Mall

By R.S. Kellogg

High school angst meets strip mall angst.

            High school senior Ruth just wants to do her job and open the Pretzel Shop. In the cold morning of the holiday shopping season, feeling the warmth radiating off the ovens and smelling the freshly baking pretzels will be heaven. And her secret crush stopping by later—all the makings of a good day.

            Pinched for time to get set up for one of the highest volume shopping days of the year, she hurries to get everything ready.

            Then the most annoying wanna-be customer of her career shows up.

            A short story of quirky characters where high school angst meets strip mall angst.

If you enjoy short fiction about coming of age in suburbia, buy "Tipping Point at the Mall" today!

• Language: English
• Publisher: R.S. Kellogg
• Release date: Sep 4, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201027636

R.S. Kellogg

 R.S. Kellogg writes in the fantasy Breadcove Bay series, as well as exploring other story worlds and non-fiction topics.

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Rebecca Kellogg (she/her)       about 5,000 words

21147 Cedarfalls Dr.

Saugus, CA 91350

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Tipping Point | by R. S. Kellogg

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Further Reading: Try Not to Get Lost in the Woods

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About the Author

Tipping Point

by R. S. Kellogg

It was a cold morning at the Pretzel Shop.

Ruth stood in the center of the shop’s kitchen, behind the battered swinging door that had a single round window at the top center of it through which she could theoretically notice potential customers once the shop had opened, the door that would take her to the public-visible portion of the store when she’d gotten through enough of the back prep to go set things up. In the back kitchen, the stainless steel commercial fixtures were all well-used—sink with a spray nozzel and drying rack, industrial fridge, mixer, work tables, pots, baking sheets—all had scratches and dents, but had been cleaned and polished to the exacting standards of Portia, the fastidious store manager whom Ruth privately suspected had some form of either OCD or unhealthily high perfectionistic standards.

She blushed as she remembered that her secret crush would be stopping by later—all the makings of a potentially great day.

Unfortunately, she’d need to really hurry this morning. One of the busiest shopping days of the year, and she’d still only get the same amount of time to get ready as she would for a slow summer holiday morning. She’d just have to make do the best she could.

If only she’d realized when she started out that she’d be getting a visit