small talk is unpaid labor.

Clocked in. Smiled. Never got the W-2.

the weather. the weekend. the drive over. none of it is information, all of it is scheduling.

you run the script anyway, because the script is the toll booth in front of every real sentence. you smile at the right beat. you ask the follow-up you do not need the answer to.

that is work. it has a start time, a skill requirement, and a fatigue cost.

nobody filed the w-2. the shift still happened.

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CHECKING THE SHELF

- P·R sleeve print, 1.4in wide, lower right sleeve
- “pattern recognized” printed inside the back collar