Have To Die To Get A Break

(I work in a women’s clothing store where all the associates wear headsets to keep in contact with everywhere in the store. I am at the register with a coworker, while two others are in our fitting room and our manager is in the back.)

Manager: *over the headset* “All right, [My Name]. When you’re done with your customer I’m going to send you to the fitting room so [Coworker #2] can go decompose.”

(I pause, wondering if I heard right. I head back toward the fitting room.)

Coworker #1: *over the headset* “Decompose?”

Manager: *over the headset* “Decompress, compose herself, whatever.”

(I could hear Coworker #1 laughing across the store and found Coworker #3 trying not to laugh in the fitting room. We now joke about going on break to ‘decompose.’)