A super short story
“C’mon, Joe, just do it. It really won’t be that hard. Besides, they should’ve given you some kind of training.”
“No, Joe, that wouldn’t be right. They are relying on you to work through your entire shift. What will happen to them if you leave early?”
It was a hot August day in Miami. I was slaving away in the kitchen of a Mcdonald’s on a Saturday afternoon. Although I hadn’t been here long, I knew that Saturdays were the busiest days. Since we were right on the beach, it was a madhouse. Customers were asking for almost every item on the menu: burgers, chicken nuggets, ice cream cones, sundaes, french fries, and more. It was only my third day too; I didn’t really know what I was supposed to do. Four other people had called out that day, so it was just me trying to keep up with what felt like all of Miami’s orders. The worst part was listening to the Angel and Devil on my shoulders. They never shut up.
“Will you just leave already, you are missing all the pretty girls at the beach. You know that girl you like is gonna be there talking to some hunk at the beach while you’re here making this 300-pound fatty his fifth freaking ice cream of the day.”
“That poor man maybe buying that for his kids. You don’t know him at all. He might be spending his last dollar on the ice cream for his daughter. If you leave, all of these people will not be able to eat here. They know you are working hard and they appreciate you.”
Please just shut up. Of course, it sucks to work here, and I’d rather be on the beach. But I usually just try to do the right thing. I don’t really know why, since it seems like the universe never returns the favor.
“It’s not about getting something in return. It’s about always doing what’s right.”
I wouldn’t even get a break today. I had already been here since five o’clock this morning for the truck. I will probably end up closing the store alone if I ever had a chance to actually do that. People came late at night too. The crowds never really stopped.
This elderly man came in the early afternoon. He ordered a Double Quarter Pounder meal, which is the most expensive meal you can possibly get. He was rather thin and actually looked in pretty good shape for his age. He informed us that the sandwich was not for him, but rather it was for his grandson who was down at the beach. Awesome. Thanks for sharing.
“Yeah, right, that guy is going to eat that whole thing as soon as he leaves. People lie all the time to make themselves feel better. Trust me, I know.”
“No way, he seems really in shape to be eating that. I am sure that he is telling the truth. The majority of people tend to be good when given the chance.”
I didn’t really care if he was lying or not. I made the sandwich and stood over the spitting grease to make his fries. I tossed it all in the bag and slid it down the table so that the only other employee in the store could hand it to him. I watched him closely after that. As soon as he got the bag, he sat down at the table. He opened it up and took out the food. Maybe he was just checking to make sure I had made the order correctly.
“Look it, Joe, he is about to eat that right now. He didn’t even wait to get out of the door. See, he doesn’t care if he lies and gets caught. That is the way to live. He’s been doing that all his life and is still in great shape and has good luck.”
“No, that is not true, Joe. He is just double-checking the meal to make sure his order is correct so that his grandson will be happy. He is just looking out for the ones that he loves”
He opened the packaging of the sandwich and picked it up. He lifted it to his mouth and took a huge bite out of it. He then stuffed a handful of fries in his mouth and took a large sip out of his coke.
I looked at my nametag and the golden arches that were above it. It felt like I was in hell. I walked out to the front of the counter and could hear my co-worker yelling something at me, but I didn’t turn around. I walked right past the old man eating his sandwich, and he smiled at me. I opened the door and walked down toward the beach. Both of my shoulders were quiet now.
