How I thought it would be.

I could say it was to pursue my love of writing, but that would be slanting the truth. If you’ve never worked at a fast food job, you can’t believe how incredibly stressful it can be.

Yesterday I had to go home early because I was sick, and my manager said I didn’t work again till Friday. Then, at 10 AM today, my other manager called to ask where I was. I hurried in and ended up being 15 minutes late, but we didn’t get any customers until after 11 so it wasn’t a big deal.

Between the time I came in and when we got busy, someone called in sick. My manager asked me if I could stay and cover for her. Until 10:30. PM. That would be twelve and a half hours working minimum wage, no overtime, after I asked to work short shifts because my feet are still healing from surgery. She honestly seemed pissed when I said I couldn’t, and said that I at least owed them for the time I was late, so I should stay an extra hour and a half. I said fine and went back to working.

However, then someone complained about his fries all being “raw.” He demanded that he be refunded for his entire combo, sandwich and drink included. Even though he’d already eaten his sandwich and drank his drink. His wife used to work there, and she explained the situation to the manager as if he deserved to have his entire meal discounted rather than a fresh batch of fries. When they left, their table was a mess and I had to move it back to its original place. This kind of thing happens all the time. What’s worse is that she used to work there, and she still did it.

Keep in mind that at this point, it’d been 18 or so hours since I’d eaten anything because I had some kind of stomach flu, so I’m already not in a good mood.

Then my manager snapped at me for something stupid, like not having 6 hands to be able to take orders, make drinks, and bag the food all at once, so I just decided that I was going to quit and walk out as soon as the lunch rush was over. I cleaned trays until only a few people were left in the dining room, told her I was going, and walked out. No dramatically throwing down my apron or storming out, I just handed her my name tag and left through the back door to avoid my coworkers. Then I went to Goodwill because on Sundays they give student discounts.

How it actually was.

So now I will have more time for reading and writing, since it is unlikely that I’ll get another job before school lets out. My parents weren’t overly upset that I quit, so that’s good, and I’ll still have my job back home to go to once I graduate. Also, two people bought my book today, so things are looking up! I just need to multiply that by like 20 a day and I’ll be able to cover rent and groceries just fine.