Say When

F O U R T E E N

I left my house the next evening way earlier than I needed to and headed to the restaurant to meet with Yuri. When I got there he was out on delivery so I ordered few wings and waited. The place was busy but efficient. Everyone seemed to know exactly what needed to be done and where. I started to get anxious.

I'd never worked before. I knew how to cook but that was at home with regular sized pots and pans and there wasn't a clock ticking down for me to get any meals done. I looked at the industrial sized deep fryer. I prayed that they just put me on the register. But then I'd have to take an order. What if I put in something wrong? Could I count change quick enough? How do credit cards work really?

My mind was racing through scenarios faster than I could keep up with. Maybe I wasn't ready for work. I chewed on my last wing and started to clear my trash. I could leave now and tell Yuri 'thanks' but it wasn't going to work out. The door opened and the bell dinged. I looked over to see Yuri striding in.

He spotted me and I waved. He walked over to me, weaving in and out of tables. When he made it, I stood and let him wrap me in his arms. His familiar face calmed my nerves a bit.

"Damn Wings. You ate already?" He motioned toward my empty container.

"I eat when I'm nervous." I scooped up the container and napkins and walked over to a nearby trash can. He trailed behind me.

"Why are you nervous?" I tossed the items in the trash and turned toward him.

"I've never worked before. And it's so many people." I checked out the tables around me. All scattered with different people. Young old, some folks just getting off of work, still in their office clothes, teens making their way from late practices refueling.

I felt all of a sudden that this job was super important. People were relying on this place to eat. How would they feed their families if I didn't know how to make wings and fries? Or if I messed up the register. My hands immediately became damp and I started to feel anxious. I was spinning out. Yuri put his hand around my shoulder.

"You're overthinking this. Trust me. You should meet the manager, Jules." He said placing both hands on my shoulder. It seemed like a reasonable, safe, first step. Meet a person. One person. I nodded and follow him behind the counter.

We passed the registers and the prep counters. The grills and fryers were firing on all pistons. Flames tickled the edge of the grill. People flowed in and out of the stations like a well-orchestrated team. I kept my hands close to my side and followed closely behind Yuri. So close, that I bumped into him several times as he stopped to say 'hello' to people on the way to the manager's office.

He eventually grabbed my hand and helped pace me until we reached the door. He gave two quick knocks and then opened the door. I expected to open the door and see stacks of paper teetering in the edge of a desk that took up more than half the room. A fan blowing in the corner. An old PC with a tube monitor on the desk and some middle-aged man typing away and sweating lightly. I apparently watched too many 90's rom coms.

Instead, Yuri opened the door and I stepped in a tiny but neat office. A desk that was perfectly fitted to the corner. An organizer held a few papers. There was small modern loveseat in the corner with a TV mounted on the wall across from it. The hardwood floors were polished and the air was cool. A woman with a small frame was typing away at the computer, a spreadsheet open in front of her.

"Come in, come in." She waved to us without looking.

"Hey, Jules. I have Bri here to meet with you." Yuri plopped down on the couch and motioned for me to sit as well but I remained standing. I didn't want to be rude. I, all of sudden, had an overwhelming desire to make a good impression on this person. My hand trembled lightly so I clasped them together school girl style in front of me. After two final clacks on the keyboard, Jules whirled around in the computer chair with a large but genuine smile on her face.