Fast Car | Escapes #1

Chapter 8

True to his word, my check for the week was the same as always. My check for the following week was the same. I got comfortable with the thought that things were going to stay the same. Nothing else around the store changed. 

Well, nothing until the end of the second week. I picked up my normal check and went back to work. However, when Thelma picked up her check right behind me, I heard the rustling of paper and Brayden say, "Here's your new schedule. It'll be posted by the end of day for everyone to see their new times, but since you're the most affected, I wanted to give it to you first."

I stopped and turned. The paper started to shake. "I'm only working three days next week?"

"What?" I looked over her shoulder and checked. Sure enough, her name had been highlighted on only three days, and her shifts were short. "That's not fair to you," I said quietly.

"On the contrary," Brayden said. "It's very fair to her. I took into consideration her age and I've noticed that she has some limitations. This will ease the burden on her and frees up time for her to see her grandkids and be able to be with her family."

"Yeah, the family she works to support!" I pulled the schedule from Thelma's hand and shoved it into Brayden's face. "This isn't enough hours for someone to live on! Not at the rate we're paid!"

He swatted the paper away. "Need I remind you that you're paid entirely differently than the rest of these workers? If you want to talk about unfair, let's talk about your salary. Let's talk about how you get more money than Thelma. Or maybe we could talk about you barely do anything around here to warrant your pay. As of your next check, your pay is dropping to minimum wage. I'm still going to give you salary like you're getting now, but it's going to be considerably less."

Panic began to set in. "You can't do that."

"I can, and I am. You still live at home, right? It's not like you need the extra money."

"I do need it."

He sighed. "Look, you can argue with me all you want, but it's not going to change anything. Thelma is going to work three days a week, your pay is going down, and everyone can just be happy about it or you can find somewhere else to work."

It wasn't like I had a choice. I didn't have somewhere else to go. Even if I tried to find somewhere else to work, I would probably have to quit school to make ends meet. I was so close to graduation, too. It was weeks away now. If I dropped out now, I wouldn't be able to wear the robe and march with my classmates. I'd have to wait and repeat the year. If I was even able to. 

"You can't do this," I said, tears suddenly springing to my eyes. I did my best to blink them back, not wanting him or Thelma to see me cry. "You don't know the first thing about the lives of any of your workers. Your father does. Trust his decisions."

"He's an old man that doesn't understand how to properly turn a profit."

"Then how has he been growing his business for the last ten years?" I took a step towards him. "I'd say he understands plenty."

"You don't get it, do you? You've probably never had an honest day's wage in your life, and never even thought about investing any of it. You never studied business, finance, or anything like that. At this rate, I'm surprised you're even graduating high school."

I did my best to ignore the stabs of his words. "Yeah? Well at least I've never been a disappointment to my family because I couldn't understand the people behind the workers." I narrowed my eyes at him. "Salutatorian? What a joke. I'm surprised you thought enough about other people to even make the opening speech." I glared a moment longer before turning and walking out of the office.