Sprout 1 | Page 18

The Sprout

I can already tell that it’s going to be a long day at work, so I mentally settle in for the haul. I only have an hour left on my shift, but we’re short staffed, and a huge party just walked in. There’s no way I can get this rush out and make it out in time. Even if I did, there is still clean-up, and prep for the next shift. You can’t just leave everything half destroyed, and let the night shift fend for itself. That gap in-between lunch and dinner shifts, that’s where I’ll be getting my overtime. Except they never let you get over time here. I’ll just be working more for no reason. Thirty bucks extra at most today. Don’t make me laugh. And I’ll probably have to stay into the next shift, just in case. I’ll just take a deep breath. And let it out slowly. I have to rush to put the line back together, so that the flood of tickets doesn’t catch me with my pants down. Or the lettuce empty. Hopefully my pants won’t be down; I’ve broken a handful of rules already.

It’s boring, I know. But it’s not that boring, if you are here doing it. Just like in the movies, they never show the hours of boring filler that happens in life. If you are doing things right, that filler passes you right by anyhow. Yeah, it’s funny. Sometimes it’s better to not stop and smell the roses. ‘Cause there might be a million of them. And they might not even be roses. They may just be shit. You have to walk through a huge lawn where inconsiderate neighbors go to let their dogs take a shit. A million piles of shit. So here’s a lesson in life: Don’t stop to smell the shit.

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Threshold

By Kurt Ivy