I never liked new employees, they were always inexperienced and slow-learning. When I was a rookie I learned very quickly, I always stocked the shelves on time, I always gave the customers the exact amount of change on my first go and most importantly I was always nice to the boss.
Earl Schtrikt owned the gas station. He was a short and pale man, his ebony hair was combed to the side of his scalp and his curly moustache lay just above his thin upper lip. Earl liked to wear ritzy yet dark clothes to match his hair as if he was at a funeral.
Earl entered one day while I was working on the counter, as soon as I finished selling some magazines to a child, that at first glance you would avoid, Earl presented to me a young gentleman.
"Good morning Lee, as you can see here this gentleman is our latest edition to the West Virginian Gas Station family" Earl pitched. "I need to pick up my daughter from her boarding school so I'll have to leave Mister Tsidas with you..." Earl rushed to his car and abandoned the new recruit with me.
"So what is your name?" I asked.
"Tyler, Tyler Tsidas" He replied then shook my hand. He had a weak handshake, I knew he was going to be a bother.
"Well right now I'm working so can you count how many barrels of motor oil there are out back." I commanded, giving him useless tasks.
If I'm honest I didn't like this man. He looked like an underachiever, he was tall and thin with a red stubble and clearly unwashed ginger hair. He spoke in a high pitch urban-like accent. My first impression of him was that he was slothful and ignorant, I decided I would make a complaint to Earl when he arrives and tell him that Tyler is a lazy piece of shit, not because he was it's just that he's too much for me to handle.
A large walked in with a young girl (presumably her daughter) and walked over to the drinks section of the store. At that moment Nick stormed to me.
"Who's the new guy?" He asked with a quiet yet threatening tone. Nick was a very youthful adolescent with a large and bushy beard which is obviously not well cared for. "Why are you making him count the oil?"
"He...He's new... I-I...Th-Thought that..." I stuttered.
"Thought what! That just because he's new that he's useless... I'm telling Earl of how selfish you are that you can't take care of new employee." He announced and stomped his way outside to greet a patient biker. I could see Tyler peeking at me from the corner of the store.
"What the fuck are you looking at!" I yelled at him. The woman and her child were waiting very patiently and placed some snacks and beverages on the counter. I instantly switched to my friendly personality.
"Just playing around you know... That'll be $11.89" I told them but they still remained silent attempting to smile. They exited as soon as they could without a bag, although to be honest I didn't ask them.
Tyler eerily wandered towards me. His eyes were as white as Dracula's skin, and his fists clenched ready to hit me at any moment. He leaned forward, still making eye contact, and whispered...
"Sometimes it is better to just be kind for once... Especially around me..."
It freaked me out, I felt like I was going to have a heart attack. His head retreated to the comfort of his shoulders and stayed motionless for two whole minutes looking at me until four men came in. Tyler wandered towards the bathroom and when he reached for the handle he turned around and pointed his index and middle finger at his eyes... Then he pointed at me.
I agreed with myself that he was messing around but I needed more leverage to get Tyler fired. Three of the four men placed numerous items on the counter in front of me.
"Where's Barney?" The tallest of the men asked his comrades.
"I don't know. I think he's in the bathroom..." Another replied.
"$45.65" I finished scanning their items.
"Oh shit man, we don't have that money!" The tallest panicked.
"Relax man... I'm sure Barney has the money..." The last in the gang calmed the rest as he strolled towards the bathroom. Three minutes later he walked out called the others "Guys he ain't there!"
"Maybe he's still in your vehicle..." I suggested, not wanting to believe what I thought. The band of men left the shop and instantly turned back inside with their companion. Nothing happened, I was worried for a second. They purchased their items and exited the store.
I spotted the clock and saw I only had a minute left until it was the end of my shift. Jerry was a bit late though he came at 01:04pm which is four minutes overdue. He wandered in with a tired expression, I told him about the new employee and handed over the shift to him.
That day when I got back home I did something I never thought I would do. I took a walk to the local park and sat down on a bench waiting. It took ten minutes for an ugly teen to sit next to me and ask the question.
I gave him the money and received a very small amount of marijuana. I returned home and planned out the rest of my scheme...
