Confessions of a Fast Food Worker Part 2 - Mc Dicks

TW: Language/Sexual harassment/Gambling

I wasn't going to jail and Milli's longtime relationship was on the rocks so we started looking for a place together. That only meant this 18 year old needed a job. He offered to drive if I could get the same graveyard shift as him, since my car was now forever impounded. We both knew the store manager at Mc Dicks, Walnut having dated her young daughter, but Cher had taken a liking to me so the job was guaranteed. It would turn out to be no less of a gong show than anything else in life.

I managed the front counter, Milli was the fry cook, and a lady we'll call Chandra ran the drive thru. She'd stated early on in my employment she only applied to pass probation for the maternity leave Mc Dicks offered. I had mixed feelings about it, but it didn't seem to effect me. She dated a 7 foot tall, gruff first nations man. Neither of them were too fond of me and he'd often come in drunk to start fights.

One night, Milli had an idea, "Do some curling?" he suggested smiling and holding a burger he'd just finished. He launched it from the beginning of the burger station towards the holding tray. It veered off course, landing on the floor. We both laughed. He tried a few more times to push it straight but it was hurting my brain to watch.

"I'm gonna toss one," I said, going around the back to show him how it was done. I wound up, shoved the burger, and it stopped in the holding tray. Convinced he'd learned something, he made a fat burger stacked with all the ingredients. He wrapped it and pushed it back and forth, winding up. But this also meant we weren't doing our jobs.

With the force and straighteness of a professional curler, it soared. We cheered at the velocity and right as the burger was reaching it's destination, Chandra peeked her head down, "Where's my order?!" she yelled right at the instant the fat burger made contact with the metal holding area, exploding in a frenzy of ingredients and sauce, most of which landed on Chandra. Like most things, the shade would be tossed my way.

"What the fuck, Romeo?!" she yelled furiously.

"Whoa! That one wasn't me!" I exclaimed, expecting Milli to take the credit.

But he didn't and she was already convinced otherwise, "I watched you throw the burger," she yelled back like I hadn't just watched her bend over after it had been thrown.

"Alrighty..." I said rolling my eyes. She cleaned herself up and took away her order. I punched Milli in the shoulder, "Nice shot...!" and we both laughed thinking nothing more of it.

Forty minutes went by and as I stood at the counter, Chandra's boyfriend walked in. Oh fuck... here we go again... I thought, not even considering the burger olympics that had recently transpired. He walked over, drunk as usual, "Heard you've been throwing burgers at my girl," he said, sticking his chest out.

"Well, that's a lie," I began stating my case but he only got violent. He leaned against the counter, threatening to kick my ass. Maybe I would look better after I thought. But there was no customers so I wasn't about to stick around to find out, instead retreating to the back.

I gave Milli another punch, sincerely thanking him for his services. Time dragged on long enough for a manager to come out and ask what I was doing. I explained the situation with this much bigger man who wanted to perform a one-sided tango with me. At first, the manager told me it was my job to go deal with it. I didn't agree so after another 10 minutes of standing, the manager went out and threatened to call the cops.

***

Chandra would have her babies and we'd see much less of them. At first that seemed like a godsend but it came with a price after all. Even though she'd been pretty open about not coming back after maternity leave, she'd always play it up otherwise for the company. They said they couldn't afford to pay her maternity, and hire another person to attend drive thru. Instead, I was now required to run both the front counter and drive thru, while still completing the rest of my overnight tasks like stocking. Not even a raise for incentive.

I'd meet a lot of drunk people working graveyards, but Halloween of 2010 was something else. Our Mc Dicks was located quite close to the biggest city high school, and as the night set in, so did lots of kids. Not everyone was ordering, which wasn't unusual, but it was unusual that they weren't leaving.

Curious, I asked one of the kids what was happening, "Mass texting around the school, we've been planning to come here for Halloween for awhile," one of the kids stated and it didn't look like he was joking. Within an hour, I couldn't even enter the lobby from the front of the counter. It was shoulder to shoulder with high school kids. Then they started piling on benches, and when that space ran out, the tables.

"Hey! Get off the tables!" I said, knowing I had to clean them later and trying to keep some hold of whatever was transpiring. That was disregarded and instead, a beer bong was pulled out. That's when I started freaking out and went to get Cher, who was working that night.

"I saw on the camera feed. Not sure there's much we can do at this point. They kind of filed in pretty quick," she said seeming surprisingly calm while I was already at wits end. I couldn't make the end of the lineup, let alone the front. She came out to help me, but I remained confused why she let the drinking continue on.

I worried for her career and my own since she was the only one on my side, "Are you sure we shouldn't try putting an end to this sooner than later?"

She had her bad ass moments but would remain one of the best managers I'd ever work for. "It's going to be really hard getting all these kids out of here, and I don't want to involve the police on Halloween. If you can't beat em, join em, right?" she said walking away.

Okay... I thought. What did she even mean by that?! Should I start drinking? I'd already had to turn down lots of offers since I was working. Then I heard the volume for the music crank. All the kids cheered while I just counted down each insane hour. That night, Mc Dicks had become a BYOB nightclub. Truly terrible to have worked, but a crazy story to recall. And I think the craziest, was actually, overall, how well behaved they were. They'd left most of the drama back at the school.

***

The head manager under Cher didn't like me. It seemed clear he had a crush on Milli with his overt flirting and would extend small benefits to him. One benefit I'd often see others receive was leniency on being late, whereas I'd be reprimanded if I walked in even 1 minute late. It was equally confusing because I'd been that drama kid. I actually accepted the gay community whereas this other straight man he was flirting with, clearly hadn't at the time. If it wasn't a manager that didn't like me, they were often high on drugs.

Except the one; Cher. Except she'd inform us shortly after Halloween that it would be her last week. I knew the implications and could only imagine who would replace her. I sadly wished her luck fixing up her next Mc Dicks. She'd straighten ours out, but it wouldn't be long before her hard work was undone. I'd see her from time to time when she needed something for her store.

We received our new manger, Mike, and I don't care to give him the benefit of anonymity as others. He was shaped like a bell, with a gross, flaky moustache and greasy hair. His breath smelt of stale cheese. He sold pot but told us, "I don't smoke drugs," which was quite true. It turned out he much preferred to crush up oxies and snort them. When he wasn't sleeping in the back office, leaving all the front duties and customers to me, he was in the washroom snorting shit for hours on end. Occasionally when he didn't feel like flying opium kites, he'd come help with till.

He'd become the worst part of the employment there. Whether he was coming to help or not was questionable. I'd often be taking an order in drive thru and he'd come up on my backside, resting his boner there, flexing the muscle. Sometimes he'd slowly grind up and down. With that stale, gross smelling breath, he'd whisper in the ear opposite my microphone.

It was often, "Bet you'd love if I bent you over this counter and rammed my hard cock up your tight little ass hole right now..." from that it was basically rinse and repeat each night. He wasn't very clever so it was often a suggestion of my ass or mouth. Life had just accumulated into a pile of insurmountable shit that I reasoned this was just my life and I ought to get used to it, becoming numb to life in general.

And most people around were just laughing it off. "He must have a crush on you..." Milli would joke. Other managers often partaking.

But I didn't think he really did, I figured it had to be something else entirely. Even just making my life miserable. I wouldn't use the same logic, but mine for figuring he wouldn't actually rape me was because he'd been pretty quick to show off his wife. My jaw dropped the first time I saw them together and I couldn't help but ask, "How did YOU get THAT?" but his answer made more sense, and the entire situation as well upon adult reflections.

"Drugs and a soft bed," he said, showing me another picture of his wife and her friend half naked playing around on a giant bed.

But the biggest reason I never quit was another mental catch-22 I found myself in with Juliet. If I quit another job after only a couple months, to a girl who wasn't around, it would just appear that I couldn't hold one. Excuses didn't pay bills. But I'd always remember how powerful and healing her hugs were. I reasoned that Mike could do whatever he felt like during my shift, as long as I'd one day get to go home to those arms.

And in the end, what pissed me off most was just how much work he wasn't doing. He always seemed to wait until I was drowning before stepping in. With Cher gone, I couldn't tell other managers, they were either laughing or didn't care. I'd try to express my situation to Mother Teresa, but as for par, she didn't realize the significance or how often it was occuring.

***

The last thing I needed on top of all of that was more debt, but that was always easy to find. A small gambling ring had formed and was ran by one of the higher level managers, Jay. His own gambling addiction was enough to instill anxiety in myself. One day he came in talking about being up 16 grand. I joked that he should take us all out. The next day he came in 30 grand in debt. I couldn't understand how he lost it that fast, or why he hadn't just cashed out. With that, I'd certainly secure my future with Juliet. But I'd come to learn why enough was never enough.

It started quite harmless with $20 bets here and there. I thought this was more friendly than anything. I'd find myself actually interested in sports and teams that I hadn't before. I'd won more than I lost, but didn't really know much about sports. I often just bet on teams I knew or liked. The CFL Grey Cup was coming up and there was small talk about the underdog coming out victorious given a string of injuries on the other team. Jay saw my interest pique and played it up, presenting an opportunity Little Romeo found too tempting. 4-1 odds if I bet $100 against the underdog.

It seemed fair given the major losses the #1 team had, but I'd also heard the underdog had really shit the field that year. We talked and I thought, eventually accepting the gamble. But than 3 more people wanted to take me up on the bet and I became nervous, figuring I was making an obvious mistake. I tried backing out but was encouraged that 'it was too late'. I just prayed to gods I didn't believe in, saying I'd never gamble again. But if I won, I'd be walking about with 2 Mc Dicks pay checks worth of winnings. 18 year old me reasoned that that was enough to throw at Juliet and be like, "Okay. What's next?"

I watched the game, but it wasn't fun as soon as it started and I'm sure you can guess the outcome. The underdog got creamed. If I hadn't had enough for Juliet before, I wasn't helping myself out. I sat their now in fear of the realization that I only managed to accumulate more debt. I'd offer to pay them off in increments, stating they'd get their total eventually, but once Jay said that was unacceptable, he wanted the full amount, the others agreed. While the others remained laid back, Jay would start threatening to break my legs if I didn't pay him.

I dragged it out simply unable to pay those full amounts, living in fear, until life took them elsewhere. One low level manager was offered a promotion at another store. I'd disconnect until I received a message many years later, me figuring he was looking to collect. Instead, we went out for beers, caught up and called it at that. Jay also disappeared out of the blue one day, not showing up for a shift.

I received the update on Jay as well while out for those beers. As far as he knew, Jay was still alive, but he'd accumulated some 6 digits of debt to loan sharks and had been on the run. Part of me was relieved, but the other part was still sad at the amount of stress his addiction must have accumulated. In the end, wiping it off my shoulders reasoning that my $100 wouldn't have changed his situation.

***

I'd continue meeting lots of strange people at night. I'd meet lots of stoners out on cheap munchie runs. They'd get a huge kick when I'd accept hoots out the drive thru window. Very rarely did I give guys free things though, males had never given me much substance in life. The ladies, were always different. One night, a gorgeous young lady drove through the drive thru and asked for some free stuff. I apologized and told her I wasn't able to help her but she offered a proposition, "What if I flash my tits for you?" she smiled.

My eyes widened. I was convinced I was the ugliest male on the planet so I could never understand how I ended up in these highly sexual situations with the opposite sex. I thought about Juliet, but she'd only stated I wasn't allowed to sleep with other women if I loved her. I reasoned that after some two years of celibicy, not watching porn, and overall just waiting for her to come around, that it would be okay if I accepted titty flashes. I'd just be looking. And given what I dealt with at Mc Dicks, I figured they owed me something.

You weren't likely to get anything fresh from me. Most burger mistakes weren't noticed until they were out the window. But each night, there was often something in rotation I'd have to throw out. Apple pies, muffins, salads. That's what I'd give away to the ladies instead of giving it to the garbage. I'd just mark down ahead of time what was tossed out 'at the end of the night'.

It wasn't like I was advertising or it was happening every night. It was often weekends and I guessed they'd usually had some liquid courage. But still, I was overworked attending both stations. I'd often be running around to maintain both. No one seemed to care about my stress levels and work dragged on.

***

One way we saved money was just eating entirely Mc Dicks. We'd take pancakes home for breakfast. But something I had once craved, starting making me sick, so I stopped eating for the most part. When my body needed it, I'd be able to stomach some Mc Dicks. Milli on the other hand, had always been a regular eater and continued packing away 3 square Mc Dicks meals. Even if he'd surpass me to the point where he was puking out his third meal.

Ganja, booze, and pizza became a regular staple of my diet when it could be afforded. The legal drinking age was 19, but since Milli was a year older than me, when his birthday came around, we became a couple steps short of being alcoholics. One offsale didn't close until 3AM and our breaks were at 2 and 2:30 respectively. On his break, he'd run over and buy a 2L. He'd drink half, get high, and I'd follow suit. Than we'd finish our shifts half plastered and decide if we felt like continuing after work.

One time I came in after my break and Milli leaned back, trying to form a cool pose. Instead, he stumbled and knocked every flipper into the garbage can. "I ain't putting my hand in their..." he replied looking at the gross garbage.

"Well, shit... You know how valuable those fuckers are!" I said laughing.

He knew so he reached in and pulled one out, "Tada!" and we both laughed in drunken stupidity.

Another time a chicken nugget had fallen out of the basket and we decided to punish it by leaving it floating. After awhile, the restaurant started to get smoky and it took awhile before it clicked in. We now raced before a grease fire started and our jobs became fried. It only got this far because the manager was more high than we were drunk.

Things proceeded like this for a few months and I settled in for the long haul. Milli had started seeing a new girl and she was quite pretty. It caused me to recede because I didn't want to intrude and hoped she'd be good for him. I wouldn't know how to invite women over to our estate, which seemed quite destitute, even if Milli had graciously given me the only bedroom. I was hung up on the one girl anyways.

It was around December when Mitch called me in for what seemed like biweekly performance reviews. No one got them as much as me and they seemed more like an excuse for him to put me down. I took this particular one as an opportunity to say, "I might work better if..." and explaining what Mike was doing on shift. His attitude changed. He stopped nagging me, but didn't show remorse either. He said he'd talk to Mike and ensure it stopped.

It did stop. I looked at the upcoming shift schedule and it was clear they were trying to push me out now. "One shift?!" I said aloud. That's why I stopped talking to people about shit. Nothing would change, it would get laughed off, or it would just get worse, like the bullies from school. Even Milli thought the course of action was amusing while I had to remind him that was how I paid my portion of the rent. I knew nothing about Unemployment Insurance and the last time I'd asked Social Assistance for help, they'd basically told me to go live back home.

The real kicker was yet to come. I hadn't quit yet, because at least one day was one day of work, and I reasoned I likely wouldn't be on the same shift as Mike. But I ended up quitting that same week.

As with a lot of managers I'd come to know over time, they made a reactionary move without a proper action plan in place or thinking about the consequences. They had one employee on maternity leave that wasn't coming back, and they'd changed the guy who'd been working both front till and drive thru down to one shift a week. Within a day they'd realize the gravity of their mistake.

I sat on the couch and the phone began to ring. It was Mitch from work, "Hey... I hate to bother you so close to a shift... I was wondering if you could come in and cover tonight,"

And I instantly lost my shit. I finally complained about sexual harassment, they take away 80% of my shifts, and then call me to cover the shifts they'd taken away from me. "Are you serious?" I asked, "You are ridiculous and can also find someone to cover my Friday shift because I quit," and I hung up. It wouldn't be my last dance with Mc Dicks. I'd certainly not have expected it, but I'd find myself back there sooner than later...