Mr. Moore is reading my job application, “Okay, let’s see what we have here: Kyle Stevenson, 17-years old, no prior employment experience and you attend Maplewood High School. Reason for wanting to work here: ‘This would be a fun place to work,’ and you ‘would like to start saving money to buy a car and for college.’ Is all of this correct?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Please, no need to be so formal with all the ‘sir’ business, you may call me Bill.”
“Okay, Bill.” It seems a little awkward calling a possible employer by his first name, but if that’s what the man wants, so be it.
“Well Kyle, the position we are offering is not a glamorous one. You would be bussing tables, washing dishes, wiping down the arcade games, sweeping the floor, and generally keeping things clean around here. We also will need you to occasionally help with making and baking pizzas at extra-busy times. I can only offer minimum wage to start, but we can see how it goes from there.”
“Sounds good to me sir – I mean Bill.”
“We do have a few expectations here at Pizza Depot that I will go over with you. It’s important for you to be on time for all your shifts. If you should need to call in sick, we ask that you give as much notice as possible for us to call in a replacement. We’ll provide you with red shirts, a hat and an apron like you see our other employees wearing. You may wear blue jeans and tennis shoes if you wish, but they must be clean and no holes in them. We may not be able to offer you very many hours at first; but, as we get busier in the summertime, that should change.”
I nod in agreement and Bill continues, “I understand how popular this establishment is with young people. If you should work here, I need you to understand that you are not to be distracted by your peers visiting as customers while you’re on-duty. When you are off-duty, you are welcome to enjoy this place with your friends for as long as you wish. I’m sure you understand the importance of this.”
“Yes, I do, I won’t let you down.”
“Well okay, Kyle, consider yourself hired. How easy was that for your first job interview?”
“Very easy.”
Bill and I shake hands, “Welcome aboard, I think you’ll enjoy being a part of our team.”
“I think I will too. When can I start?”
“Come back next Tuesday at 4:00 and report to my daughter Renee, she’s returning from college for the summer and will be working here as a shift manager. She’ll train you on all of your duties, and get you all set up with shirts, hats and a work schedule.”
“Thank you, Bill!”
—–
Tuesday of the following week, I arrive at Pizza Depot 15-minutes before 4:00, my mother said to always show up early and make a good first-impression. When I arrive, I ask a passing waitress for Renee Moore, she motions towards the kitchen area, “She’s in the back.”
As I’m walking towards the opening that leads to working spaces, I see a cute blonde, with shorter-length hair, who looks to be about 20 or 21 come out to greet me.
“Hi, I’m Renee. You must be Kyle?” she smiles and reaches out to shake my hand. My first impressions are for having such a big, tall father, his daughter is rather short and petite, maybe 5’ – 2” at most.
“Yes, that’s me.”
“Dad told me you were coming in today. Welcome to the Pizza Depot crew, come on in the back with me.”
She leads me through the kitchen area to a small back office. “Okay, first we need to get you set up with some uniform shirts, hats and an apron.” She looks me up and down, “How tall are you? You look about 5’-10”, 5’-11”?”
“I’m 5’-10””
Renee sorts through a big box of red Pizza Depot shirts and pulls one out. “Okay, how about an Adult Male Medium, try this on. You’re pretty slender so if it’s too loose we can try a smaller size.”
I try the shirt on over my t-shirt, it’s a little loose, but fits fine. She digs out a few more of the same size along with a hat and an apron.
Renee spends the afternoon with me going over all the duties I will be expected to do. Bill was right, it’s not a glamorous position washing dishes and cleaning up, but I think it will be cool working here. Renee and everyone I met that day seem like fun people to work with.
I work a couple of days a week for these first several weeks, usually a Tuesday afternoon and a Friday or a Saturday afternoon. Bill did say it wouldn’t be very many hours at first, but they should pick up in the summertime. By the time the school year ends in early June, I was bumped up to working four afternoons a week.
—–
I enjoy working at Pizza Depot, not so much for the tasks I am assigned; cleaning dishes and mopping bathrooms isn’t fun for anyone. It’s because of my co-workers, we get along great and that makes it fun.
Bill is great to work for, I think he has taken a liking to me for being such a “responsible young man,” always arriving to work on time and getting my job done. He gave me a 50-cent per hour raise after my first four weeks working here.
I can already tell that working here with these people has been good for me, I’m loosening up and it’s bringing me out of my shell. Eric is pretty funny and likes to joke around. He’s a cook and a big oaf of a guy that loves to party. The others say he loves it too much and tends to come in late with a hangover every now and then.
Shift manager Benny is cool and laid-back, for the most part, except he does get a little tense and wound-up when it’s busy in here. I understand he’s a bit of a PC gamer and builds his own computers, he’s fun to talk with about popular games and techy-stuff.
I especially like and get along with Renee. She has such a cool, perky and outgoing personality that I enjoy, not to mention how damn cute she is; I could do well to learn from her. She nicknamed me Sport, I’m not sure why since most sports activities and I rarely cross paths, but I’m fine with it. It seems that most shifts I work, Renee is also working, I like that.
It’s nice to fit-in here, but I do admit it can be hard to not be distracted when my friends come in to hang out. I remind them that, “I can’t talk right now, I’m on duty,” and will hang out later.
—–
One early June Friday afternoon, Tiffany Hammond comes in hanging on her football-player boyfriend Blake Ramsey, along with his friends Justin and Dirk. Tiffany and I have known each other for many years and grew up in the same neighborhood. I consider her a good friend, although we’ve somewhat drifted apart these last couple of years. She and I used to be able talk about almost anything, we even share the same birthday of September 12th.
When we were kids, Tiffany was an awkward girl, but at the beginning of high school, she really blossomed into an attractive young woman. She has long brown, slightly wavy hair, beautiful blue eyes and a pretty face in that cute girl-next-door way.
In elementary and middle school, I always thought of her as just a friend, but these last few years, I have become quite attracted to her. I often have thoughts about wanting to explore a relationship beyond friendship. Unfortunately for me, when it comes to guys, she only seems attracted to the athletic type, the alpha-males; consequently, that never puts me on her radar as anything more than a trusted guy-friend. She occasionally consults me when she needs a guy’s perspective, looking for advice dealing with which ever jock she is currently dating. All too often, it is impossible for me to give any useful advice. I just can’t get into their self-centered, ego-driven mindset. Guys like that and myself are polar-opposites of the guy-spectrum.