Zach racked the billiard balls in the center of the table and positioned them. He placed the white ball at the center of the table as he always did, 'Do you think you could get me in there?' Kevin asked, wiping the tip of his poolsitck with the chalk waiting his answer. Zach hesitated for a second, feigning that he was positioning his shot before answering. Kevin had asked the same question of him several times before, over the years and he had provided him with the same stock, ambiguous answer. They were hiring usually it was true. But what Zach feared the most was that they would be hiring, and Zach would give his ok and Kevin would get hired, and he would proceed to call out, no call no-show, or do something else preposterous and he would get blamed.
Kevin was a nice guy to associate with outside of work. He was pleasant somewhat normal, was easy to deal with, all around good guy. 'I'm not even sure when they're opening anyway. They haven't even started construction.' Zach began breaking the rack. Kevin watched as the balls dispersed, 'Yeah but wasn't that over a month ago?' He asked. 'Yeah but you know every time I ask Gary he give me a different answer.' Zach replied. He had told Kevin all about Gary, his wild stories, his claims of his vast wealth, his strange personality. But Kevin had also visited Zach at work before, smoked bowls in the shed, and in general had a pretty good idea how things were run over there. He knows, Zach thought, that is he get's in there he can pretty much get away with anything. Kevin took his shot and sank a solid in the corner pocket, 'I don't mean to bother you to much man, but I've been out of work for the past few months and my parents are starting to get on my ass. There's nothing out there, either.' He took another shot and got it in again.
Zach looked at the table to assess his next shot. He Kevin's parents getting 'On his ass.' was basically shorthand for they were going to kick him out of the house soon if he didn't get a job or do something with his life. Of course Kevin would never admit anything like that, but Zach had known him long enough to read between the lines, to read the subtext. Oftentimes it revealed far more then someone's actual speech. 'Well they got us watching the Diner now for six hours shifts or so, letting customers use the bathroom. I'm doing to tomorrow 12-6 if you want to come with, Gary will probably stop by at some point. We could definitely make a few trips out to the shed.' Zach lined up a shot and sunk a stripe. 'Yeah, sound good to me.' Kevin replied. I'm going to regret this, Zach thought. Oftentimes being a nice guy, didn't always pan out so well. There was always the off chance that Gary wouldn't hire him, wouldn't like him for some reason. However that seemed unlikely, as he seemed to hire just about anyone who applied. I suppose he couldn't be any worse then some of the people they hired..
'Do you have a passion for cooking?' Karl asked. 'Yeah, definitely.' Sam replied but with far less confident then he would have liked. It was a strange question to him and something he certainly had never asked himself before. When he had started at the diner he had little formal training, and the diner had taught him everything he knew. In truth he had applied for the job because the diner had been closed for over a month and it seemed as if little progress had been made in restoring the kitchen. They had started some of the work but it still was unclear when, if ever it would be done. Karl was the manager of the Inn a big man with a large head and a crushing handshake. He was seated in the lobby of the Inn, with two of the other Chef's Sara and Erik, all of whom asked him questions. Do you know how to make Hollandaise sauce? Can you work on your own with minimal supervision? Sam had managed to answer the question to the best of his abilities but he could sense he was falling short. Essentially what he conveyed to them was that although he may lack all the technical skills, he was adaptable and willing to learn. 'We like to think of ourselves as a learning kitchen so we can definitely show you some things if we think you're the right candidate for the position.' Chef Sara the head Chef said finally. 'So what we'd like to do is have you come in and do a bench test to see if you're a good fit. Can you come in tomorrow at 10?' 'Sure.' Sam replied.
'Ok, we'll see you then.' Sara answered. He shook hands with Karl and Erik and walked out of the lobby outside, it was warm but with a nice breeze. She was waiting outside, by his van looking at her phone. 'How did it go?' She asked as she saw him emerge. 'Ok I think,' Sam replied getting into driver's seat. 'Do I have a passion for cooking?' He asked her. Her name was Andrea and he still couldn't believe he'd actually hooked up with her. Mere weeks ago she had been merely a girl he had interacted with at the liquor store and sometimes talked to. 'I don't know, do you?' She asked innocently. 'I guess, I mean I like it sure. But why do I have to be so invested in it? Why do I have to have such specific reasons for wanted to work at a particular place? Maybe I just want the money. I mean if they get me in and I show up on time, work hard and get things done isn't it a win-win?' Sam answered.
He started the car and they pulled out. 'I think you overthink these things too much, Sam.' She remarked as they pulled out the parking lot down the main drive of the old historic village. 'Yeah maybe I do, it's just this is the first interview I've had for a new job in a while. I'm thinking I want to get out of there before they open back up.' 'You've been saying this since I met you, why don't you take action? Get out there?' She asked him as he turned on the main road. 'You're a tough audience aren't you?' Sam said jokingly. 'Well, its true. Nothing is ever going to change if you don't take the first steps.' She replied. 'Hey reach into the center console I got a half a joint in there. Light that up.' Andrea reached in and sparked it up. 'You certainly got a passion for smoking.' She said as she passed the joint over to him.
'Hey that's not fair,' Sam answered. 'I got a passion for banging. A passion for you.' She smiled and blushed a little. I certainly have that.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment