Escalation

'It's all yours.' Jim said to Zach as he walked off the line. It had been a long day, according to Jim, filled with lots of orders and little breaks, and how they had run out of almost everything. French fries, white bread, home fries, and a couple of other things. Should be a good night, Zach thought sarcastically as he walked out onto the line. It was already past four, and as far as he could tell, no one else was working. It had happened to him plenty of times before, coming in, and having the morning shift leave with no one else there. He could do it without too much difficulty, there was always a little frustration, but nothing like this. Everything was out, burgers, fries, bacon, eggs, gravy, most of the things needed to keep everything running. Not that he knew any of this as he went in, he had learned in during the first two hours, he was now on his third hour of cooking with no one in sight. He hadn't been totally swamped, but it had been steady, consistent. The whole time Zach had wondered where Alex had been, Lindsay, the waitress had told him that she had heard that he had been in earlier, but had left around 2.

 Zach took the omelette off the grill and threw some homefries on it. He had finished the rest of the tickets, and he was on the last one. I'm taking a fucking break, he thought as he put the order in the window, if it fucking kills me. This fucking guy, he talks about how I need to step up as management, and he's not even fucking here? Zach thought as he looked out the window. He walked out the door of the kitchen onto the dining floor, all the tables had their food. Everything was in order, 'I'm going outside,' He told Lindsay as he walked back through the kitchen. If no ones going to give me a break, I'm going to give myself one, he thought to himself as he walked outside. He walked to his car and lit the joint he had in a case in his pocket, taking a puff as he stepped inside. He might show up at any minute, to 'check in', as he said. To make sure 'everything was ok.' in his words. It wasn't just the fact that today was fucked that bothered him. That Kevin wasn't coming in and no one had bothered to tell him, or that they were out of everything. It was the general apathy, the feeling that seemed to prevail among everyone there that that was simply 'How it was,' and that nothing was ever really going to change. The fact that Alex, the manager, his boss, the person who was supposed to be training him as assistant manager, was barely there, and still managed to talk about him and his shift as if they weren't doing anything.

Zach took another puff and leaned back in his chair. He didn't want to come back but he knew he had too. Had to endure the next five hours or so, to make it through somehow. He put out the joint and stepped out of his car. As he walked back toward the back door he noticed Alex's car parked in the back, shit he thought. He's come back, the old Pop-in, Zach thought. It was going to be difficult not to say anything to him, about how he felt. How things had been going since he had taken over, how it now seemed like everyone was talking about each other, trying to gain favor. Zach lit a cigarette, to mask the smell as he walked in. He's probably already got some kind of criticism ready, it seemed to be the only thing he actually ever did. Obviously he's not ordering anything when he's on that fucking computer all day, Zach thought bitterly. He was slightly stoned from the joint, but Alex's presence was putting a damper on it. He always felt like just walking in decreased a person high by at least 50 percent for the atmosphere alone. It was quiet as he walked in for the most part, he could hear the sound of hushed voices. As he walked onto the line he saw Alex, taking down a ticket with an apron on. 'Why was Lindsay out here cooking when I came in?' He asked Zach as he walked on the line.

'I had been here for 3 hours without a break, she was trying to give me one.' Zach replied, sounding more hostile then he intended. 'I need her out there, not in here cooking for you.' Alex replied. 'I'm sorry, I just didn't realize I was going to be working alone out here tonight. Oh, maybe if we had someone who was in charge of scheduling people, and making sure we had coverage for each shift, we wouldn't have this kind of problem. Oh, right! We do, he's just never here!' Zach couldn't believe the words were coming out of his mouth but he couldn't stop them once they came on. 'Excuse me?' Alex said, looking vexed, his face red. 'You heard me, if we had someone who would do their job, and stop blaming people beneath him maybe we wouldn't have this problem. If we had a manager who would actually order what we need, who would help us on the line and help us prep and keep things in order, as a kitchen manager is supposed to do, maybe I wouldn't have to sneak a break just for a chance for a breath of fresh air and a smoke. Maybe if we had someone who knew what is was like to work a 8 to 12 hour shift without a break they would have some prospective on this kind of thing and wouldn't put their employee's in that kind of position.'

Alex froze, confused. He wasn't used to being talked to that way, Zach could tell. Zach wasn't used to saying things in that way. For a second they both froze, Zach ensure of what his next move should be, Alex not sure exactly what just happened. 'You sound upset.' Alex said finally. 'Maybe you should take the rest of the night off.' 'I would, but if I left their wouldn't be anyone else here who knows how to cook. Except Lindsay and you don't want her to be back here.' Alex looked pissed for a second, then thoughtful. 'Alright, I'll call Sam.' He said finally and walked back into the office. Zach heard the buzzing from the printer and watched as an order popped up, two pancakes with sausage links. Nice, easy stuff, a nice distraction. I'm going to need to find another job.

There are advantages to a life of celibacy, Sam thought to himself as he took a long draw of his 40. No risk of STD's, no unwanted pregnancies, don't have to worry about having any kids. Simplicity, nothing wrong with that, don't have to deal with another persons wants and needs. Just straight up freedom, to do whatever one wished, hell maybe he could sell all of his worldly possessions and just roam the earth, getting into adventures. That could happen, maybe, if he were someone else. Someone who had more completely embraced their impulsive urges, who didn't calculate the risks. The consequences the vast array of things that could happen as a result of one decision. Lincoln could have stayed in that night and not gone to Ford's theater. Kennedy could maybe have postponed going to Texas that one time and maybe things would have been different. Sam could have chosen to not to to the bar in town that one night and not gotten that D.U.I. He sometimes imagined there was an alternate universe somewhere, where he hadn't gotten that D.U.I. where he had gone home, fine and dandy, and had enjoyed a nice long sleep in his own bed.

Sometimes he woke up thinking that that everything was all it was before, that he still had the van, that Andrea hadn't broken up with him, that everything was running as it was before. He always had this shattered when he woke up and looked outside, saw the absence of a vehicle in the driveway, and it all came back. He took a long swig of his 40 and took a look at the time on the computer, 7:30, almost time to go to bed. He was feeling the the effects as he was on his second 40 as well as a vicodin or two. Yup almost time. His phone lit up suddenly, buzzing, a text. From Alex, 'Any chance you could come in for a few hours tonight?' He read it before opening it, pondering. He wasn't in any kind of condition to do much of anything, left alone cook in a potentially busy kitchen, but on the other hand he could  knew he cold use the extra money. Most of the time he could come in, but now he was mostly done. Still, he was kind of bored sitting there. I'll need to get a ride, he thought to himself. He wouldn't want to risk riding the bike in the state he was in, he'd probably get hit. He picked up his phone and replied, 'Sure. I need to get a ride. Be there in a half hour.'

There was a thick fog in the air as Sam neared the diner. It hung on the ground, so thick in places, that Diane, his landlady had to go extra slow as a precaution. He looked at the clock in her car, 8:30 later then he had hoped. There was no cars parked in front, and the place looked mostly deserted as they had pulled in, so it looked like it wouldn't be too bad. He saw Zach sitting in the shed smoking a cigarette as Diane pulled in. 'Thanks, Diane.' He said as he got out. The fog still hung in the air and it had cooled he noticed. You can do this, he said to himself as he walked to the shed. Far crazier thing have happened. He had smoked a couple of bowls and drank a couple glasses of water at home so bring him down somewhat. It has succeeded somewhat, but the vicodin's had kicked in and now everything seemed  a haze. 'Hey, Zach.' Sam said as he walked into the shed. 'What's going on?' Zach replied. 'Not much. I was just hanging at home when Alex texted me to come in.' Sam replied. Zach had a faraway look in his eyes, 'I had a fight with Alex. Kevin called in and no one told me, and I took a break when it was slow and had Lindsay cover me and Alex came in. He asked he why she was out there cooking and I lost it. I told him off.' 'Told him off?' Sam asked. 'Everything, everything we've been talking about. The schedule, how things are run, how we always run out of things.' Sam was silent for a moment. 'Well, shit.' He said finally. Zach got up, 'I stood up to him, he's not going to forget that. Anyway I'm out, got an interview for a new job tomorrow. Zach walked outside, into the dense fog. Fuck, that sucks, Sam thought.

Headquarters

'That will be 12.50.' The woman at the checkout said to Dave. He looked at her with a blank expression, before finally realizing that she was, in fact, attempting to complete a transaction, he handed her a twenty. She smiled and handed him his change, a 100 dollar bill. 'This isn't right.' Dave started to say, but she put her hands to his lips, 'Shhhh...' She said, putting another couple of hundreds in his pocket. Yess Dave thought, as she jumped over the counter and attached herself to his hip. 'Let's get away from all this forever,' Dave said to her as they walked out the door to the parking lot. Everything was fine until they walked outside, and the sun, seemed bigger and bigger...

Dave awoke to find himself face down on his keyboard drooling. What the fuck? How long had he been this way? Minutes?Hours? Had anyone seen him? How did he even get here? He vaguely remembered waking up at some horribly early hour, and remembering that work was something he was still expected to show up for, and getting up and showering. Putting on a suit, obviously, because he had one one now. And somehow making it out the door. There were even flashes of somehow getting into a car and navigating heavy interstate traffic to make it here, still he could not recall coming into his office, nor how he wound up unconscious for an undetermined period of time. He looked around, everything was how it was usually, he had opened the blinds of his window, and sunlight filled the room. He looked at the clock on his computer, 11:00AM, ok not too bad. Had anyone seen him in such a state? He imagined not as they would probably be in his office now, coaxing him to consciousness. The sun filled his office and he could vaguely see the traffic from the window in his office, non-stop.

Dave's email was open as well as several other windows, he had started work fine, got in, somehow, managed to convince his co-workers that it was just another day. That he was perfectly capable of making it through, another day. That he did not in fact, ponder being of author of his own demise from day to it. That everything in his life wasn't falling apart, unraveling, so quickly. It seemed like only last week he was getting promoted from manager of one of F.R. Rogers Gas Stations to district manager. It had all seemed like a dream then and it felt as if it was all crashing down to quickly now. His wife had left him, the divorce had been quick, she had taken the house also, so now he had been reduced to living in a tiny one bedroom that  seemed to quickly overflow with bottle, so many bottles, and pizza boxes, chinese food containers, the refuse of a depressed single man. 'You have an addictive personality.' That was how one of his most recent therapists had put it. 'With drug seeking behaviors..' As if there was a secret committee in his brain that was actively conspiring to procure him drugs.

It was all going south so quickly like a shitty 'Behind the music' episode, except this was his real life. I need to straighten out, he thought and opened his desk and brought out the bottle of adderall. As he brought it out he noticed an email, amid the many he had opened, that he hadn't checked yet. It was titled 'rearrangements.' It was sent to all the bosses and to Alex and Dave and a few others, it read: 'Hi, Team, I've been thinking about a few rearrangements in regard to our leadership. Clearly the gas station on broad street really need our attention, my thought was to have Dave take over there and have Alex take over his position, I know he's only been here for a little bit but I feel he's shown the kind of force and drive we need...' Dave had stopped reading when he read the words 'Alex,' and 'Taking over his position.' Never mind the fact that since the eight years he had been promoted no one had offered his a raise, let alone a promotion. He looked at the header again, that he hadn't even considered that he was sending a mass email to the same person he was demoting. That in addition to being insulting they didn't even have the common courtesy to have tact. Dave thought of responding, of posting something long and dramatic. Nah, instead I'll do something better, much simpler, I'll just kill him.