Join me during the month of April as I blog through the alphabet. My theme will be What’s In A Name. I will attempt to write up a short fictional character sketch beginning with a different letter of the alphabet each day. Remember that a place can also be a character.
Fran
“I should have stayed home. I should have called in. But he said last time that one more absence and I would be out of a job and I have to have a job. This one isn’t great but it pays most of the bills and keeps a roof over my head. I can’t lose this job. That’s the only reason I’m here.”
She put on her smock and her name tag and grabbed her pencil and pad and headed out to the floor. It was mostly the regulars who knew her story but there were others out there, too. There was that older lady with the grandkids. She was a semi regular and Fran didn’t know her name but she recognized her and the teens. She was always nice to her so Fran always tried to be extra nice and attentive to her.
Five minutes out on the floor and she had to go answer the vibrating phone in her pocket. Today was going to be one of those days when she had to answer every call, just in case. She delivered the milk she was pouring and headed to the back. It turned out this wasn’t what she was expecting but it was an important call and she was glad she had answered it. Her daughter didn’t feel well at school so the nurse wanted to send her home but Fran explained that she was at work and couldn’t leave and her daughter would have to stay at school until she found someone that could go pick her up and keep her until there would be someone at home.
Back out on the floor she could tell the lady with the granddaughter was looking for her so she headed over, pausing at a couple of tables to leave their checks.
“Her milk is supposed to be chocolate milk, not white milk.”
“You’re absolutely right and I knew that when I poured it. I’m so sorry. I’ll fix it right away.” At least this was an easy fix, thought Fran. She grabbed the milk and headed to the back to pour in some chocolate syrup. Then her phone buzzed again and she had to go get it. It was her neighbor letting her know she couldn’t pick up her daughter. Fran made another quick call to another neighbor and left a message before heading back out to the floor.
And it kept up all afternoon. She wasn’t out on the floor more than five minutes without having to go to the back and take or make a call. She tried to do it as inconspicuously as possible so the manager wouldn’t find out. This manager was a real prick and he would totally fire her ass if he got even one complaint about her. So Fran did her best, asking her co-workers to cover for her if at all possible.
Then she saw the manager looking her way and realized the older who she had messed up totally was talking to the manager up at the register. Oh no! This was it. She knew it. She braced to be fired and then the phone vibrated again. She had to go get the call. This one was sure to be the one she was expecting.
Wasted Days And Wasted Nights 