Take This Job... You Know the Rest
by Charlotte Bennardo
The first jobs I had were yardwork, babysitting, and waxing my grandmother's boat of a Buick. Not official 'in the workforce' jobs, but I worked and got paid.
The first job where I had a boss was in a restaurant as a dishwasher. While everyone was having fun on Friday and Saturday nights, I was doing other people's dishes. I came home smelling like shrimp and steak. Hey, it was money to pay for my car, insurance, and a little savings for college (didn't add up to much).
The boss wasn't really ever present during the evening hours, so the chefs (there were several who cycled through) took it upon themselves to be the ipso facto boss. That's code for 'you do what I tell you to do or I'll make your life miserable'. One guy was a winner; he laughed when an older woman had a heart attack in the ladies room. He'd toss plates and stuff onto the counter where the dishwashers worked, scaring them or narrowly missing hitting them. He belittled the servers. Real peach of a guy. I forget what started our 'disagreement' but he threw the long grill fork onto the counter just as I was reaching for a dish.
He nicked me in the finger, drawing blood.
No job was worth my safety. No jerk had the right to abuse me. Nothing was going to stop me from standing up for myself.
I threw it back at him.
It clacked on the floor between his feet. (Too low, in my opinion.) He told me I was fired.
Sure thing.
I walked out during a busy Saturday night rush. Relaxed at home.
The next day the real boss stops by my house (knew my parents) and offers me a slight (really, insulting) pay raise.
I refused.
For the rest of the summer before I left for college, I worked at McDonald's. I learned my value in that incident. My worth was not tied to a job or someone above me on the job ladder. Whether it was a restaurant or a respected legal firm, I worked hard. Respect for my safety, my person, and my results were non-negotiable. If there's a bit of advice I would pass along to young people seeking their first jobs, it's that if you let others disrespect you, then you disrespect yourself.
And you deserve better. Walk away.
Charlotte is busy with the debut of her new YA fantasy, The Excalibur Vow, out now. She writes MG, YA, NA, and adult novels and short stories in sci fi, fantasy, contemporary, horror, paranormal and romance genres. She is the author of the award-winning middle grade Evolution Revolution trilogy: Simple Machines, Simple Plans, and Simple Lessons. She co-authored the YA novels Blonde OPS, Sirenz, and Sirenz Back in Fashion. She has several short stories in anthologies and online, along with newspaper and magazine articles. Having finished her MFA, she's applying what she learned, and is working on several children's and adult novels and short stories. She lives in NJ but dreams of a Caribbean beach house. And more cats.
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