Scott's Shift

"Evangeline Howard, age 22, part-time student, but we can work around that. Hmm, let's see, this says you have some experience at a few restaurants in your home-town. That's a good thing. Experience is everything in the fast food business. I have an available shift coming up this Thursday if you can be here by three o'clock. I'll have Madison train you." The man with a greasy ketchup smear on his collar says flatly, peering over the top of his clipboard of applications. His eyes locked onto mine for a moment as he pushes his glasses back along the bridge of his nose. "I would love to start working as soon as possible, Sir. But, I'm afraid Thursday is orientation for the fall semester at Waxon Community. I'm scheduled for the noon seminar and I believe it lets out around four." I look down at my shoes. I'm embarrassed to be so picky about scheduling but I really need to make school a priority. With my GPA being a solid 3.5, I can get my degree in as few as two years. "Well, then I can have Gracie train you at five if you want to come after your orientation, Evangeline." His posture changes as if he senses my anxiety. His body language becomes slightly more open and comfortable. "Thank you, Sir. By the way, it's just Evie." I say, trying to look anywhere else besides his glowering, piercing eyes behind his thick-framed glasses. "Alright," he flashes me a toothy grin. "Evie, I think that will fit better on a nametag, anyway. When you get here on Thursday, I will already be gone for the day, since I am a morning shift manager. What you will want to do is tell Scott that I approved you as a new hire and that Gracie is going to train you. I'm sure Scott will love having help on the night team. They have been short handed since Amanda left them last month." He seems to nostalgically think back to when "Amanda" was still part of the crew. His smile slowly starts to fade as if he remembers he is actually sitting here with me, closing out our interview. I gather my paperwork and he hands me a tee shirt with the company logo emblazoned across the chest. I shove it into my backpack and head for the door. Come Thursday, I will be a college student by day and waitress by night, filling any free time by studying the menu or doing coursework. Wednesday morning I decide to prepare just slightly for whatever tomorrow may bring. I brush my teeth and pull on my big, thick, grey sweater. The mountains are so different from my hometown and given that it is late summer turning into fall, I have been wearing my sweater more often. I slip on my shortest pair of denim cutoff shorts and my high top sneakers. I brush my hip length hair and decide to wear it down for the day. I grab my backpack, throwing my wallet and a spare hairclip inside and sling it over my shoulder. I run downstairs to where my uncle is usually hiding in the garage. I moved in with my aunt and uncle last week to get away from Mom and Dad. They have been fighting so much lately that it's affecting every aspect of my daily life and causing my grades to slip. In the last year alone, I went from a straight A, 4.0 GPA student to having Bs and a 3.5 average. Aunt Thelma said I could stay with them as long as I worked or went to school. School was always more of a hobby for me anyway and I'm over halfway to my degree. I decided to pick up a part time job to fill in the empty space in my afternoons. Little to no free time is perfect for me to keep my mind off of Mom and Dad constantly arguing. Although, Mom calls every day to check in since I moved over 1000 miles away to stay with Aunt Thelma and Uncle Nate. Dad doesn't really have time to call anymore because all of his free time goes to Cynthia, his latest girlfriend. The same Cynthia that was in my graduating senior class. Mom finally walked out on Dad last month after almost 30 years of being married. Mom found the unsaved numbers in his phone that all seemed to be sending Dad inappropriate pictures. Mom was too disgusted to actually read any of the text messages the random numbers sent. "Uncle Nate, could you please take me in town? I'd like to buy some new pants for work, and maybe see about getting some new shoes, too." I find him tinkering on an old racecar engine, suspended on chains near the back of the garage. Uncle Nate loved to get his hands dirty playing with everything a mechanic could dream of having in Granddad's hand-me-down garage. Uncle Nate and Aunt Thelma inherited this house and two-car garage when Granddad passed away and they always welcomed family with open arms. They said Granddad was the same way. "Well, sure, sweetheart. Give me about 10 minutes or so to go inside and get this grease off my hands. I'll meet you in the car and we'll go to the big outlet complex. We can't be gone too long though, Aunt T is making Italian tonight with the works - pasta, garlic bread, parmigiano, lasagna. You name it, she'll have it and I don't want to miss that." Uncle Nate smiled at me from ear to ear. He was such a child at heart when it came to Aunt Thelma's cooking. "You are the best, Uncle Nate." I bounce on the balls of my feet with anticipation. Uncle Nate loved to go shopping if it meant he could price check the latest tools and mechanic accessories. That's probably why he chose to take me to the outlet stores. While I look at girly clothes, he can walk down to the next store and catalog all the things Aunt Thelma could buy for him the next birthday, holiday, or anniversary they celebrate. Uncle Nate fixes engines for a living at a local shop in town and spends his free time knee-deep in oil pans and spark plugs. The man lives and breathes his passion. I can remember when I was 14, Uncle Nate and my dad thought it would be funny if everyone bought each other a classic car-themed Christmas present. Grandma and Granddad got a painted wooden sign to hang in their living room. All of the adults laughed like children over the comically innapropriate joke to do with drive-in movie theaters. Mom got a pair of "Hot-Rod" earrings that Dad found. I got a Driving for Dummies book since I was studying to get my permit when I turned 15. But Aunt Thelma won out with the best gift that year. She bought Uncle Nate an actual 1965 Mustang Fastback with the arcadian blue paint job fully restored. I also remember the year when Mom let Uncle Nate pick out my Halloween costume. Mom had to spend nine hours sewing and altering, adding pink and purple sequins and frills so I would wear it. When I saw pictures in later years, I realized that Uncle Nate had picked something that made me look like a car when I was being held in his arms. I guess things were simpler almost 20 years ago. That was back when family get-togethers were me, Mom, Dad, Aunt Thelma, Uncle Nate, Grandma, and Granddad. Now, our lives are so different that I don't even think we remember the meaning of either word, "family" or "get-together." "Will that be all for you today, young lady?" The cashier's question drug me back to reality. I had been absentmindedly shuffling forward in the check-out line, daydreaming about the good times from my childhood. "Y-yes ma'am, I'm so sorry about that." I blush as I hand her the cash from my wallet. She had a charming, warm smile that reminded me of Mom. Everybody I have met so far in this town are kind-hearted and southernly sweet.