Nine to Five

The microwave dinged and Adrian removed his lunch to go sit at the dingy break room table. The plastic chair squeaked as he sat down. It was due to break apart any day now. Adrian hated his job at the local Save Mart, but what was he going to do? It paid the bills.

Barely.

Adrian was mentally preparing himself to go back to stocking shelves when his coworker, Rhys, burst through the door. Having clearly raced here from his car the boy wasn’t even in uniform yet. Well, Rhys was probably a teenager, maybe early twenties, but he was so scrawny it was hard sometimes to think of him as an adult. He was little more than skin and bones underneath a mop of sandy blond hair.

Rhys tossed his t-shirt off in a flurry, barely pausing to pack it into the busted-up locker provided to them, and wormed his way into his uniform shirt in its place, a black and blue polo matching Adrian’s own. Just as Rhys was beginning to slow down and catch his breath the break room door opened once again and in marched Phil.

Phil was their manager, and he commanded exactly zero of Adrian’s respect. He was the kind of man who lived for a good pecking order; needlessly cruel to those below him, but incapable of anything more than ass-kissing to those even marginally above him. Adrian couldn’t stand the man.

Sensing an opportunity to berate someone Phil wasted no time. He whirled on Rhys, his pudgy face red and his forehead sweaty. “You’re late,” he bloviated.

Adrian glanced at the clock. It was only eight minutes past, but Rhys looked stricken. “Sorry, sir” he stammered. “I didn’t mean to be, it’s just that my dad had to drive me and-”

“I don’t care what your excuse is,” Phil spat. “Your shift starts on the hour. I expect you to be clocked in and working when that happens. Tell me that you understand me.” Phil was really getting himself worked up over this one. A better man might have needed a bad day as an excuse to blow up at someone like this. Not Phil though. Phil did it for kicks.

Rhys nodded along meekly, but Adrian spoke up before he could apologize again. “For god’s sake Phil the kid’s not even ten minutes late.”

Then Phil’s beady little eyes were burrowing into Adrian, but Adrian had stood up to worse than him. He’d spent his youth in poverty, bouncing around foster homes in rough neighborhoods. Petty bullies like this grocery store manager barely rated.

“Mind your business,” Phil growled, although the effect was not as intimidating as he may have hoped it would be. Adrian just stared back, unimpressed, and after a moment Phil gave a huff and returned his attention to Rhys. “Just get out there already.” Phil poked a stubby finger at Rhys’s bony chest and stomped back out the way he’d come.

“Thanks,” Rhys muttered, looking for all the world like a beaten puppy as he finished packing his stuff up into his locker.

“No problem,” Adrian told him. “You know, you don’t have to take shit from guys like that. He makes a lot of noise but he’s not going to do anything about it.”

“Yeah, I know.” Adrian didn’t think that he did. “I mean it though, thanks.”

As Rhys smiled Adrian saw something there in those strange gray eyes of his. Gratitude for sure, but also something else. Admiration? It almost made Adrian laugh. Rhys was a smart kid. Adrian was pretty sure he was in college for something to do with computers. He’d graduate and leave this sad little job behind in no time. What the hell was he doing looking up to someone like Adrian?

Unsure of what else to do, Adrian just waved him off. “Totally unrelated,” he said, feigning nonchalance, “but do you think I could get those chips off you? I’m a little light on lunch today.”

“Huh?” Rhys asked.

“Your chips. You have some today, right?”

“Oh! Yeah, of course!” Rhys had the same lunch pretty much every day: a cold-cut sandwich, something in a plastic cup like apple sauce or pudding, and, of course, a bag of chips. Rhys ruffled through his sack lunch until he pulled out the small bag, barbecue flavor, and tossed them over to Adrian. He practically beamed as he did, glad to be able to repay the favor.

“Thanks,” Adrian offered, feeling a little guilty at having taken advantage, but Rhys didn’t seem to mind.

“See you out there!” Rhys said, then awkwardly chuckled after Adrian only responded with a grunt. The kid needed to learn some self-respect, Adrian thought to himself. Then again Rhys would probably be more successful than Adrian would ever be, so who was he to throw stones?

Adrian finished up his lunch in silence, making sure to grab Rhys’s shirt out of the locker before clocking back in. Damn thing didn’t even lock.