Tomorrow is my 16th birthday, and the pressures of responsibility and life have been starting to press. Today, I began working, my first job. It is at a small cafe, with a close-nit group of workers. I did feel the stares of the other employees resting on me as if I was a subject of a comedians overplayed act. I worked 8-12. The flow of customers was steady and strenuous. I kept myself what I thought was well composed, although several of the people observing me asked me if I was lost. I said I wasn't. I lied. The owner/manager of the cafe was the one training me. He was a rather funny old man, he did have shockingly clear blue eyes. Like a beach in a travel brochure. He was obviously feather-brained, as he forgot the code to the cash-register he had told me 5 minutes previously. I was nodding respectfully and pretending that what he was saying was registering in my brain, which was fried like the egg and bacon sandwiches. He looked at my face and asked if I was okay. I realized that I must have been portraying what I was thinking, so I quickly smiled. Then I lost it. He was teaching me how to choose the proper pickle. He said not to just grab the pickle floating on the top. I was directed to choose a firm, long pickle that wasn't wilted or squishy. He said that people like to bite into crunchy pickles and that no one wants a wilted pickle. It was at this time I realized how immature I really was because I began to snort like I had a wilted pickle stuck up my nose. As I was trying to regain my composure, all the people in the cafe, including the customers, were staring at me with dumbed expressions. Like when someone hears just the punchline of a joke. My boss moved his huge blue eyes, brimming with concern (excuse my corniness here...) and asked me if I was okay, really ok. His genuine concern made my laughter clarify and people understood that I was, in fact, laughing. The tension in the room eased and i was calming down. After that, I broke one expresso pact-o thing and dropped a box of one dozen bagels on the floor. So I can clearly see that I will enjoy my future employment in the food industry.
