The Brighter Side of Life

Chapter 1

One tip about burger flipping: Contrary to popular belief, it is not all in the wrist, but in the strength of the finger that rests on the bottom of the spatula. It holds the power, and is the key to a great tasting piece of flipped meat.
At least, that's what my manager Colin says.

Believe it or not, I wasted a month of my life going through a "burger boot camp" - and this unnecessarily brutal training session entailed nothing but Colin "pushing us to our burger flippin' limits " both physically and mentally. He would shriek at us whenever we got our menu recitals wrong, force us to smile even when he was being leery (he called it 'customer service on steroids') and at the end of the day, make us vote democratically on who should clean the toilets - in his words, fast food establishments should still teach a little bit about the real world.

Now tell me why, after all that strenuous activity, after I was just accepted as an employee after half of us got cut away (because McDonalds won't take just any riff-raff from the street), I would risk my job by giving my friends free food.

"No-one will see if you sneak a few extra chips in my bag. Maybe another burger? Work with me here Reece, I didn't get you this job for nothing!"

He doesn't seem to remember that I got this job by myself. He merely stood by and said "pretty please..?" after my interview.

Yes, this is the painstaking logic that I deal with whenever I'm on a shift. Two people I call my 'best friends' try to risk my job by talking to me, and loudly yelling about their rights to free food right in the earshot of my manager.

I wonder how I haven't been fired already.

See, I have two people in my life that are like my brothers from another mother. Most people yearn for a friendship like ours, and few are actually blessed with it.

There's Dante Howard (i.e The Smooth One), who ensures that we have a constant supply of daily banter, and a guy who's not too bad with the ladies either. But don't be fooled by his brash exterior and his amazing ability to turn everything into a joke. He's actually quite deep, and his voluptuous Afro and sparkly eyebrow ring basically define his personality, not - in his words - the fact that he's in a wheelchair.

Then there's Kenny Wu. He's about as sensitive as a guy can be, and probably the last person you'd think would be friends with Dante. He's forever writing poems and scribbling down ideas for short stories, and he's got enough conscious for all three of us, forever fretting and overthinking stuff. An overall great guy, and a great friend too, and I wouldn't trade his sensible teachings for anything else.

What's great about us is that we not only share the same love for pizza and video games (like pretty much every group of bros), but circumstances have made us somewhat reliant on each other. We have a deeper connection than most boys our age do, so it's not all about "havin' a laugh with the lads". It's about being there for each other, and it's something I'm grateful for.

Though, this was before they threw ketchup on my cheek after my shift as "payback for ignoring them". Sometimes I have to remind myself that they're actually my best friends.

"So." Dante started, jumping right into conversation as I irritably wiped the ketchup off of my face. "Any news on that girl you've been talking to? Megan? Maggie? Martha?"

"If you're talking about Anita ,then no, I haven't spoken to her recently." I said matter of factly, as I pushed the double doors open after my 7pm shift.

The cool air hit me straight away, a welcome relief after such a long time spent behind the counter.

"It's a shame, really. I can imagine it now... Those kitchens are hot and you're both sweaty from your close proximity to the fryer. The tension gets too much for you, and all that's stopping you from being together is that you're from 2 different worlds." Kenny sighed dreamily, and I saw him pull out his notebook and scrawl down a little idea, titled "Fast Food Passion."