Coffee Mess

Congratulations

So, on Monday at 5 am I'm at the coffee place. When I walk inside, I see other 3 people around my age, maybe a few years older, wearing aprons with the shop's name and logo on

"When Ian says 5 am he actually means 4.45 am, but u're still on time, so u're good, put this on" Fred, the guy who took my interview, tells me and gives me an apron too

 "So, it's officially 5.01 am, so the 5th guy is already out. That means punctuality is everything. Of course, we're people and unfortunate things happen all the time, but please, don't make it a habit. If u know that u're gonna be late from the day before, u let me know, if u're on your way but something came up, u let me know. Understood?" he says walking away from me and pacing up and down in front of us. When we all say yes, he continues

"Good. You and the guy, that's still late, were the 5 best applicants. U were selected based on your experience, the way u dressed for the interview, the speed at which u answered my questions and, of course, your answers. Unfortunately, as u understood, u won't all continue with us. At the end of the day, only 2 of u will be hired. If u were 5, 2 would go home and 3 would go to the next phase, but since u're 4, one of u will go back home at the end of the first phase. Phase No.1 includes me showing u how to open the espresso machine, how to prepare all kinds of coffee we serve, and u doing them after, and of course, cleaning the machine. I don't care how much u know or how u know to do things, so don't bother telling me and/or show off. Phase No.2 is about communication skills, I will create various scenarios and u'll have to respond accordingly. That's the general idea. If at any time I realize that u're not what we're looking for, I will not hesitate to send home more than 1 of u, so, be careful. Any questions?" he asks and a blonde girl raises her hand

"Yes."

"U said we were selected based on our experience. If that's the case, why do u have to train us again?"

"Because 1. not all of u have experience, 2. Mr. Maddox wants things done a certain way and 3. those of u that have experience are expected to do better, hence, we're expecting from u to get and do things faster and better. Did I answer your question sufficiently?"

"Yes, thank u!"

"U're welcome. As u see, we encourage u to ask questions. In my experience, if u don't have questions, u're not doing things right. Don't be afraid to ask questions, but please don't ask me something I have just said a second ago...ask me to repeat it,  but don't ask me like I didn't say it. Understood?"He asks and we all say yes again. As he's about to say something else, the door opens and a guy gets in

"Are u Nick?"Fred asks him

"Yes!"

"I'm sorry, u were *checks watch* 5 minutes late on your first day, I'm sorry, but u're out."

"I'm so sorry, my bike chain broke and I had to come on foot!"

"I'm so sorry to hear that, but u didn't let me know, so, u're still out. Better luck next time, Nick..."he says and his tone makes the guy leave with his head down without saying anything

"U see, I wasn't kidding before. Punctuality is very important, especially if u're opening in the morning. So, are u ready to begin?"he asks, and when we say yes, once again, he gets behind the counter. After giving us notepads and a pen, he puts his apron on and starts the training

After 4 hours, we have learned and done everything. He timed every single one of us while preparing all the kinds of coffee. In the end, the blonde girl who had asked the question before, didn't make the cut and was sent home. I can't lie, that felt nice! She was supposed to be better than me because she had experience, and ended up leaving. 

After a short break, we started phase no.2. He pretended to be a bunch of weird customers and we had to handle them without any guidance, we should just rely on our instincts. Me and a guy, named Mike, handled things well, but the 3rd guy, Alex, got angry at some point. He tried to hide it, but Fred saw it and it was enough for him to send him away too

"Congratulations, Sandra and Mike, even though u're both inexperienced u managed to outlive the experienced ones. Sandra, u were really fast to catch on and even though I went full crazy on u, u still managed to smile your way through it. U're so charming I wanted to apologize after. Mike, u were as calm as it gets and even though u seemed like u were taking your time, u still were on time. Having said all that, I'm happy to tell u that after 6 hours of training, u're hired effective immediately. Take some rest and I will call u in a while at the back to the office to sign the contracts, after going through them thoroughly." Fred says smiling and goes back

"That was...tiresome!"Mike says as we sit down 

"It was, but it felt so good to prove ourselves better than the others, didn't it?"

"It so did! I wanted to punch that blondie since she walked in...she had that smug face! I'm so glad she left!"

"I didn't even mind her...I've been around people like her my whole life, I just feel bad for them, u know? If u feel the need to look down on others, then u must be really sad!"

"I agree! We're gonna be such a good team u and me! And I'm very gay, so u don't have to worry about me hitting on u..."

"I wasn't worried, why would I be worried?"

"I mean, u're hot, girl! Don't guys throw themselves at u all the time?"

"Well, I wouldn't say they throw themselves at me...I've had my fair shot of guys hitting on me, but I'm not really good at seeing the signs"

"I can help with that! I'm sure lots of guys will hit on u while working here, so I can tell u, if u're not sure"

"That'd be nice. U see, I just moved to L.A. from Texas and I know practically no one, I could use a friend..."

"Good, because if we're working together we're gonna have to have a good relationship"

"I agree!" I say and after a few minutes, Fred calls us to the back

After going through the contract and all the rules, we both sign it and Fred tells us that he will call us to tell us when we start, because the place is still under construction.

As I walk out with Mike, my eyes fall again on the police officers across the street and I stop walking without realizing

"Oh, u're one of those?" Mike asks, waking me up

"One of who?"

"The girls that go crazy over guys in uniforms..."

"I guess I am. There's something so sexy about a guy with authority and if u add the uniform, it gets even hotter! I will have a serious problem while working here..."

"If u play your cards right, u will have the best time of your life!" he says winking and we continue walking to my car