Chapter 7
Dugan call me he say he need someone come in to work behind the counter at McDonald's© it real easy he say all the worker call off all I have to do is take the customer order it just this one time he working on getting me back to Africa real soon but the place have to keep running for appearance it stupid but the place just have to look normal for the CIA front.
I show up to McDonald's©. It raining hard. I walk in and people wet, pulling they clothe away from they body like they avoiding that nasty feeling of wet clothe on they skin, and I see them stop when they see me coming through the fog glass and I see they mind working hoping I not coming in there with them, and they eye like full moon stuck on me, they chin touching they chest. I pull the door open and the place crowded, people get out my way, the women turn they body away from me, hiding they breast and bra that showing through they wet shirt, more denying me something I never even have outside my imagination, they looking like something real wrong but still they have a need deep in they eye like only half of they self care about my face, and the other half have a need for what I smell behind that counter up ahead and I guess these the people I going to be dealing with today and I feel naked, I feel like running, I feel like I should have drink more.
I go around the counter like Dugan tell me to and it feel like I in a different world, a world that dangerous in a different way and all them people out there eye just follow me, none of them saying a word and I know there 27 of them without counting. There all this beeping and little red light blinking on these machine that boiling something in this dark liquid and smoke coming from them too and I see these four hand and elbow with glove on them through this space in all the metal stuff and those hand are putting together burger and wrapping them so fast then pushing them down this wide metal slide where they stop at the bottom. This short teenage girl come from the back walking all fast, sweating, her face red and she give a little scream when she see me but she swallow and control herself and I can tell Dugan must warn her about me coming. She turn and look and there this man walking toward us, he have neat hair around his mouth and glass to see more better and everything crazy around us but his eye blank and sleepy looking and I think he look like he might like to touch a child. He just stop and looking at me blinking all slow like he want me to say something then he say, his voice surprisingly loud but blank just like his eye, like he offend for me not saying anything, "Dugan sent you right?"
I nod. He turn his head barely and that girl who standing behind him go in the back again and he looking me up and down, both hand on his hip, real slow like I a six foot tall roll of toilet paper. The girl come back with a McDonald's© shirt and hat and the man stabbing his finger at me while he saying in front of everyone out there, "Put that on right now. You got the shoes and pants right, good job on that. We're gonna put you to work right away. This is an extremely high demand day and we don't have enough staff."
Already I want to bash this man real bad but still, I thinking about getting to Africa. If only I know then what I know now.
He say, looking around, "Alright, we're gonna have you working the..." and I do anything but I just hoping on my dead parent that he don't make me deal with all them people.
He say "...burgers. You're gonna be making some burgers."
He stare at me for a few second and them blank eye that make me want to hurt him get big and his head shake. "Well? Get on the burger line."
I say, "The what?"
He jab his finger at where I see them hands working making the burgers. He say, "Now. Now. Now."
The blood come to my face but I do it. I go around to where all them wanting eye out front can't see me any more. There two young boy back there, they look up at me and they face hard and focus, but they hand still going, making the sandwich. I hear that girl up front say, "Next in line?" and there this other angry looking boy with pimple and red face too standing by a window talking into this thing on his head with a little piece that's right next to his mouth. He say, "How can I help you?" and I must hear him say that over a hundred time that day and this hand grab me by the arm and it that blank eye child touching man and he say, pulling on me, "Just make big mac's. Doesn't matter. Just keep making them. You know what goes on them right?"
I say, "No."
He say, "Jesus."
Them two boy look at me and they eye narrow. The child toucher, that piece of shit, he grab a pair of glove out this box off the wall, then next two bun from this rack that must have fifty bun on it which have about ten other rack underneath it so that the whole thing up to my waist, and the whole thing wrap in some plastic bag, and he pull the bun apart and put all four piece through the top of this thing and the bun come down out the bottom in about three second and he lay three of the bun out side by side and toss the other and start putting the sandwich together with food he get from these little tray at chest level and the counter have yellow and red and lettuce all over it and he look like he done it million time before and have this little smile on his face and them two boy standing to his left just keep going, not looking at him. While his hand going, the child toucher say, "Special sauce...lettuce...cheese...the patty...then another bun in between, then sauce, lettuce, cheese and patty again, then the seeded top. Then nuke it. Press 2. Got it?"
He step back. He say, "Well?" His black hair wet with something. His hand look so soft they probably mushy.
I grab a bun and start trying to do what he do. He watching, his arm fold. His body start to turn away but his head still lingering until he pull that away too and walk off to the back again and I think he must be satisfy but I hear him say, to himself I guess, "Is he slow?"
I keep going and I get much more fast and several time I look over and that child toucher just standing there watching me and the two boy, his eye and face dead, and all the four worker in there look like they gonna have heart attack any second. Customer keep walking out the door angry, new people won't stop coming in, one customer throw French fry in that girl face, at least three other curse her out, and I can look through that little space and see way through the window out front cars are line up from around the corner for drive thru, and to the best of my understanding, these people have to come work here day after day and I think that is just horrible, but that child toucher just strolling around, his shoulder not moving when he walk, complete unconcern, and what more, he even look like he like being there. I hear him somewhere in the back a few times laughing, talking on the phone I think, and I don't know, I just never meet anyone like that in my life until then. And those kid, they look at me like they know what I thinking and agree with me.
That man back there, he saying to someone on the phone, "Yes. You win. Best prank ever. Him being here is the most hilarious thing ever."
When that day end and that man tell me I can leave, waving his hand without looking at me, I just glad I never have to see him again.
