Turning A New Leaf

Fifty-Two

Another Monday, another morning of getting stuck on Mill Plain in traffic. They'd been doing construction on the road for what seemed like years to set up some new bus system. It didn't help that he was running late, not that he actually cared. He hated his fucking job.

Krist sipped his Mangonada Rebel he'd picked up from the Dutch Bros near his apartment, part of the reason he was running late but he hadn't slept well and needed the caffeine. He hit his dab pen, turning up the new Slowpoke and Hypek album, dreading another day at this bullshit job getting bitched at people who can't afford cable but refused to cut it off.

He'd been meaning to quit smoking weed but goddamn that shit hole job made it hard to do. Krist pulled into the parking lot, taking another hit off his pen, and exhaled, staring at the entrance of the building.

Reluctantly, he grabbed his things and made his way into the building, a good fifteen minutes late for his shift.

"Sup, Krist," his coworker Brent greeted him as he took his seat, "Thought you weren't coming in."

"Bro, trust me I didn't want to," he laughed.

"Shit, feel that."

Krist logged into his computer and all nine hundred programs they expected him to use. So fucking stupid. Most of them were for one or two specific things. For being a multi-billion dollar company, one would think they could think they could streamline that shit all into one program. Krist was nowhere near a techy guy but even his nerdy-ass co-worker, Cory, agreed it wouldn't even be that hard.

Krist put his headset on and put himself into available, a call came in immediately. Some white trash lady from the south screeching about how her bill keeps going up and up and up and up.

He muted his phone, letting the lady run out of steam, and turned to Brent, "My bill keep goin' up and up and up," Krist mimicked her in his best twangy white trash voice.

Brent cackled, muting his phone, "Did she tell you she on a fixed income yet?"

"Not yet but they always on a fixed income. Bitch, you know much money you get every month, learn to manage that shit," Krist told him with a laugh.

Thank goodness for decent co-workers and weed, otherwise, Krist would have left that job the day he got out of training.

Not really though because Atira needed him to stay long enough for the paid family leave but still, job sucked.

Speaking of coworkers, Krist liked everyone on his team except for one fucking lame. Gio was his name. Dude was a middle-aged try-hard douche with a faux hawk who constantly tried to spit game (poorly) at the twenty-somethings that worked in the call center.

Krist knew that he, himself, had some douche traits but this guy was a giant fucking douche. The dude was self-obsessed and acted like he was hot shit and more important than everyone else. He'd fucking over-talk everyone during their weekly team meetings so Krist and his petty ass made it his personal mission to low-key clown Gio every damn chance he got.

The first day Krist had been out on the call center floor, he took his assigned seat which happened to be opposite of Gio. They had a low divider between their desks but still made awkward eye contact any time Krist looked at his computer screen.

"I need to warn you, I have been told I have a very powerful voice," Gio told him when Krist had sat down.

Krist had blinked hard before responding, "Oh yeah, I can definitely hear the power in your voice," he told him with a straight face.

Gio smiled smugly, reminding Krist of the episode of South Park when everyone drove Priuses and loved to smell their own farts.

When Gio said he had been told he had a powerful voice, what he really meant was he talked fucking loud and had no concept of a library voice. Half the time, Krist could barely even hear his own callers because ole Gio talked too loud.