Portugal ~ m.c.

1

I can't say that I haven't run into horrible people in those parks. Not everyone would be friendly. In fact, some people go to the point of harassing us and we cannot get angry or else we lose our jobs. Patience is a key part in this job. You've got to have it or else you are practically done for.

There have been many times where I thought for sure that I would get so upset that my temper would finally reach its boiling point, yet I never so much as had a tint of annoyance laced within my words.

Disney World may be that place where dreams come true but for cast members, sometimes it could feel like hell.

I never got along with everyone I worked with. But that's like all places where you have to work with people. My first day that I actually worked was probably the most hectic day of my life. I was put behind the cash register in the candy store in Hollywood Studios. For a girl from a small town in Texas, working in that kind of a store with so many people going in and out of it nonstop for nearly 14 hours a day was a bit overwhelming.

My job started in March, it was a year's contract with three weeks at the end to use as vacation time of my own. I could travel to anywhere I would want to go or just go home to see my family, and Disney paid for all my expenses. Of course going home probably wasn't going to happen. We usually had a couple days to full weeks off depending on how long we had been in the program. Luckily when you're in the college program, you were considered a three year seniority.

I was now in my third month of work at Disney World and everything was under my control. I moved up to working various rides in different parks each week. I liked being able to switch parks and help people get in line for the attractions. I had gotten one of the fastest jobs in the entire place. Moving them from in the line to spots where you waited for the actual ride vehicle. I ushered the parties onto the rows of numbers or (for the moving attractions like the Haunted Mansion or Peter Pan) onto the conveyor belt and into the ride vehicle. It got hectic but the breaks in between the 30 minute shifts was worth it.

My bosses sometimes still made me work behind a register in one of the stores in EPCOT or as a quick service cashier for the fast food places. But usually rides were what I was put under for.

On a particular Thursday in mid May was when I first saw him.

I had come into work a little earlier than usual to see what and where I would be working that week. Since I took four sick days that week, my schedule went off of Thursdays until my next day off. Once I found my name on the little bulletin board inside the main building of headquarters, I started to make my way out to my car in the humid parking lot. They had put me under Splash Mountain for the week. That was good because there was usually air conditioning from where I would be standing.

The hallway was a long stretch of carpet and plaster that seemed to cover the length of the actual building. It took a long time to reach the end of it. Doors scattered the walls, one right after the other. Before I even had a hand on the push lever that led outside, someone called my name behind me.

"Bennie! Wait!" Brad raced down the hall to reach me. Out of breath once he did. "Mr. Tompkins wants to speak with you in his office."

"What for?" I asked hesitantly.

"Something about training a new kid. He didn't specify." He pushed his glasses farther up his nose before shrugging. He always looked out of place. His clothes never seemed to fit him right and he was so tall that he couldn't really hold himself up.

"Okay." I pushed past him and made my way back down to a red painted door. Every door in this building was painted a different color and adorned a Disney character. They told us it was to keep the place unique and still have a bit of Disney. The bosses really just wanted to specify the rooms since this building was a maze.