Killer Queen | Ben Hardy

10. now i'm here

    White shoes, blue dress—time for another onerous day at work.
    "You're late, Dani."
    I'm marking myself in when that sickly sweet voice speaks into my ear—that same voice that makes me want to shrivel up into these four walls.
    Shit. Richard is managing.
    I turn toward the source of the voice and am eye-level with a puny man, who even after 35 years, still hasn't lost his baby weight.
    He tries to hide it, but I notice his eyes travel over my body. He must not understand the concept of personal space; he doesn't give me any leeway to move as my back is practically against the back wall of the restaurant.
    I'm desperately searching for a way out of this situation. I blurt out, "Sorry, Dick,"—an unfortunate nickname I know he hates. I hide the spite in my tone and feign a smile, playing it off as if I simply forgot only to use his full name. "Oops. I mean, sorry, Richard."
    He doesn't buy it. I watch as the smirk falls from his face; I can practically see the smoke blowing out his ears. "That joke still isn't funny."
    I suppress my laughter. "I think it's hilarious."
    I push past him, seizing the opportunity to get the hell away from this man. He makes my skin crawl.
    Richard mumbles something I can't make out, he's obviously phased by my boldness. I never outwardly mock him—not to his face, at least. But today, I'm not having any of it.
    I'm already making my way toward the break-room when I hear him call out to me. "You know, I could tell Chuck you were late today." He says his statement in the tone of a question, as if he's waving some huge threat over my head.
    When I don't turn around he fumbles for something else to catch my attention. "But—but I won't because you're my girl."
    I physically cringe and seek refuge in the break-room, closing the door behind me. He makes me sick.
    Chuck, the owner of Finn's Family Diner, is the father to Richard. In fact, the only reason Richard still has a job here is because he's related to the boss. And all that power has gone to his head: he hits on every female that walks through the door, and I seem to be number one on his radar. He's a a general manger a couple of days a week. Lucky for me, that day had to be today.
    I look for my forgotten apron, snatching it once I see it resting on the back of one of the two chairs in the room. At the same time that I'm tying the apron around my waist, I notice Daisy sitting in the second chair facing the door. Her shift started about an hour before mine.
    "Are you on break?"
    "Uh-huh." She stares straight in front of her, clearly zoned out.
    I situate my apron and locate my pen and paper, all while contemplating the scene that just unfolded between Richard and me. The more I think about it, the more the anger brews inside of me.
    Suddenly I blurt out, "Why me? Why does he always do this?"
    Daisy, suddenly concerned with my tone, snaps out of her daze and turns toward me. "What do you mean?"
    "Why does Richard always pick on me?"
    Daisy thinks over this for a moment. She crosses her legs and folds her hands over her lap. "You're young. You've got a fresh face. You're cute." She shrugs.
    I shake my head. "But you're all those things too. So why doesn't he flirt with you?"
    "Because he knows that if he tried anything, I'd break his jaw."
    I'm silent for a moment.
    "Come on, Dani. You're too nice. You've got to go out there and slap him around a little. That'll make him lay off." She nudges me but I shake it off.
    "Are you crazy? He's the boss."
    "He's not my boss," Daisy says as she crosses her arms. She says the statement out of defiance, but we both know he has a great jurisdiction over whether we have our jobs or not.
    I look down for a moment longer, silenced by the reality that I can't do much about Richard. That is, unless I want to lose my job.
    Daisy sighs. "Hey, it'll be alright." She pats my arm comfortingly and looks for words that will make me feel better. "Look on the bright side, you haven't mentioned Roger at all today."
    I cringe at the mention of his name, causing Daisy to snicker. "Well, I hadn't thought of him—until now. Thanks for that." I roll my eyes, my voice dripping with sarcasm.
    Daisy nudges my shoulder, still chuckling despite my irritation. She tells me to stop stalling and to go start my shift. I heave a sigh, knowing she's right. Despite my hesitation, I push open the door to the break-room; time to start another painful shift.