The Etiquette of Smoking

Wake Up

Thursday morning, I got off the bus down the street from Broadway and Covert and made my way to the coffee shop I'd been employed at for a little over 2 years. We were known for serving overpriced coffee and burnt avocado toast but I loved it. The environment was everything I expected from Brooklyn: rough but beautiful. It was unique in a way that back home wasn't. Not saying I didn't miss the city I grew up in, because I did, but Brooklyn felt more like home to me than California ever did.

It was 7:26 am and overcast, my favorite weather second only to rain storms. My manager called me this morning with some news that I'm positive is the raise I've been working toward for 5 months. The opportunity to receive the raise would be given to the employee who showed the most potential to replace our current manager, Jackie, as she would be moving to a new state soon. Indiana, I think? It really came down to me and my coworker, Rebecca, who was great to work with but a pain to deal with on a personal level. Rebecca was extremely professional, quick and smart, but she had a history of making nasty comments to me and our other coworkers. I like to think she simply prefers to work independently and isn't a strong team player, which is fine. If I was being honest with myself, she'd thrive in a leadership position, but I would as well. We had 4 other coworkers that I work with on rotation but none of the others posed as great a threat to the promotion as Rebecca.

If I received the raise, I'd be almost guaranteed the promotion which meant a salary raise of double what I make now which is practically nothing. I'd be lying if I said this wasn't important to me, so with that in mind, I straightened my coat, put on my best smile and strutted through the doors of the shop.

Immediately my senses were flooded with the sweet scent of coffee. Vanilla, hazelnut, classic dark roast, all filled the air and made me grin. The little bell above the door rung over my head with my arrival. The shop was busy, unsurprisingly. Its 7:30am on a weekday, people are getting their morning dosage before heading to work. I spotted Jackie working on an order behind the counter and tried to quickly make my way to the back room to help her. I wasn't working today but with the line of people waiting to order I knew it would be a great help to her if I jumped in. Plus, it didn't hurt my chances of looking like manager material.

However, as I moved around a table towards the back room, I felt a body collide hard into mine. I let out a small "oof" as I was shouldered to the side and looked at the person who had been in such a rush that they walked right into me. A man with a black baseball cap pulled over his eyes barely glanced at me before muttering so low I could barely hear him. "S-sorry...I-sorry." And then he retreated quickly from the shop and out onto the street. Strange, I thought, but brushed the interaction off and continued to the back room. While behind the employee break room door, I hung off my coat and replaced it with a clean apron. Pulling a tie from the front pocket of my jeans, I quickly tied my hair up into a ponytail and pushed the doors back out to the shop open.

The second Jackie saw me a look of uncertainty crossed her face. I noticed only because of how confused I was to see it. She'd never looked at me like that before and for a moment I worried the raise I'd worked hard for was in jeopardy.

I tied the strings of my apron behind my back as I approached the counter and began taking orders from the man in front of me. One large black drip coffee and an egg and cheese bagel. I took the man's ten-dollar bill to make change while I called out the order to my coworkers behind me. I caught the quick look of appreciation and sadness on Jackie's face as I worked my way through the growing line of customers.

About 45 minutes later the crowd had calmed down enough for Jackie to be able to pull me aside so my coworkers who were on the clock could take over.

"You know working off the clock is illegal, right?" Jackie said to me in the back room as she removed her apron. I copied her actions, untying my apron and tossing it in the hamper. Her tone was playful, a drastic change from the looks I witnessed earlier...perhaps she was just stressed.

"Add it to my time sheet," I smiled and followed her to her personal office which was pretty much just a storage closet with a desk, computer, and 3 chairs. I sat across from her, watching as she rounded her desk and turned on her PC. When she sat, she let out a loud sigh and looked me straight on. I watched the sadness return to her face and somehow, I just knew.

"Liv..." She began with a frown, but I stopped her in the hopes of saving the awkward talk she was about to give.

"I didn't get the raise." I stated as a fact. Jackie pursed her lips, her face contorting into an unreadable expression. She took a deep breath before she spoke again.

"I'm letting you go," She spoke softly and calmly, waiting for my reaction. I watched her for a minute, looking for any signs of hidden humor on her face but there were none. When I didn't reply she continued, this time avoiding eye contact. "I'm really sorry Olivia. We have to make layoffs thanks to this new tax bill and unfortunately you're one of the people I had to cut."

"Oh." Was all I said as she frowned at me.

"You'll be compensated for today, of course, I know you were joking before, but I'll definitely be adding it to your last paycheck. You can put me down as a reference for your resume, I have no problem giving you a glowing recommendation."

I looked down at my hands in my lap and thought about how funny it was that I fully expected to be moving up at my job today, only to be fired instead. It really was pretty funny.

"Olivia?" Jackie called to me, drawing my attention back up to her face. She looked at me curiously as I smiled back at her.

"I'm sorry, I understand, I just..." I couldn't wipe the smile from my face despite the sadness quickly growing inside me, "That's it?"

Jackie nodded, "Unfortunately yes. But look, you always have a place here if you ever want to come back. I'm sure Rebecca would-." I cut her off quickly, placing a hand on her desk a little too loudly.

"Rebecca? You're promoting Rebecca?"

"It was a tough decision, Liv. Again, I'm really sorry." Jackie stated, looking between me and her computer screen. The sinking feeling of my reality set in then and I suddenly felt sick. Jackie's eyes flicked back to me, taking in whatever the look on my face was.

"You've been a great manager. Thank you." I said as calmly as I could muster. I may have just lost my job of 2 years, but I didn't need to burn the bridge of a potential resume reference...right?

I stood up and quietly made my way out of her office. I heard Jackie call farewell to me just before I closed the door.

╚═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╝   

A/N: If you're like me and like to have a playlist to go along with the story, I made one. The order of the songs roughly follow the feel of the story line. Some are songs I listened to as I wrote, others are mentioned in the story. Thanks! 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7g7YAsaIKRfuvX4yWk6udt?si=g8tna1nqS9KHRX3qLc9XPw