Gary held
his head, spun around and marched off with his arms held in the air only to
flap them down to his sides again seconds later. Clearly he was frustrated. His
boss looked on, angry with him, “this letter isn’t worth the paper it’s written
on; you know how busy we are!”
“You could
have asked me instead of just sneaking my name on the rota!” Gary snorted red
in face and not looking back over his shoulder. He was walking out of there, he
had made his point and it was final. They would have to realise that just
because they employed him they did not own him. He felt like a prisoner, they
didn’t care about his personal life, they didn’t care that he had young
children in his family, all they thought about was the business. Gary had been
working there for eons now, at least it sure felt like it. The boss never gave
praise, he never thanked Gary for all his hard work, then he goes to the press
as this shining example of a great man; it’s just a front. Gary should tell the
world what a hypocritical parasite he really is, he should talk to the press
about his real persona, a mean old man that cared not about his employees.
Gary leaned
up against the wall, he was concerned that his actions could result in a
serious reprimand, how many warning had he now got? So many he forgets, the
verbal, the written, a second written perhaps, how far can he take this? He
looked out across the road, the transport moving to and fro, busy, busy they
say, I know its busy, all the more reason to respect his employees, if I did a
runner now they would suffer, they would never find someone to replace him
before Christmas.
All he
wanted was his Sunday back, he had bought tickets to a show; it was going to be
a family day out that they were all looking forward to; then the old man stuck
the rota up. Gary didn’t check it but rumours among the staff went round that
he had pencilled in a Sunday on the rota. Gary then walked up to see his name
down to work that day. They never normally work a Sunday, if Gary had known
then maybe he would have done it but, well, he bought the tickets now. He
marched right up to his line manager, told him he had no intention of turning
up on a Sunday. His line manger ignored him, told him he would have to see him; the line manager wanted nothing to
do with it.
Gary didn’t
want to see the boss for he knew how he would react, angrily. He was grateful
when it was his secretary in his office; she was filing but only her nails at
the desk. She gave him a fake smile, it could be taken flirtatious but Gary
knew she was not interested, she did this to all of them, it was a power thing,
as she worked closer to the boss she figured that she was more important than
the shop floor workers. Her smile turned sneer when he told her that he could
not work it and she sighed and told him that she would pass the message on.
Just as he was about to leave, pleased that his grievance with the Sunday had
been noted and he need not approach the man himself, she pressed a button on
her intercom and announced that Gary was in her office and he was refusing to
work the Sunday. Gary froze on the spot, a deathly silence was heard from the
other end of the intercom, a frosty reception he would receive when the boss
burst the door from its hinges, “Well,” he bellowed entering the office in a brash
and outraged tone of his voice, “it’s not negotiable! I expect to see you here
Gary.” With that he slammed the door. Gary’s response of “well I can’t,” was
barely audible over the slamming of the door.
Gary sighed,
he went home upset and he couldn’t face telling his wife and kids. His wife
picked up on his downright troubled expression though and asked him what was
wrong. He told her, told her that he had no intention of working the Sunday, it
was a special day; they had all been looking forward to the show. He had never
taken the kids to a pantomime, they would love it. She suggested that he write
a letter to his boss, expressing his concern.
Gary thought
it sounded like a great idea, so he sat and down and plotted his literary
masterpiece, it expressed just how he felt, it was solid, formal and conveyed
just what he wanted to say, perhaps without the bad language and all the
offensive thoughts he had about the boss. He read it back to himself, grinned
and folded it into an envelope.
Next day he
posted that letter, now it was sealed, he would not have to work now. But the
boss came to him and still demanded he worked. So here he was, staring out to
the road. Behind him he could hear those obnoxious boots coming towards him, “Gary,”
the voice spoke in his jolly tone, it was all so fake “I don’t ask you to work
every Sunday, it is the week before Christmas and you know; we are so busy.”
“What about
my kids?” Gary sighed, “I promised them.”
“I promise
lots of kids,” His boss said, “they rely on us Gary.”
“If you don’t
like it sack me!” protested Gary, he was serious too.
“Where else would
you go?” the boss asked, “There is nothing out there.”
Gary looked
out, his boss was right, there were just snow-capped mountains. Gary sighed,
his boss looked at him, “you are needed here, your life is here Gary, and there
is nowhere else for an elf like you to go.”
Gary stood
up, that was it, how dare he refer to him as an elf, he was better than that,
he was more than that. That is all this guy wanted, an elf, a drone, a robotic
worker that didn’t know his own mind. He would walk out; there was more to life
than this. Flustered and frustrated he snarled at his boss, pointed a waggy
finger at him and turned away to walk off, “I Quit!” he shouted, rubbed his
pointy ear and made his way into the snow covered forest.
His boss
stood there for a while, he was upset but knew it would pass. He had seen elves
like him come and go, it was a shame, he was a good worker, made some great
toys. Chances are he would be back, grovelling at his big black boots, tugging
on his red suit begging for his job back. He smiled a wry smile, scratched his
big white beard and went back inside the grotto. Perhaps he could do without
him this year, perhaps they had enough elves working the Sunday after all, he certainly
showed some front to face up to me, I need people like that in my business, he considered
all this and then smiled pressing the intercom as he did so. He called the
secretary, “tell Gary to take his kids to the show, Santa said he’s back on the
good list.”
Please check out my new book, a compilation of great stories from 10 amazing authors. All the proceeds go to The Devizes Opportunity Centre, a registered charity that helps kids with disabilities and learning difficulties get a good start to life.
Thank you and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
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