Chapter #8
[1] One Friday evening he Andy simply didn't show up at work. Mark, the floor manager, kept searching for volunteers to help me out with my duties. This was a golden opportunity of my career. If I could become a full-time expeditor I could finally stop worrying about money. Hell, I could even afford summer holidays in Poland. I went to Mark, looked at his face and told him "I got this, I can do this!". He was looking straight into my eyes. His face looked wild and desperate. "Are you sure?!" he now yelled. "Yes. I got this, I can do this!". "I'm going to fucking fire you if you fuck it up! You understand?!". I sure knew he would be happy to deliver on this promise. He was one of those guys. "Mark, I got this!". The night was exciting and scary at the same time. The plates came flying from all sides. All I could see was a long line of slips with orders. There were moments when things stalled and Kurt had to yell for help. But at the end I managed to keep the job and all of the tips. I had claimed my territory.
[2] Another piece of good news came one day in a thin envelope. The semester had been now over and I was anxiously awaiting for my grades. I knew that I had done OK at Dr. Rios' classes. Introduction to Art was relatively easy as long as one showed up at the class. For the final paper I wrote about "The Battle of Grunwald" by Jan Matejko, a Polish painter. I chose it hoping that no one had never heard about it so I could use my artistic creativity to describe it. The gamble paid off and my essay had been mentioned as one of the best in the class. I wasn't too worried about U.S. History taught every Thursday evening. General Psychology however had always been a struggle - I enjoyed the class, learned so many unknown concepts but I still wasn't sure if my enthusiasm would translate into top grade. I opened the envelope. Four As! "Wow, straight A student. Now I want you to get As all the time!" Akira seemed to be more excited than me. A few days later I received an invitation to join other top students at a tea reception organised by the dean.
[3] The recent developments had flooded me with a wave of optimism. If I could carry on with my studying UCLA did not necessary have to be a distant dream. The only problem, of course, was the money. My short term worries were going to be paid off by tips at Michael's. But what about the long term. Schools such as UCLA cost four times as much as a community college so even with all the earnings I couldn't save enough. Sure, a cheaper state university was still an option but that suddenly seemed like a waste of opportunity. Studying also required time and now I had to juggle between a new semester at school, morning at Athena's and increasing number of shifts at Michael's. Yes, I enjoyed the money but I also wanted to enjoy life. It was during one of those beautiful crisp and cool winter desert morning, while riding my bicycle to the Greek place, when I made up my mind. "I got a new job" I explained to Brenda when she asked why I wouldn't be coming back the next day. At the end of the shift I put down the sign and I never looked back.
[4] Thursdays became the favourite part of my week. Our classes started at the same time so Akira would give me a lift and drop me off at back of the parking lot. The feeling of cold in the mornings were in contrast with a sun and clear sky above us. The American Politics, taught by Mrs. Scarfe, was super stimulating and demanding at the same time. By the time it had finished the temperature would rise to a level comfortable enough for a sweater. I would then meet Akira again and drive with him to Carl's Junior. Over those months we had developed our soundtrack. This really started back in the summer when we would drive around Palm Desert, windows rolled down, singing (screaming?) Wham's "Last Christmas". Now if you sat in the back of the Honda you would be probably be subjected to listening to Enrique Iglesias and, on occasion, some Japanese Pop. Our standard Carl's Junior order was now a 99c Spicy Chicken. There was always a group of retirees reading morning newspaper sitting just next to our usual table. After the breakfast we drove back home, take a nap and continue with the rest of the day.
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