It was eight in the morning when the alarm on Cody’s cell phone went off, signaling the start of a new work-day. Groggily, he groped across the coffee table in search of the phone, turning the alarm off once he’d found it. Forcing himself upright, Cody blinked the sleep away from his eyes before pushing himself up off the couch.

           Cody stumbled over into his bathroom, where he pulled his pants down and took a long, satisfying piss. After flushing the toilet, he removed the rest of his clothes and put them in his laundry hamper before returning to the bathroom and turning on the shower.

           Stepping into the stream of warm water, Cody allowed himself to relax momentarily as he cleansed himself of the last night’s sweat and grime. God only knew that he needed every last moment of calm get could get before settling in for another long shift as fry cook. About five minutes later he stepped out of the shower, giving himself a quick, unthorough drying with a towel.

           After brushing his teeth, Cody exited the bathroom and headed for his closet, shooting a glance at the microwave in his kitchenette to make sure he wasn’t running late. “8:12, Good.” He thought to himself as he took his glasses off the coffee table, opened the closet and started putting on his uniform. Black crew socks, black slacks, a red polo with the Burger King logo embroidered above the left breast, and a plain black visor.

           Once he was dressed, Cody checked the microwave again. 8:15. There were still 15 minutes left before his bus arrived, but the bus stop was a five-minute walk away, so Cody figured he might as well leave a little early and avoid having to rush there. Grabbing his keys, wallet, and bus pass from off the top of his dresser, Cody exited the apartment, locking the door behind him.

           The bus stop Cody used was about three blocks west of his apartment building. The route it serviced, #22, ran through the residential areas in the north of Arnav, connecting them to the outer edge of downtown. The walk to the bus stop was largely unremarkable, with Cody having made the trip so many times that the run-down apartments and scattered garbage barely registered in his mind.

           Arriving at the bus stop (marked only by a small tin sign with no bench or shelter), Cody opened his phone to check the time. 8:22. Even at times when he’d left the apartment later, Cody usually ended up waiting a while. It seemed to be a good rule of thumb that the only time the bus ever came on time was when he was running late. It didn’t bother Cody that much though, since he figured the time wasted waiting for the bus wouldn’t be enough for him to accomplish much anyway.

           As Cody internally mused on what little he could accomplish with an extra five minutes of spare time a day, a slightly overweight man exited from the apartment building that he was waiting in front of. He looked to be middle-aged, maybe in his late 40s, and was dressed in khakis with a floral-print button-up. A straw bucket hat perched atop his head completed the ensemble. Cody found the man’s choice of clothing amusing considering the overcast weather but opted to keep it to himself.

           The man walked up to the bus stop’s sign and squinted to read it. A moment later he turned to Cody and asked him “Does this bus go to Kohl’s?”

           Cody blinked, having not been paying attention. “Pardon?”

           “Does this bus go to Kohl’s? the man repeated.

           “Who’s Cole?”

           “No, Kohl’s. The store.” He said once again, his patience starting to run thin.

           ‘Ah, of course.” Cody said, before lightly slapping the side of his head. “I don’t think it does, but if you get off at the depot you can transfer over to the #9 and that’ll get you there.”

           The man’s expression fell, disappointment evident on his face. “Ah, forget it.” He said, before walking off.

           “Hey, where’re you going?”  Cody asked, only to be completely ignored. Cody was just about to go after him when his bus turned around the corner and pulled up to the stop, putting the thought out of his mind. As much as he liked to help people, he wasn’t about to show up late for work for the sake of someone he didn’t even know. Cody let the man go on his way and walked onto the bus.

           Cody inserted his pass into the reader and, once it was verified, took a seat near the middle of the bus next to a sleeping man in a Flames jersey. Seated across from him was a scraggly-looking man who looked like an emaciated J. Mascis. A few seats down from him was an Asian woman and her child, who she seemed to have no problem with letting wandering around the aisle gibbering.

           The bus started moving again, making its way out of the forest of apartment buildings and into the edge of Arnav’s commercial district. Beneath him, Cody could feel the road smooth as they moved out of the pothole-laden streets of his neighborhood. Across from him, the skinny man scratched at his shoulder, his eyes darting around the bus in paranoia.

           As the bus made its way downtown, a faint grinding noise started to be heard from the front of the cabin, growing louder and louder with each block. Cody’s worries were confirmed upon hearing the driver grab his radio mic and mumble something about a “possible mechanical issue” into it. Cody prayed that whatever it was wouldn’t be too much of an issue, at least until after he got to his stop. Unfortunately, God seemed to have other plans.

           With a sharp **CRACK**, the front-left end of the bus fell forward, bringing it to a screeching halt and jolting its passengers forward. The child, too caught up in his imagination to have seen the accident coming, tumbled over and fell directly on his face. Panicked, his mother rushed to his side and helped him pick himself up. The child remained silent for a few moments, before beginning to wail at an ear-splitting volume.

           The man in in the Flames jersey, only partially awakened from his slumber, looked around in confusion. “Wha’ happened? Is this 13th street?” Ignoring him, Cody made his way got up from his seat and made his way over to the front of the bus.

           Looking over at the bus driver, Cody saw him leaning back in a daze, blood gushing out of his nose from where it impacted the steering wheel. “Oh shit, are you okay?” Cody asked, concerned. Leaning forward, the bus driver nodded before pinching his nose shut to stop the blood flowing.  Relieved that he wouldn’t have to worry about getting him to the hospital, he asked him, “What happened?”

           “Bearing broke.” The driver’s quick response gave the impression that he’d been expecting this to happen for some time. “I’d been asking the guys at the depot to take a look at it but they kept insisting it was fine. Doesn’t look like anyone got killed at least, look.” The driver pointed out the windshield. Following his finger, Cody’s eyes widened at the sight of a bus tire lodged in the back window of a Pontiac that was parked a few hundred feet away.

           “Holy shit!” Cody shouted.

           The bus driver winced in response. He weakly raised his hand. “Not so loud...” he muttered through gritted teeth.

           “Sorry.” The shock of the accident beginning to wear off at this point, Cody caught sight of the dashboard clock and realized that he’d been thrown into a whole other predicament. He was going to be late for work. “Shit, could you get the door, I’ve really gotta get going.”

           “That’s probably not the best idea, authorities will probably want to get a statement from you.”

           “Are you serious?” Cody gestured towards the back of the bus. “There’s like six other people here they can talk to who’ve probably got nowhere to be.”

           With considerable effort, the bus driver managed to turn around in his seat to view the passengers. “You think they’re gonna believe that guy’s story?” He made no further indication of who he was talking about, but it was clear he was talking about the scraggly-looking man, who had removed one of his boots and begun to pick at his toenails.

           Cody leaned in closer to the man, speaking softly and desperately. “You think my managers gonna believe me when I tell him the reason I’m late is cause a wheel fell off the bus? By the time it hits the news I’ll be halfway down the unemployment line. Just open the fucking door.”

           The bus driver exhaled and looked down in thought for a moment before giving in. “Alright, fine.” He said, pressing the button to open the door. With a soft, mechanical whirr, it swung open. “But you’d better see a doctor sometime, make sure you didn’t hurt anything.”

           “Yeah, I will.” Cody lied, before exiting the bus. The missing wheel meant that the exit was up about two feet higher than it normally was, meaning that Cody would have to jump out. Cody paused to gauge the distance to the ground before quickly hopping down before he could second guess himself too much.

           He hit the ground with both feet, stumbling a little before managing to regain his balance. Looking at his surroundings, Cody estimated he was about a mile away from work, if he hurried, he would probably only be late by five minutes. Cody made his way onto the sidewalk and began to briskly walk to work. He could see traffic was beginning to hold up in the lane behind the bus, Cody supposed that he should be thankful he wasn’t one of those people, but he wasn’t in a particularly thankful mood.

           Cody made his way down the street, stopping only for the traffic lights. Even then, there were a good few moments where, seeing that the nearest oncoming car was a good few blocks away, he ran through the crossing with no regard for the glowing red hand commanding him to stop. Cody rationalized this by telling himself it was a rare circumstance, but the truth is he just couldn’t stand the thought of a computer telling him what to do.

           A good 20 minutes later, Cody’s work had finally come into view. It looked just about the same as every other Burger King in the country with its slanted blue roof and tacky plastic signage. Posters hung up in the window advertised Simpsons toys and a new chicken sandwich. Cody sped up at the sight of the restaurant, breaking into a full-out jog. Rushing across the parking lot, Cody made for the door and ran inside.

           There was still a while to go before the lunch rush, so the restaurant was empty for the most part, the only customers being a few retirees enjoying their morning coffee. Standing in front of an empty till with his arms crossed was a stocky, balding middle-aged man in a Burger King uniform, who was looking at Cody with a stern look on his face. Cody’s heart sank into his stomach at the sight of him, but seeing as there was nothing else he could do, he nevertheless sheepishly approached the man. “Mr. Severson, Hi! I was just about to clock in.”

           Cody’s attempt to mask his anxiety did little to please his manager. “You’re late, Hedges.”

           “Shit.” Cody thought that there was no way Mr. Severson would be enough of a hardass to flip out over a five-minute delay, but it looked like he was wrong. Desperately, he tried to feign ignorance. “I am?”

           “Yes, you are. For the fifth time this month.”

           “Well, I-I’m real sorry about that Mr. Severson. It won’t happen again” Cody didn’t notice his stutter until the words had already left his mouth. It did little to calm his nerves. He quietly gulped as his body began to tense up.

           Mr. Severson furrowed his brow. “I’m starting to think that you might not have the commitment needed for a position like this.’

           Cody’s heart rate spiked at these words, causing him to drop any mental pretense he may have had about the two of them being equals. “Oh god, p-please don’t fire me. You don’t know how badly I need this job.”

           Mr. Severson remained unmoved. “Not badly enough to come in on time, apparently.”

           In desperation, Cody frantically began trying to explain his tardiness. Words spewed from his mouth as if saying them faster would make them more believable. “You don’t understand. I can’t afford a car right now cause of how high my student loan payments are, so I’m stuck taking the bus. So, I get on the bus this morning and not even five minutes later one of the fu- one of the wheels comes flying off the bus and into the street. I mean, it’s a miracle no one got hurt too badly but still, I-I slammed my head against the window, it still kind of hurts too. The driver didn’t even want me to go, said I should see a doctor, but I insisted he let me out.”

           “Is that so?” Despite Cody’s best effort, Mr. Severson still seemed unconvinced. It seemed like he would have to change his tactics if he wanted to walk out of the building with his job.

           “Look, I’ll do anything within reason to keep this job. You don’t know how much it means to me to be able to work here.” Cody pleaded, hoping Mr. Severson would respond well to his flattery. “I-I’ll start setting my alarm for two hours earlier, ok? To account for any, uh, bus mishaps.” Cody was practically begging at this point, his hands held together in front of him like someone asking a mobster for a favor in an old movie. Mr. Severson rubbed his chin as he stared Cody down, weighing his options. “Please, just give me one more chance.” Cody flashed a shaky, unenthusiastic smile, it was plain for anyone to see that he didn’t think this was going to end well for him.

           Mr. Severson sighed, before beginning to rub his forehead in thought. Sure, Mr. Hedges had proven himself to be less than reliable over the last few months, but he was also desperate, which meant he could probably get him to do more work without raising his pay. Besides, if he fired him and that bus thing turned out to be true, he’d feel like a real ass. “Fine, but this is your last chance, you got that?”

           Cody went slightly slack-jawed, shocked that he’d actually managed to keep his job, once he’d regained his bearings, he immediately made his gratitude clear. “Oh, thank you so much, Mr. Severson! I-I won’t let you down, I promise!”

           “Yeah…” Mr. Severson said less than enthusiastically. Cody stuck his hand out, anticipating a handshake. Once it became clear he wouldn’t be receiving one, Cody lowered his hand and headed into the kitchen.

           After punching in his card, Cody made his way over to the fryer area of the kitchen and opened the freezer to retrieve a batch of hashbrown patties. Though the restaurant was still quite dead, it was considered good form to have some cooked and waiting under a heat lamp for when the store got busier. He individually slotted each patty into its slot in the basket before lowering it down into the oil. Cody watched the oil bubble up for a moment with vague satisfaction before turning around to grab some sausage to throw on the griddle, only to be met with his co-worker, Jeff.

           Though two years younger than him, Jeff’s lanky build granted him a good two inches of height over Cody. His skinny, boyish face was marred my acne scars on all sides, most of the time, it would have been framed by his dirty blonde, shoulder-length hair, but to prevent any health violations, he was forced to wear it tied up in a ponytail whenever he was on the job. He leaned in towards Cody and spoke low to prevent anyone from overhearing their conversation. “Hey, Cod’. Some energy drink company’s having a free concert down in Humboldt Park. Me and Billy are heading down, c’mon.”

           It wasn’t unusual for Jeff to ditch work like this. The only reason he’d managed to keep his job for so long was that he was only a part-time worker to begin with. If he thought he could get away with it, Cody probably would’ve had no problem joining Jeff, but after the close call he just had, he didn’t want to take the risk. “Shit, sorry man, I can’t. Mr. Severson would lose his shit if I ditched work after the chewing out he gave me.”

           Jeff scoffed. “Man, who cares what that old fag thinks. They have these girls there giving out free samples, massive tits, in tank tops.”

           As tempting as that sounded, Cody had made up his mind. “Look, I’m not interested. If I want to see some big tits I’ll go to a strip club. When I’m off work.”

           “Man, why do you always have to be like that?”

           “Like what?” Cody raised his voice slightly, curious as to how exactly Jeff planned on painting him in the wrong for not wanting to cut work to go ogle breasts.

           “Like such a fuckin’ pussy.”

           “What, so wanting to keep my job makes me a pussy now, is that it?”

           “Man, I’ve been working here for like, three years. I leave early all the time and Mr. Severson hardly ever notices.” Jeff explained with all the condescension of a kindergarten teacher teaching addition. “You’re just being a little bitch.”

           “He doesn’t notice when you leave.” Cody clarified. “I step out that door, odds are he’s on my ass within seconds.”

           “Or, he won’t notice anything and the three of us will enjoy a fun, exciting, free day out spent rocking out and looking at hot babes. You won’t know if you don’t try.” Jeff looked at Cody expectantly, having vastly overestimated his persuasive skills.

           “Dude, I can’t take that chance right now.” Cody spoke as sternly and forcefully as he could without causing any unwanted attention. Only an idiot would continue to press the matter after being spoken to in such a fashion.

           His patience having reached its limit, Jeff grabbed Cody’s forearm and attempted to lead him out of the restaurant, like a parent dragging a misbehaving child out of a building. “C’mon man, let’s go.” No sooner did Jeff say this than Cody angrily swatted his hand away.

           “Don’t fucking touch me.”

           The venom in his voice was a clear warning that things could get physical if Jeff continued down this path. Not that Jeff believed him. After all, it was Cody Hedges, the kid who was always too scared of getting caught to smoke with him and Billy in the walk-in. There was no way he would risk getting into trouble by starting a fight at work.

Jeff reached over and grabbed Cody’s arm again, holding on tighter this time. Almost immediately, Cody began using his other arm to try and pry Jeff off him. Likewise, Jeff took hold of that arm, causing the two of them to start shuffling around in an awkward tug-of-war.

“Get your fucking hands off me, dickhead.” Cody grunted out.

“Come on, just go with me.”

“Fuck off, I don’t want to.” Jeff had managed to push Cody up against the burger preparation, forcing him to exert himself even further to break free of his grasp. Looking down, Cody was suddenly struck with an idea. Using every last ounce of strength he could muster, Cody stomped down on one of Jeff’s feet as hard as he could, while at the same time pushing against him. The sudden lapse in concentration caused Jeff to lose his grip on Cody and stumble backwards a few feet. What Cody had failed to anticipate was Jeff tripping over his own feet in the process. As he began toppling over, Jeff instinctively stuck his hand out behind him in search of something to break his fall. Unfortunately, the closest thing in reaching distance was the deep fryer Cody had been using before being interrupted.

There were no words Cody could use to describe the sound of Jeff’s hand plunging into the scolding-hot oil, primarily since any sound it might’ve made was immediately drowned out by that of Jeff shrieking in pure agony. As soon as he realized what happened, Jeff pulled his hand from the oil, but the damage had already been done.

Cody stared bug-eyed at Jeff’s horrifically maimed right hand. The burns had left every bit of flesh up to the wrist a deep, angry red, the color only lightening in the areas where his skin had already begun to blister. Jeff lost all balance, falling to the ground as he clutched at his scalded hand. Almost immediately, co-workers began rushing to Jeff’s side to inspect the damage and help him up. A few moments later, Mr. Severson ran into the kitchen from his office, after taking one look at the chaos that had ensued in his absence, all he could ask was “Jesus Christ, what the hell happened?”

Despite the tremendous amount of pain he was in, Jeff was quick to recognize the opportunity to get even. Pointing his good hand accusingly towards Cody, he yelled “He pushed me!”

The realization of what was probably about to happen hit Cody like a brick to the stomach. Desperately, he rushed to his own defense. “I-He was trying to get me to skip work with him!”

“So you maim him?”

“It was an accident! He was trying to drag me out of the building!”

“Enough.”

 Just that one word had enough force behind it to bring everyone’s undivided attention to Mr. Severson. “If I’d spoken to Jeff like that a few minutes ago, I probably wouldn’t be in this mess right now.” Cody sadly mused.

“I don’t care who did what or why they did it. The fact of the matter is that I was this close to firing when you came in today.” Mr. Severson held his thumb and index fingers close together to emphasize his point before continuing. “But I thought “What the hell, couldn’t hurt to give him another chance.” …And then not even an hour later you decide to prove me wrong.”

Mr. Severson walked up in front of Cody. He wanted so badly to say something, anything to make him see Jeff was the one at fault, but in his heart, he knew Mr. Severson had already made up his mind. Mr. Severson grabbed Cody’s nametag and, in one fell swoop, ripped it from his chest, leaving a pea-sized hole in his shirt. “Get out of here. You’re done.” He said, with a softly enraged finality. He turned back towards the rest of his workers, paying no mind to Cody as he glumly walked past him out of the kitchen, the weight of what’s happened slowly starting to sink in. “Someone call an ambulance, then get this cleaned up.”

As Cody walked out the heavy rear doors of the Burger King, he could faintly hear Mr. Severson tell someone that he’d “deal with you later”. The thought of Jeff facing some consequences for his actions comforted him a little but was vastly outweighed by the crushing hopelessness that his firing had injected into his soul. Here he was hoping to become some great filmmaker when he couldn’t even work a fast-food job for more than six months without landing someone in the hospital. Sure, he might’ve had it coming, but that didn’t change the fact that no restaurant in the county would ever hire him again if word of this got spread.

Even assuming nothing came out, job hunting in a city like Arnav is already a nightmare as is. He’d spent weeks sending resumes and filling out forms to get the job at Burger King, and he certainly wasn’t eager to go through that again. He had around $3000 left in his bank account, which would be enough to cover this month’s rent, but if he didn’t have anything lined up by the end of September, he was screwed.

 Cody briefly wondered how to tell his mother he was now unemployed, before quickly deciding she was better off not knowing. What exactly was he supposed to tell her? “I just got let go from Burger King cause I accidentally knocked someone’s hand into the deep fryer”? He’d sound like a maniac.

A cool breeze blew through the Burger King parking lot, sending a chill through the exposed part of Cody’s breast. “At least now there’s no reason I can’t go to that concert.” He thought to himself.