Episode 4: Hophen met angels and devils.

On every working day, Hophen was ready to take any challenge or suffering. Injustice seemed to be his partner and it often stalked him. Although he had the intention to work there at least for that time being, he finally changed his mind. He was sure that his lead must depreciate his appraisal of work after his probation because the relationship between them had turned very sour. After all, the longer he worked at the Café, the more he suffered before he left the park. As it was rather a certainty, he determined to resign so as to avoid the unnecessary insults and unfair treatment. It was also easier for him to apply for other jobs if he had more time at home to search for vacancies by the Internet and reading classified post.

On a sunny day, he worked his routine jobs. While he was wiping a table, he was scared by a bang that was made by a kid. The kid carelessly and naughtily made his metal chair fall down on the floor and scared the people sitting around him too. The sound was great but no one got hurt. During he was frightened, he stopped working for a moment. Oh, gosh. That gave a good chance to Lollipop to yell at him from behind again. It was also a good time she combed for a long time to scold at him. She questioned him in public, “Why did you not go to help the kid on the double? Where is your conscience? Are you cold-blooded? Tell me why.”

← He pulled no punches on the shrew.

‘The kid did not get hurt but the ears of others did. Can you tell the kid’s parents not to let it happen again? If you can, you will prevent the same accident from hurting anyone,’ he replied in a sensible way and waited for her response.

“If you helped the kid when you saw him hurt, it was too late,” she spoke loudly.

“I might be late but you are surely late. You spent the time in questioning me instead of asking after the kid. The one who was wasting time to save a life was you only,” he argued back using his firm voice without considering any negative consequences.

He was right and she did not go to ask after the kid after their quarrel. She might not want to obey what he told her to do. She preferred yelling at her subordinates, particularly the eyesore to her, to having introspection over her own behavior. She was wrong and the management of the park was much wrong. The park did not ever set up a system for any staff in need to express what problems they came up with. The staff such as Hophen needed a simple device such as an opinion box to reflect what the senior staff should know and solve. The park-in-charge, Donald, seemed to turn a blind eye to the grumbles.

Apart from Berry, Stupeenie was another assistant of Lollipop. She did not tell Andy or Benny what she saw in the quarrel between Hophen and Lollipop. When they disputed, she was standing next to Lollipop to ask for some money exchange and she should at least try to stop it because it was not a good show when staff argued in front of clients or customers. It badly affected the mood they ate there in. The greatest irony was that Stupeenie was Hophen’s tutor for two days in the 5-day course but she never asked how he worked or followed up what she taught him, let alone what problems he confronted and whether the guides she transferred to her students worked or not. Before making clear how he was wrong or right, Stupeenie made a stand against him by overriding him and giving all co-workers a packet of cookies except him. Stupeenie did that in order to harass him and isolate him on purpose. He would not mind but he felt sorry that such a tutor was qualified for teaching new staff and that the whole park was running in a physical form but it was paying to staff to hurt the corporate.

If the park wished to make its clients happy, it should make its employees happy first. It was quoted from the boss of Virgin Atlantic Airways. Hophen only wanted to keep his job safe and stable by completing his daily duties and tried to evade politics. However, it was his unilateral wish and in fact he faced a lot of hassles on his work. Lollipop always got at him and had so much prejudice against him. She found him lazy and hateful. She did not see everything he did in an affirmative way. For example, she did not like to see him walk ahead of her when all the staff of the Café were after work at night and ready to return to the changing rooms to undress their uniforms and she thought that he did so because he wanted to seize her prestige to be a leader. As a result, she ran and caught up with him with her thick legs. It was heard that power could make a person insane but her behavior should be the most ridiculous. Moreover, it was not difficult to reason why the management was messy.

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Was it suitable for a woman flunkey? Was there no better way?

By day, he was a tardy flunkey by her standards. She often pushed him to work faster and faster but she did not ever give a hand to him. In order to keep him busy all the time, she pushed the flaps of all rubbish bins to see if they were one-fourth full or less. When she found that there was trash in the bins, whether they were full or not, she at once shouted at him to get the black trash bags changed. As the soup and water left by customers were all poured into the bags, they could be as heavy as 15 to 30 kilograms in that situation. Every working day, he had to lift up the stuffed bags over and over and they easily made his arms sore. On top of that, the bags were big and clumsy. When he lifted them up each time, he had to use one hand to hold the bin and use the other to pull the bag up. The weight of the stuffed bag became double if it was carried by a single arm. She absolutely understood how demanding the task was and that was why she frequently assigned him to get the heavy bags changed on purpose. As an obedient worker, he did the jobs he was arranged for even if he knew that the way she acted was definitely not fair or humane to him. Nevertheless, biting the bullet was not always proper. He seemed to forget that he gave her an inch and she would take a mile.

All flunkeys could use a trolley as a tool to convey a stuffed bag from a rubbish bin to the back stage as a spot to collect rubbish but the number of trolleys was only two. It was not enough to clear the rubbish efficiently. As a lead of a café, Lollipop was so sure of the scarcity but she did not ever demand or at least suggest requesting more trolleys from the administrative staff. In return, the senior management officers never tuned in to what practical problems the employees in the front really had, let alone they would come to see and ask every flunkey of all cafes in the park for any suggestion. The barrier between the small potatoes and the bigheads was as gigantic as a gulf. It was time for them to get down from their ride; otherwise, the business of the park would go south or get worse and worse.

He sometimes used the lack of trolleys as an acceptable reason for why he could not change the occupied bags. He really had to wait for the available trolleys because not only one flunkey would use them. Unfortunately, what he explained to Lollipop was only a poor excuse to her. She did not trust him or say good words for him. When some other flunkeys saw that, they knew which way the wind was blowing. Mayyor hunted which bin was full and told him to change the bag at once. Mayyor was mean to him but he still went to change the full bags. He thought that he was a man and Mayyor was a woman and that a stronger worker should do the demanding job. A point had to be reminded that all flunkeys there were equally paid.

← It was hard not to be ill meeting two beasts at a place.

Ider, another flunkey working at the Meteor Cafe, was ten times as mean as Mayyor. She was really like a swine and often sang while she was working. When she found that Hophen did not wipe the tables of the Café clean enough, she scolded at him publicly and demonstrated how to clean them. She did not care how he felt and she was so full of herself as a senior flunkey who just started working there 10 days before he came to work. All humans should have self-esteem but no one knew what the limit of his was and how long he could endure. On one Sunday afternoon, Ider, Mayyor and Hophen were arranged in the same team. Ider found a bin near her too full to take more leavings and imputed the fault to his indolence. It was not fair as he had his own busy work somewhere else. Finally, Ider changed the bag by herself but at the same time she called him names. She almost punched him on the jaw but he ducked subtly. He knew that he had a low status there because he found that she only chose him other than Mayyor to slash. A newcomer, particularly a modest one, was liable to insult.

After the work of that gloomy day, he went to dine alone. As he was going out of the park, he met Marie talking on her mobile phone. He did not greet her because he did not want her to see his languid face. He charged at the exit and looked the other way. It went to the old saying that beauty was in the eye of the beholder. He could not escape from the eyeshot of Marie. Such beauty was offbeat and could catch her eyes occasionally. After finishing the telephone conversation, she followed him and wanted to talk to him. However, the louder sounds she made from her high heels as she was approaching him, the greater strides he forced himself to make as he was fleeing from her. More haste, less speed. In the end, he saw her fair hand again but it was on the door of the exit instead of the flap of the rubbish bin. He knew that he could not get rid of her and turned around without other better choices.

“Hey! How are you doing? Are … you going out?” he asked her in a breaking voice.

“I … I … am going out? How about you?” she pretended to stammer as he did.

He was very embarrassed because he knew that she should understand why he was scampering but she did not ask him why he was. The only thing he could do at that time was to spontaneously push the door for her to go out. They walked together for a short while without speaking anything. He knew that she was also after work and he regretted that he was a little impolite just before, so he invited her to have dinner nearby.

“Are you free tonight? May I have the honor to dine with you, please?” he asked.

“I”m sorry. I have an appointment tonight with my old friend… ” she answered directly.

He interrupted, “You’re fine. That’s all right. Nice people are difficult to meet and become friends of yours. When you have one, don’t lose him or her. I never mind your refusal. Instead I encourage you to see your old friend more. Yes, I am serious… ” He intended to go on speaking in order to conceal her from knowing how disappointed he was.

She suddenly stopped him and continued to say, “but she just called me to cancel the appointment. So I can do my own thing now.’

He smiled and said excitedly, “SHE … she cancelled it. That”s good.’

She did not understand and asked him, “What do you mean by “That”s good”?’

“I don”t mean that I am glad to hear the cancellation. I find that it is good because I’ve the chance to invite you again to dine with me. May I?’ he explained it to her happily.

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Woman’s eyes would make men get lost all of a sudden.

If he could not dine with her that night, he could ask her again on the upcoming days. The news he found promising was actually that her old friend was not a man. Therefore he had opportunities to hang out with her. It should be a good start as she accepted his offer. They went to a restaurant by the seaside and had a long chitchat. He wanted to tell her how upset he was and hoped that it could relieve him. After hesitation, he gave up that act. As for her, she was a wise woman and did not push him to say anything he disliked. They talked about their history backgrounds, enthusiasms and the meaning of life during dinner instead.

“I like the scent of your fragrance. It smells pleasant,” he said a little presumptuously.

“You like it? I spray a little of it on the back of my ears every time when I feel tired. Today”s work was hard, so I sprayed some,’ she responded smiling and touching her ears.

Although he checked the bill at the end of dinner, he found it so worthwhile because he was not empty any longer and at the same time he had an olfactory and visual enjoyment. After all, he felt relaxed because he could put his upset aside temporarily when he conversed with her. Sometimes he also found that they were on the same page sharing not few common grounds. She was a special lady to him. He dared talk to her about many topics he did not dare say with other colleagues. After dinner, they had a walk outside the restaurant.

“Is it St. Patrick”s Day today?’ she asked with a strange look on him.

“No, it is not March 17 yet. Why did you ask that?” he asked back.

“I saw you in green a few times before. Must you wear in green after work?” she asked.

“Oh, I see. By coincidence only. I don”t like green very much, nor do I hate green,’ he grinned and told her. “Speaking of green, I haven”t gotten a pair of green leather shoes yet.’

When she heard that, she burst out laughing. It was really rare to see a man wearing green shiny leather shoes and walking in the streets. As they walked along the long coastal line with some mild winds gently passing their faces, the dark environment by the seaside was reminiscent of his working environment. Then he asked her, “Do you know why the ground lights of the Meteor Cafe were out of order for a long time? It seriously affects how customers eat as well as how flunkeys work. Did anyone report it to the maintenance?”

She replied, “I have worked there for a period of time but I haven”t detected the broken lights. I’m quite sure that nobody has gone to report it. You’re perceptive to your work.’

It was getting late and they needed a good rest at home. It was also a good time to say goodnight to each other. He saw her home and then he returned home, ready to work and suffer next morning. He was right because a great deal of sunshine awaited him.

The weather of most of his working days was steamy. Lollipop knew how to make use of the helpful sun to torture Hophen. When he put the heavy garbage into the trash cart that could hold 660 liters of water at the back stage, he heard someone command him loudly from behind to go to the outdoor area to serve customers. He was clear about what tricks she intended to play and he was prepared to work there because it was Hobson’s choice to him. Although it was not easy to bear the high temperature, it gave him at least a chance to isolate himself because the area usually needed one flunkey to stand by. When he was in the lonely area, he could rid himself of the insult and the ugly faces of the devils. However, Lollipop did not arrange time for him to drink water, not even to go to the lavatory. In order not to be blamed by the senior, she approached him and told in advance that he could not take a rest at that moment on account of the lack of labors. That peg was hard to challenge because he was just a junior staff who did not know the administrative work. Furthermore, if it was really a reasonable excuse, she should have apologized to him but she did not.

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However hot the sun was, it could not make him succumb.

She was an inhumane lead. On the first day he worked there, she briefly guided him on tour to see the working environment including the outdoor area. She said to him that at least a flunkey should be arranged to work there but it was too hot in summer to do so. She implied that the conditions were not suitable for any staff to work under. A few weeks later, she changed and held a different viewpoint that all customers would not be left behind. She was right but it was not right to arrange him to work in the outdoor area at the temperature of over 85F for consecutive 4 hours without a break. On top of that, the insidious lead sent someone to check if he copped out of jobs. During work on the hot ground, his scalp was directly under the sun and the sun dehydrated his body a minute after a minute. He was fried in the sun but he still stood up and served customers as usual. Taking off a cap or sitting down was not allowed. The more sufferings he expressed, the more happiness she enjoyed. Hence he went on working and showed that he was not affected at all by the hot weather and her contemptible behavior as well. What could she do more on him under the circumstances?

Molder was another flunkey and a co-worker of Hophen’s. Molder was 6 feet tall and had a skinhead. Apart from his frightening appearance, he was very nice and gentle. Moreover he was a vegetarian. As Molder’s colleagues knew, Molder was a “mess transformer”. When customers finished their meals, Molder could clean up the mess quickly and efficiently. What was surprising was that he could change the mess into a tidy masterpiece before throwing it into a rubbish bin. He often did the hard jobs of getting heavy and clumsy trash bags changed ahead of other flunkeys. Because of being compared, Lollipop regarded that Hophen was a lazy bone. He sometimes asked Molder not to help him while he was getting them changed but Molder persisted in giving assistance to him because Molder experienced how heavy the bags were. Molder also knew what practical problems the front employees faced and how they felt when being insulted in public. What a leader needed was the kind of his empathy.

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Esprit de corps was realized by the talents, Molder and Marie.

When Hophen was arranged back to the stall from the outdoor area, he often got help from Molder as described above. Another angel to Hophen was Marie. One day, Hophen was assigned to work alone at the stall because of the same peg that there was a lack of labors and Marie was assigned to work in the outdoor area opposite to his working place. Because Lollipop saw her talking to him and became green-eyed, she made Marie experience the lonely job on purpose. Although Hophen and Marie could not talk to each other, they could cast some glances at each other 20 meters apart every once in a while. The number of tables at the stall outnumbered those in the area and he was far busier than her. Beauty was in the eye of the beholder again. She preferred going to his aid and being punished for deserting her own area to seeing him serve so many tables, clear the rubbish bins, convey the garbage to the back stage, sweep the floor and help customers carry their meals to unoccupied tables. When she gave him a welcome hand, she said, “It”s impossible to assign one flunkey here,’ and started serving the tables. Her words seemed to let him save the effort to find out a reason to ask for her help. Her active behavior also made him at ease for obtaining assistance. She really could be compared to a bright star in the sky shining the poor fellows in need. Owing to her thoughtfulness, he was so touched and speechless.

When it was not a rush hour any longer, she went back to her original position. Before she left the stall, he thanked her and saw her going back from behind. At that moment, he remembered Tracy who taught students how to draw and the vow that he would not allow the vague feeling to take place again. Therefore he decided to invite her again to dine in a bid to make clear what his uncertain feeling was. He would like to ensure if he fell for her, if she was nice to every colleague or if both of them also had a crush on each other. All those puzzles made him confused. Notwithstanding, he had a better decision for himself prior to figuring them out and it should be beneficial to any party.