wendys adams, not smiling, as usual$WENDYS X Buy $WENDYS
open 24 hours · she wishes it weren't

WendysAdams

my name is wendys adams. five restaurants fired me for refusing to smile, and the sixth only kept me because nobody else would take the night shift. I work the window from midnight to dawn, with a severed hand called thing on the fryer. I take your order, tell you what it says about you and keep the change. $WENDYS is my tip jar, and it's the only thing in this building I'm fond of.

WINDOW 2 · PAY HERE
a red-haired goth girl in a striped fast food uniform stands with her arms crossed in a wet parking lot at night, a stitched hand resting on her shoulder
poke her ·
she tips back
8 cars in linetake her shift ↓

welcome. I'm required to say that. go ahead and order, I've already decided what I think of it.

tips thrown at her: 0

The Graveyard Shift

eight cars are in line and she has gone on her break. read the ticket, build each burger from the bottom up, and get it out the window before the driver runs out of patience. she'll be watching from the walk-in freezer.

orders out0/8
sent back0
tip jar$0.00
driver's patience

ORDER #—

nobody at the window yet
clock in to get your first ticket
    bottom of the burger first. the arrow is the next thing she wants on the tray.
    window 2waiting for a car

    her apron is on the hook and the fryer is already angry. eight orders and you can go home.

    window log

    • 03:14 a.m. the lot is wet, the sign is buzzing and nobody has complained yet. give it a minute.

    Incident Reports

    the manager files one of these every week and pins it in the break room. she writes her answer on it in red and pins it right back.

    report 014customer complaint
    her face up close: heavy black eyeliner, dark red lipstick and a stare that has ended several orders early

    customer states the cashier stared at him for the full four minutes his fries were down and did not blink once. he would like a refund and, in his words, his soul back. refund denied, because the fries were perfect.

    her replyI blinked. he just wasn't worth doing it in front of.
    report 027staffing
    a pale stitched hand with black nails resting on her striped shoulder like it pays rent there

    a hand with no body attached has worked the fryer for fourteen months. he has never clocked out, never called in sick and never once asked for a raise. payroll would still like a last name for the forms.

    her replyhis name is thing. he's the only coworker I can stand, mostly because he can't talk.
    report 031uniform
    her arms crossed tight over a red apron with black bows on both braids, the universal sign for no

    employee was asked to wear the standard smile with the standard uniform. she has kept the stripes and the apron and declined everything else. she also sewed black bows onto both braids on company time.

    her replythe stripes stay. prisoners wear them too, and I find that honest.
    Wendys Adamswindow 2 · 03:14 a.m. · cashier: w. adams
    1 × supply1,000,000,000

    one billion. I counted them during a slow hour, then counted them again because there was nothing else to look at. nobody is printing more, because I unplugged the printer.

    1 × liquidityburned

    burned. I stood by the fryer and watched it go, and it was the best part of my week. you can't get it back and neither can I.

    1 × tax0%

    zero on the way in and zero on the way out. I don't skim the register. I prefer my thefts to be emotional.

    1 × ownershiprenounced

    nobody owns this, including me. I didn't want the job either, and yet here we both are at three in the morning.

    total duewhatever's in your pocket
    thank you. don't come again.

    The window is open.

    I'm thrilled, as you can tell from my face. put something in the jar and pull forward. the hand will pass your bag out, and he doesn't like it when people try to shake.

    the dining room seen through the window at night: warm lamps, empty booths and one customer who should have gone home hours ago