A novel idea...

As I don't have any idea for a blog and as I owe it to the followers of this novel to show some progress, here is the next excerpt from my yet unfinished novel "Sex, Drugs and Rollercoasters."

To those who don't know, I worked at an amusement park for nine years and have been working on this novel for three.

This one picks up after a very tense scene where the protagonist Don and his assistant Val both thought they were about to get fired/beaten up respectively and instead got promoted and ignored. If you've read the other excerpts you're better off but don't sweat it.

So alas, here it is:


When Val finished shift change we snuck out behind the store for a smoke. It was something of a stress induced tradition.

Behind the pizza stand next door the food service workers dumping something that looked like cooking grease down a drain below a sign that said “No Grease Dumping.” A food service employee was walking sheepishly away.

Val didn’t often smoke cigarettes. Neither did I for that matter. Something about lower management in the retail department at Mountain Park turned everyone into seasonal smokers.

Val could barely hold onto his Marlboro. I was lighting my third.

“Well,” I said between drags. “Steve just promoted me to area manager.”

Val didn’t react.

“He, um, said that, I would be over this store, one more and another training program.”

“Leeza’s pregnant,” Val said.

“I know.”

“I don’t even… wait. You know?”

“Yeah,” I said, failing to blow a ring of smoke. "She told me."

It was after dark now and steam was rising up from the vent where the illegal grease dumping had occurred.

I was just an open shift today and at 9 p.m., one hour to close, I was still on the clock. I was going home.

“Look man. You finish up. I’m heading out,” I said.

“I know you’re off tomorrow but we got shit to talk about man,” said Val.

“I know. Let’s do lunch at Pizza Palace.”

For a moment Val cheered up.

“Fuck yeah man," he said. "All you can eat bread sticks.”

“Goodnight Val.”

“Night Fudgy”


---------------------

I headed up to the office the long way through kiddie land. The park wasn’t closed yet but that late the kid’s area looks mostly like an abandoned carnival.

As I passed the ice cream stand that sold the blue ice cream I saw a five year old kid looking like he should have had an adult with him but I kept walking. Two minutes later by the carousel was a lost mom in a panic who ran up to me asking about her child. I pointed her the right way.
The office was nearly empty when I arrived. The scheduling department was getting things ready for close and one or two others were milling about.

At this time of night most of the area managers and full timers would be out keeping their supervisory staff on the ball to help closing go quickly.

I walked into Steve’s office hoping for some kind of explanation as to why I wasn’t fired and really I was just hoping by then it would be some simple explanation. I’d had enough weird shit today.

“Don, have a seat,” Steve said.

I sat.

“Well, what do you think of this?”

Steve threw a 3 XL blue shirt and blue tie with a mountain park logo at me.

“Steve, I’m thrilled but aren’t I on some kind of probation at the moment. I thought by the end of the day I’d be fired, not promoted.

“I mean hell I fired two people and they’re suing us remember?”

“Yes I remember," Steve said dismissively. "So you’re promoted but you’re getting .50 cents less per hour than you would have. Consider yourself punished.”

“Steve, seriously what the hell is going on?”

“Ok fine," he said. “We’ve been sold.”

“Yeah Paramount Café. That happened before the season started. They seemed to be the ones most upset at me.”

“They were,” Steve said. “But the CEO came by for a visit the day the power died. He was on the Miner the day you led a team to push it onto the hill and was impressed with you. He liked you’re reaction to his joke. He suggested you be promoted and nobody argues with him.

“What about the lawsuit,” I asked, trying desperately to remember the CEO.

“Don’t know. Corporate said they were going to settle.”

“So… I’m good?”

“No,” Steve said. “But your management.

He smirked.

“Welcome to my hell.”