The morning had not begun well, the children were suffering from sticky mattress, and it took all my patience to coax them from their warm beds, feed them and drive them to school, managing to get my son sat down for register just as nine showed on the classroom clock. Bidding a fleeting goodbye to my son, I passed through my younger daughter’s classroom to say the same to her, but she was not letting me off so easily, and tears fell easily as she told me I had forgotten her bookbag, and ‘Miss’ would be cross.
Knowing it was in the car, I rushed back and got it, emerging from school eventually at ten past nine, with now only twenty minutes to get across town and park. But upon returning to the car, a delivery van had pulled up and blocked me in. So in I got and waited for the guy to take as long as humanly possible to deliver one box of supplies and move his van.
Fifteen minutes later, I picked up my handbag and got the keys from the ignition, locking the car and taking the short walk over to my new place of work. I had had an email that morning from the agency, but there was no chance to do anything other than scan through it quickly, a couple of phrases had me foxed – being kept in the dark about company practice- but it just seemed to be general information.
Ten o’clock , I was finally shown back into the office where I had been interviewed the day before. I had sat drumming my fingers and tapping my heels nervously, and now just wanted to get doing whatever I was supposed to be doing. I was not daft by any means and knew I would be able to pick up the general idea of how the company was run. So as I was given some folded up clothes, I was a little surprised. The ever-eloquent Ms Bright handed me over to clipboard girl – who appeared once more from the depths of somewhere – and we left the room. I sensed that while Ms Bright seemed to dislike me, I may have an ally in clipboard girl. She reminded me of a friend I had had about fifteen years ago, and soon I would learn that her name was Lorraine, and she didn’t like working Mondays or Fridays – which was dependant on what her weekend plans were.
Lorraine led me through a maze of corridors to a big warehouse, I could hear a radio playing and could just made out the lyrics of an old ELO track – Blinded by the Light. Okay so they had a sense of humour somewhere. As I stood watching, Lorraine pointed out the Ladies toilets and told me I should get changed and I could use her locker until they allocated me my own. At her insistence I changed into the overall and hat that I had been issued. So I was to be working in the factory packing then. So this was what was meant by utilising my talents – those ones I exercised at the supermarket every Friday morning, after loading the trolley and crossing my fingers that I had not gone over budget as usual.
As I emerged in full nylon splendour, Lorraine led me toward the warehouse, assuring me that I would be fine and would soon learn ‘the way things were’. As an induction thing I had to gain experience in various areas before I could be ‘trusted’ to work in the offices. We ll I suppose that was fair enough I thought as I was introduced to a man of about 18. Lorraine told me that this was Deano and he would look out for me and show me what to do next. Muttering something about it being a Thursday and her having important SMS work to continue she disappeared back up to whence she came from. I did notice her glance at Deano, and recognised the look that passed between them.
Deano was not exactly a ladies’ man, he just wanted to get on with his world and let others get on with theirs, so the basic ‘housekeeping’ brief he gave about exits and machinery was that – brief. Exits over there and there, meet in the front car park when alarm went, boxes over there, labels over here – don’t climb ladders, that’s Jez’s job, he’s done the training- lunchbreak is 12-1, part timers get thirty minutes, you can smoke through that door, any questions?
Without waiting to hear if there were any, he turned and walked away. Before I had a chance to catch my breath, another white coated man was walking towards me – well it was probably more of a swagger. If you can swagger in a white coat. He introduced himself as Jez – I can take you higher, I’ve done the training, and got the Tshirt- he was QC. Quality Control to you love, and with Quality like this, how can there be any control? Well in your dreams mate! I asked him what I had to do? Well, now you come to mention it…….He must have seen the look of impatience in my eyes, as he stopped the spiel and pulled forward Maggie, an older lady, about half his height, and once again I had another name to remember.
Maggie was lovely however, and soon I was sat beside her at a long bench, taking light bulbs from a tray and putting them into little boxes before placing them onto a belt to carry them along to the next stop, where the boxes were placed in a bigger box and taped up, and placed on a pallet.
The rest of the day passed quite quickly. Lunchtime came and took all the smokers outside, leaving me sat alone at the refectory table in the tearoom, pondering over a rapidly drying chicken salad sandwich, and a cup of tepid water from a cooler that was due to be fixed ‘any day now’. Before I knew it, it was two-thirty and I went to remove my overall and put it into the locker that was apparently mine. Lorraine had come back down to the warehouse and pressed a small key into my hand. As I was leaving, and crossing the car park, I saw Mr Edison struggling to unlock his car and hold a file of papers while doing so. Just as I got to him to offer my help, he lost his grip and sheets of A4 wafted about on the afternoon breeze. He bent to retrieve them and I chased thm across the car park, as the typical breeze on a previously still day carried them always just out of reach.
My running was something to behold after all. Here was the person who volunteered to sell refreshments at Sports Day so she did not have to participate in the parents’ races. Upon gathering the final papers from a prickly shrub and crossing back to where Ms Bright now stood apparently berating Mr Edison, I handed them back, just catching the word that I thought said Investigation on one of the sheets. As I handed them to my new boss, she firmly took them from my hands. Hmmm from one prickly shrub to another then…I left them after saying goodbye and heard her ask if he thought I had seen anything and what a silly fool he was, why wasn’t the file shut properly?
