“Carla got the shock of her life when she was fired for helping a disabled boy. However, the next day, she got a call that changed her life forever. The moment Carla’s life turned upside down, nothing in the world could have prepared her for it. She had always believed that whatever troubles came her way while she was working her shift at the Paradise Restaurant, she would be able to handle it. However, she had no idea the trouble would come to her because of her skin color.
She was attending to a customer and taking their order when she was summoned by Dave, the manager of the restaurant. This was not uncommon, as he always found a reason to interrupt her workflow. At first, she asked that she be given time to finish attending to the patron, but she was told to drop everything she was doing and report to the office immediately.
With a sigh, she handed her notepad to another waitress and made her way through the maze of chairs and tables toward Dave’s office. She found him with his face buried in his computer, with a scowl that was unique only to his person. As he saw her, though, the scowl deepened, and in that moment, she knew that something was wrong.
Dave didn’t mince words with her. He told her straight up that he was mad at her and disappointed in her. According to him, she had abandoned her post while catering to one of their richest patrons, and it was not good for the image of the restaurant.
Carla was taken aback. This didn’t seem like enough reason for him to pull her away from work and talk down to her. She figured he probably misunderstood what had happened and tried to explain herself, but he shut her up at once and kept on berating her for maltreating their top customer. He insulted and called her derogatory names. He said it was because of stuff like this that he was against hiring blacks into Paradise in the first place, and she had only proved him right. He then told her he was done having to pick up her slack. It was time for her to go right then and there.
While Carla stood there with her jaw nearly hitting the floor, he fired her. For a long moment, Carla stood right there, unable to move an inch. She was certain she didn’t hear what he said correctly, but he repeated it for her. She couldn’t believe she was fired. She shook her head as she refused to accept his sentence. She needed the job badly, and without it, she would be unable to pay for most of her bills.
Dave dismissed her, but she refused to leave. She demanded to know the real reason that he had to fire her. He ignored her and instead called security to escort her off the premises. And as if in a nightmare, Carla took off her apron, picked up her bag, and walked out of Paradise.
As she got to the lobby, she looked back at all the customers who were happily eating their lunch. She could even see the rich patron she had supposedly abandoned and wondered if that was the person responsible for her losing her job. However, the more she thought about it, the less sense it made that she was fired. All she did was help a disabled boy, and it had ruined her life in seconds.
Carla had been attending to the rich patron standing beside him, ready to take his order. But he was taking his time, perusing each item on the menu and asking questions about their nutritional value and calorie content. Carla, in her usual fashion, answered them as best as she could with a smile on her face.
However, while she waited for him to make a choice, she heard a commotion at the door of the restaurant. All heads, including hers, turned to see a young boy in a wheelchair struggling to wheel through the doors. One of the tires was stuck on the frame, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get through.
At once, Carla dropped her notepad on the table and told the rich patron she would be back. She then hurried over to the boy and helped him unlatch the tire from where it was stuck. She then wheeled him to a table. As Carla studied him, she saw that he was too young to be out alone. She asked him his name, and he said it was Alicia. And when she asked for any of his parents, he told her his mother was on her way to pick him up; they were going to meet at the restaurant.
Carla returned to the rich patron, but he told her to finish up with Alicia; he was still yet to make a decision. Carla was happy about this, so she took Alicia’s order and, the moment it was ready, served it to the little boy. Once the food arrived, Alicia’s face lit up like a Christmas tree, and he began to eat. Carla realized just how hungry he was and was glad to be of help in curbing that hunger.
Once Carla was sure Alicia was okay on his own, she returned to the rich patron, who was finally ready to make a choice, which he promptly told Carla. She hurried over to get it done. She apologized profusely for keeping him waiting, but the kind man only laughed and told her he was the one who should apologize for taking so long to choose his food.
By the time she had satisfied the rich patron, another customer walked into the restaurant, and Carla hurried over to her at once. This was where she was when Dave summoned her and subsequently fired her.
Now, as she stared at the rich patron, who was still eating and enjoying his meal, she wondered if he had any idea what their encounter had cost. She looked around and saw that Alicia was nowhere to be found; she wondered if his mother had come to pick him up already.
As she watched the customers and her colleagues, her vision blurred as tears filled her eyes. She couldn’t believe this was the last time she would see them. Unable to take it anymore, she hurried out of the restaurant and ran all the way home.
When she got home, she made her way straight to her bed, simply curled up around her pillow, and began to weep profusely. All she had done was an act of good. She didn’t see why she had to suffer as a result. But then she realized that she had unknowingly walked into Dave’s trap.
Ever since she had started working at Paradise, Dave had always hated her, and he never tried to hide it. Getting the job in the first place had been hectic. She had always wanted to work at a fancy restaurant, but it was so difficult. Many times she considered giving up, but when she remembered all the bills she had to pay, she forced herself to write yet another application and apply for a job.
When she finally got hired at Paradise, she was extremely happy for the opportunity. It was not a fancy restaurant, just a modest three-star establishment, but for Carla, it was a great start. However, from the very first day she reported for duty, she realized that the job wasn’t going to be as straightforward as she had believed.
Dave, the manager, simply disliked her. He made her work overtime countless times and never paid her for the extra hours. She knew all this hate was because of her skin because he was always quick to comment on how she was black and it was affecting her work. He called her derogatory racial slurs all the time
, and when she complained, he dared her to quit. He knew just how much she needed the job, and he also knew she would do anything to keep it. So, she endured the hate and racism for Dave, hoping that with time, it would lessen. She wrongly hoped that his racism would subside once he realized she was doing a good job. She was wrong; Dave only got worse.
The height of it was when she fell seriously ill. It was just after the festive season when Carla and her colleagues had been working hard to keep up with the demands. But then, with the festivities gone, she believed she would have some time to rest and regain her strength. Instead, she fell seriously ill. She woke up that morning feeling like a hammer was slamming repeatedly into her skull, and her temperature felt like it was hot enough to boil an egg on her forehead.
She called Dave and explained her situation. She even promised to get him a copy of the doctor’s report when she went to see one. Dave, however, was unconcerned. He ordered her to come to work at once, or he would sack her. Carla was shocked beyond words; she was too sick to even stand, and he was insisting she went to work.
Sadly, she knew she had no choice. This was her only job, and he could take it from her if she gave him enough reason. Despite feeling like her life was ending, she forced herself to go to work. Dave was merciless at her plight; even when he saw that she was sick, he fined her for coming late to work and promised to deduct it from her salary.
Carla tried to wait tables as usual, but she was not her usually lively and boisterous self. Thankfully, the patrons noticed she was sick. They began to complain about the management making sick people work when they should be seeing a doctor and resting. That was only when he relented. He grudgingly asked Carla to go to a doctor and get herself treated, which she promptly did.
She was away from the restaurant for three days to fully recover, and at the end of the month, Dave deducted heavily from her salary for all the days she missed work. Dave was wicked to her. So many times he would threaten her to do as he asked, or he would sack her. One time he even swore that no matter how hard she tried, she would eventually give him a reason to fire her.
Carla had tried her best, but it didn’t work out. In the end, he found the reason he needed and fired her. That night, she lay spread-eagled on the bed as she thought about the predicament. Now that the feeling was no longer raw in her heart, she realized that she was a bit confused.
On one hand, she was relieved to finally be free of Dave, and on the other hand, she was sad at having to lose her job. She was terrified as to how she would cope. Getting another job wasn’t going to be easy, but she was certain she would get it done. She decided to start the next day; the more applications she sent, the more likely she was to get hired.
When she woke up the next day, she immediately set to work, looking for jobs. She decided to start by looking for remote jobs. If she was unsuccessful, then she would go out and search for hours. She fiddled on her computer, scouring sites as she looked for a job. Most of what she found only promised meager pay that would do nothing to pay her bills. She needed something more. Sadly, she couldn’t find anything at all.
That night, all Carla could think about was how messed up her life was. Now a part of her was regretting helping Alicia because it was what got her into this mess. However, the other part of her was happy that she did. She knew she did the right thing, and if faced with the choice again, she would do it all over.
Just as she was about to sleep, her phone began to ring. It was a strange number. She answered the call and heard the deep voice of a man who identified himself as Eric, the CEO and powerful owner of Paradise. He told her to report to the restaurant by 8:00 a.m. the next day.
Carla was shocked by this. She had believed that with her sacking, everything that had to do with the restaurant now belonged to her past. She didn’t see what else they could want with her, and she found it terrifying that the CEO called her himself.
As she slept that night, she had nightmares where she went to Paradise and was promptly arrested. This horrified her, but she didn’t let it deter her. She made up her mind to go to the restaurant and find out what Eric wanted from her.
The next day, she arrived at the restaurant at 8 on the dot, just as business was opening for the day. Eric was already in the restaurant, and he was waiting for her. He invited her into Dave’s office, where they could talk. Dave was there as well. He stood to the side and was staring pointedly at the wall; he didn’t even acknowledge her when she walked in.
Eric took his seat and asked Carla to tell him everything that happened. She did this as briefly as she could. As she talked, hot tears burned her eyelids once more because of how hurt she still was by the entire thing. But she pulled through and kept her composure.
When she was done, Eric told her that after she had been fired, things had taken a drastic turn for the restaurant. Many of their regular patrons had come to the restaurant as usual, and when they found her absent, they demanded to know where she was.
The other waiters told them Carla had been fired. This shocked many of them because they liked Carla and couldn’t understand why she could be fired. She was always happy about her job, and she was patient when dealing with even the slowest customers. Many of them patronized Paradise just because of Carla, so when they heard that she was fired, they didn’t take it lightly at all.
The rich patron had been especially angry when he learned that she got fired for helping the disabled boy. He called Eric and expressed his displeasure at how the restaurant treated such a good employee. He then swore that if Carla wasn’t given her job back, he wouldn’t patronize the restaurant anymore. He was not the only one who felt this way. Many of them immediately left the restaurant once they learned how Carla had been treated and why she had been treated so. This was racism at its peak, and they couldn’t condone it.
By the time the restaurant closed for the day, they had barely sold up to half their usual volume. They lost so much money all because one employee got fired wrongly. That then prompted Eric to take action.
Carla thought she had heard the entire story, but to her shock, there was more. Her colleagues had also come forward to complain about how Dave had always been mean to her ever since she started working there. They had not said anything up until now for fear of losing their jobs, but Carla’s firing was the last straw, and they couldn’t stay silent.
Carla’s heart melted as she thought of the risk her colleagues had taken on her behalf. This was the first time so many people were coming out to speak for her, and it was a surreal experience.
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