Warrior Princess

There’s a time to draw a line. If a fish isn’t biting, there’s no reason to keep the worm on the hook.

 It can be that way in the workplace. I’m not making excuses, but what am I supposed to do with employees who say they need a job but once they start working for you they don’t show up? People are playing games. I shouldn’t have to watch people like a hawk.

Greg smokes cigarettes every fifteen minutes. Ronda is in charge of banking, but when she was supposed to be depositing the money from the charity fundraiser, she was spending it all on herself. Her husband was in jail and she must’ve been trying break him out. But there are other ways of dealing with problems.

 I run a nonprofit organization that provides the community with resources. I tried to get calm as I thought about the best way to handle these situations. While the other employees were going about their daily tasks, I called Ronda and Greg into my office and closed the door for privacy. I cracked my knuckles on the desk. I started with Ronda because her situation was more complex. Ronda was not prepared for the bombshell that I was about to drop on her. Words flew. I was glad that no kids were present. Her face was red as fire. She didn’t even give me a chance to speak my opinion on the subject. 

“You don’t know what I have to go through just to keep the lights on and my soon to be ex husband needs a thousand bucks to get out of jail.” “I’m sorry,” I said. Ronda let out a sigh and her hair blew up into her face by the desk fan. 

At Generation Love it’s our mission to shape and mold the world and to love others. “I don’t believe in God,” Ronda said. “I’m sorry you feel this way, but I have made my decision. It’s what is best for the company.”

 “It didn’t mention religious views in the advertisement for this job. I put up with it because it pays decent,” said Ronda.

 “Please return the keys to your locker and turn in your I.D.” Ronda dug through her purse and found the I.D. with strawberry bubblegum stuck to it along with the keys. She didn’t say anything but she gave me a negative vibe on the way out the door. When Ronda was out of earshot I turned my attention to Greg. 

His legs were bouncing up and down. Just seeing Ronda getting cut Greg thought he was walking into a bad horror movie. He was sweating under his armpits. I handed him a tissue.

“ This is about the smoking, right?” Greg said, grabbing his inhaler. He must have read my mind because he knew exactly where I was going with this. Similar to Ronda’s story, Greg was living with his mother after being discharged from the military. After an accident he started smoking cigarettes to avoid the pain of leaving the military. He was on probation and he had this job so that he could come up with a good cover story for his probation officer. He would sit on the couch watching television and eating popcorn while playing video games. 

“You seem to be more interested in smoking than working,” I said. 

“My mom won’t let anyone smoke cigarettes in her house. I smoke cigarettes on my way here,” he said. “You probably smell it on me right now.” Greg did what Ronda had just done a couple of minutes ago. Greg left the office without saying goodbye or thank you for the opportunity I had given him.

 I got up and went to see Zoey to tell her to update the website. She could write a new post about needing some more help for my company. 

Zoey was most likely to show up at work and she was on her “A” game. She had a friend who worked for an advertising agency. She came up with a catchy slogan that would draw people into coming to work for us. The company is about creating jobs for people who have invested millions of hours helping people. This candidate will hopefully bring ideas to the table. 

A few days later on the other side of town Allison Johnson was dreaming about being a writer. Nobody knew of her special talents. Her parents were her biggest supporters, and her teacher, Julia Webb. Allison was in mainstream classes. She was in a wheelchair and had never had a job. 

Her mother had been reading the website that the help wanted ad was published in. Lauren Johnson was drinking a cup of coffee before she nearly spilled it on her laptop. She could just barely see the words in front of her. “Listen, Allison ! Very interesting; you are the perfect candidate for this position. ‘Wanted: a trusted advisor to help with fundraising. We need caring people who love to give people hope.’ I would love to help you make a resume’ to show your potential boss. You are awesome at giving back.”

Mrs. Johnson put a stamp on Allison’s resume’, and then it was on its way to land on my desk. 

I was desperate for someone to fill Greg and Ronda’s slots. I started out cool, calm, and collected. But after the first few candidates left and I shook their hands, I crossed their names off the list because they didn’t elaborate much on their résumé’s about what they thought of the vision of the company.

 I gave them all to Zoey to read and shortly after she came back to work sobbing. They were happy tears, not sad tears. I always gave her the hardest part of making the decision on who to cut. It was between Nora and Allison. Nora was a college student and worked another job and as of right now her car was in the shop and she didn’t have any one to bring her or to pick her up. I literally just sat down from saying goodbye to Nora and Zoey sent for Allison who was waiting patiently in the waiting room. I didn’t want to jump to conclusions because Allison was in a wheelchair. She smiled sweetly as she steered her way down until she was staring at me. Employers loved to hear the short version of what she had written on the paper. She grew up in a Christian family. She loved to read and write. I was so impressed when she took out a binder of her writing from her high school years and presented it to me as she was already a bestselling author and I was her biggest fan. She had a very honest nature to her. She wasn’t afraid to speak up about anything that was on her mind. She told me that she would be needing some special equipment to help her do the job properly. I would not have to spend any money on a computer because she already had a computer with voice recognition on it. She needed the drawers lowered down to her level. She could only do half days because of personal circumstances. 

I could tell that Zoey was getting bored of rolling around in her office chair going back and forth filing papers all day so I decided to promote her. She was going to be Allison’s helper. It was a volunteer job for the summer and she had been in college studying journalism. Part of our mission is educating people about people who have disabilities. I never thought of hiring someone who had a disability but it was worth a shot.

 Growing and learning how to reshape the management of Generation Love was my main goal. Many clients who have a disability need a sense of belonging and self confidence. I knew she was a great hire.

Soon Allison went to the animal shelter to help the animals. She always wanted to be able to take pictures. She loved fashion. And art.

 She had a great idea for fundraising: á beauty pageant. All the contestants were going to have to be in wheelchairs. She could have her art out in the lobby as people came to get their makeovers. She wrote an advertisement for the beauty pageant. Her mother was a fashion designer who wanted to make the costumes. I was impressed by her ability to get things done. 

She made flyers for Zoey to put up. She was even interviewed by a local television station. Allison brought a tiara to the office and put on her sash. She was like a movie star. 

“ Zach, the reporter from Channel Seven News is more handsome in person,” she told Zoey. 

After the news program aired the phones were ringing off the hook. Allison was the best employee of Generation Love the company had ever had. Fifty seven girls started out in the pageant and Allison and Zoey narrowed it down 27 finalists and then from there would be five. 

The contestants were going to have to answer questions about experience volunteering in the community. Morgan, Brittany, Ivory Jill, and Sara were all in the top five. The girls had butterflies in their stomachs. It wasn’t about who won — it was about getting the girls to believe that they could be anything in life and look beyond the circumstances that defined them. The girls were doing their own thing. 

But Morgan and Jill had broken the wheels on their chairs and they were disqualified. Brittany and Ivory were battling for the title. There was only going to be one warrior. Brittany looked like a fluffy pink flamingo in her dress. Ivory had a navy blue dress. Ivory had curly hair and wore blue eyeshadow. It must be hard to judge a person who is sitting down. The two girls twisted their bodies and put their hands on their spokes of their wheelchairs. They felt like movie stars; the spotlight was shining on them every single minute. Ivory sang a song. Brittany painted a picture. Ivory tried to shoot hoops through a basketball net but the hoop was higher than the hoop that she had at home. She burst into tears as the ball rolled around the rim but it didn’t go in. She zoomed off stage. 

Allison thought she would give Ivory her space. But if she was in her shoes, she would want some encouragement because she was taught how to get back up after tragedy strikes. “Ivory, I’m so proud of you for trying your best. You are a winner in my book.”

 Alison gave Ivory a tissue. In the rules of the pageant it says that you have to congratulate the winner and be a good sport. So she went out on stage but she didn’t expect Brittany to get proposed to by Zach. Brittany wanted to make Ivory a bridesmaid in her wedding, but that it is a different story for another day.