NEW JOB

It wasn’t that Neil wasn’t qualified for the job. He knew only to well how many others he’d had to beat to get in. No. What worried him was that he just didn’t seem to be fitting in at all. It wasn’t as though he hadn’t tried, it really wasn’t. 

He’d started his first day by taking cakes into work, hoping to make new friends, but it had only made things worse. His colleagues laughed at him, and not even to his back, which would have been bad enough, but no, they laughed directly at his face.

            For the past four years he’d diligently learned everything his tutor had told him. He’d explained to them how he’d passed first place in everything, aced his practical exams, including the correct use of the Latin names.

            That had not helped either though. They called him goody two shoes, and spat in his coffee. He’d brought his “Worlds best son” cup home after that, for fear they would break it and make him eat the pieces. 

            They’d done the usual job humour on him. His partner sent him for a long stand in the cupboard. That hadn’t been bad enough in itself, but they locked him in for nine hours, he’d only got out because someone needed something from inside.

            He got in early the next day and cleaned and polished all their tools, laying them out in a neat pattern on the tables for when they arrived. He even went as far as to get fresh flowers, and each work area had a different style. But that hadn’t worked. Within ten minutes of them arriving, they’d broken the heads off them and set them on fire, he’d sworn he’d seen at least two of them eating theirs. Within half an hour, it looked like a blood bath in there; they’d even torn up his `Hang in there Kitty` Poster.

            Well, today would be different. Neil was determined to make this work, to settle in and be just one of the guys. He tried not to cry as he’d walked in, but they all stopped as he entered, staring and growling at him like he was some sort of freak. The boss came out of his office.

            “Neil!” He’d barked. “Get in here. Now!” 

            “Have I been bad?” Neil held his head down, afraid to look his boss in the eye.

            “No. And that’s the problem. You can’t work here with the attitude you have, we can’t have a happy environment, it just doesn’t work. I promised your old man I’d give you a fair crack of the whip, and even then, you dropped it.”

            “It was wet,” Neil started to explain “and…”

            “No. Enough is enough. Just get out. You’re just not cut out to be a demon. ”