Chapter II: Jester Hellerton 8

 Jester Hellerton 8

My Saab lost traction and fishtailed around that curve on Snark Road because of the rain and the potholes. “Close call” I thought over the squeech of the windshield wipers. Running late as usual. But I drifted down Snark Road at 45 without questioning the rain—I trusted that stick shift junker more than my Dad’s new Suburban. I made up the time on Route 73. I might have run a red light. The police would have ignored it anyway if they saw my transgression. My younger brother forgot his Hopewell Cadet hat on the Saab’s back shelf under the yellow “We Support Our Troops” ribbon stuck to the rear windshield.

I parked next to my boss’s purple Kia. Jeff always boasted his Kia was all he needed. “Cheap and runs well” he rattled on constantly. I agree with the philosophy though. A car can only be as good as its ability to get you where you need to go. Six hundred bucks back in May got me a red Saab and a yellow troop support sticker free of charge. “The Sugar Sedan” couldn’t pass as ascetically pleasing, but I haven’t been late yet.

It took general manager Jeff Bodkins a while to hire me as the theater’s Zach of all Trades. Why should I complain though? His offer saved me from working at Wal*Mart for the summer. I accepted a cut in pay to work at the Jester Hellerton 10 for a chance to seem human again. Well worth the four hundred dollar deficit in my bank account before I went back to Boston. At least I can tell myself I’m not a complete sellout.

Jeff sat in the office making phone call after phone call in order to eliminate the rampant overcharges outside contractors placed upon the theater. He said the contractors hoped that general managers would just write the checks to pay the bills. Jeff prided himself in responsibly running the behind the scenes operations of the theater. He rather enjoyed hearing the contractors swallow their tongues over the phone after he exposed their bogus charges. Jeff did not believe in paying for 20 gallons of paint remover and 50 hours of labor that the theater neither received nor needed.

He also did not believe in overstaffing during the day.