Relentless Puffs Of Irony

(I have been working for a week in a call center. The place is a shoddy apartment with two rooms and a bathroom. The walls are yellowed and the stench of stale smoke lingers everywhere. Of the two rooms, one is for non-smokers but it makes very little difference as the windows are never opened.)

Me: “[Boss], I won’t be coming in to work anymore.”

Boss: *smoking* “Why?”

Me: “Er, I’m quitting. I found a job with another company.”

Boss: “What company? Another call center?”

Me: “No, they paint industrial machinery. I’ve been hired as a lab technician.”

Boss: *puffing smoke right into my face* “Oh, well. If you want to leave, then go. But you’re going to get cancer in there.”