I work at a fast food place. There’s a severe thunderstorm watch, so even though several of us have recently gone off shift, we’re still sticking around because we don’t want to drive home in a storm.
It’s eerily quiet outside: no wind, no rain, hot, and extremely humid. We decide that it’s probably tornado weather.
Sure enough, the severe thunderstorm warning is upgraded to a tornado watch. Still, it’s absolutely silent. A couple more customers filter in and we start making food for them.
Then, the storm hits. It’s extremely sudden. Abruptly, it’s just raining sideways. Water is battering against the glass of the windows. A cherry red stop sign slaps against the windows and is held against them by the force of the wind.
An order comes up on the computer for [Delivery App].
Without much else to do, we make it. The power starts flickering, but our grill is gas, and the computer’s backup battery keeps it from shutting down. We make the burger.
The wind direction changes and the stop sign drops off of the window abruptly, landing on the pavement. Then, it pinwheels away to possibly alert someone else to the deteriorating conditions.
A car pulls up in front of the store. The wind is so strong that the car can’t pull directly forward; instead, it slides sideways as it pulls forward. The driver gets out. It’s the [Delivery App] guy and he wants to pick up the burger.
We beg him to stay. The tornado watch is still in effect for nearly thirty more minutes. He shakes his head and grabs the burger bag, and before we can say anything else, he vanishes into the storm.
The story doesn’t end there. Eventually, the wind dies down. It’s still raining like crazy. There’s a huge puddle around the joint, and it’s starting to leak inside under the walls.
One of the customers takes off his shoes. He takes off his socks… and puts them on the table. He takes the inserts out of his shoes… and puts them on the table. He takes the inner sole things out of the shoes… and puts them on the table. He puts his shoes back on. He then puts all of these things into his pocket and walks out to his car.
I get the strong stuff to clean his table with.
When I leave for the night, management is talking about shutting down for a few days for sanitation reasons because of the water coming in through the walls. Apparently, the insulation needs to be taken out and dried before it can mold. I am told not to come in tomorrow and that they’ll have a spot for me in the rotation of another nearby place in the same chain by Monday.