Taking Breaks To Breaking Point

(A coworker and I are hired for holiday help at a kiosk in the middle of the mall, separate from the main store. My coworker says he’s a smoker and says he may need to take occasional smoke breaks. Neither of us actually has any authority and we’re basically newbies left alone to man the till. One hour in, he is very antsy, pacing back and forth, fidgeting, and scratching at his arms like there are bugs crawling all over him:)

Coworker: “Hey, I need to take a smoke break. I’ll be back in five.”

(He comes back ten minutes later, and I don’t actually smell any tobacco on him. One hour goes by, he gets very fidgety again, and again he runs off for another “smoke break.” Again, there is no smell of tobacco about him. I take my fifteen-minute break, having worked two hours nonstop while he has taken two ten-minute breaks in the same amount of time. By the time the third hour hits, he is extremely antsy and finally flips out.)

Coworker: “I CAN’T TAKE THIS! I QUIT!”

(I got a call from the manager, who was alarmed that my former coworker came storming through the shop declaring that he quit, leaving me alone at the kiosk. I explained everything that had happened, and other coworkers from the main store covered the remainder of my breaks. No one was hired to replace him, and I ended up working alone for most of my time at the kiosk for the remainder of the season.)