The Kid in the Red Shirt

Mr. Swiller was known far and wide as a hard-nosed boss who watched
his employees like a hawk. He was making one of his regular tours of
the factory when he spotted a young man leaning against a pile of
boxes just outside the foreman's office. Since George, the foreman,
wasn't around, Swiller stood off to the side and watched to see just
how long the young man would stand around doing nothing.

The young man yawned, scratched his head, looked at his watch, and
sat on the floor. He took out a nail file and began cleaning his
nails. Then he stretched, yawned again, and leaned back on the pile
of boxes.

Swiller stepped from his hiding place and walked up to the young
man. "You!" he boomed. "How much do you make a week?"

The young man looked up indifferently. "Two hundred and fifty
dollars," he said.

Swiller swooped into the cashier's office, took $250 from the cash
box, and returned. "Take it," he said, "and get out! Don't let me see
you around here again!"

The young man took the cash, put it in his pocket, and left.

Swiller snorted at his lack of remorse, embarrassment, or any other
feeling. Then he went looking for George. When he found him, Swiller
was red with anger. "That idler in front of your office," Swiller
said, "I just gave him a week's pay and fired him. What's the matter
with you, letting him stand around as though he had nothing to do?"

"You mean the kid in the red shirt?" George asked.

"Yes! The kid in the red shirt!" barked Swiller.

"He was waiting for the twenty dollars we owe him for lunch," George
said. "He works for the coffee shop around the corner."