As he was disposing of litter in the food court, a passer – by hit him with an empty plastic bottle. “Hey, watch it, dude! How dare you throw that at me??” Andrew yelled. The guy, wearing headphones, ignored him and walked away. Andrew ran after him, demanding an explanation, but the man pushed him to the floor, calling him a “filthy janitor.”
Embarrassed and surrounded by laughing onlookers, Andrew was then scolded by another man for not putting up a caution sign on the wet floor. Apologizing, Andrew promised to fix his mistake. Just as he thought he could finally rest, a woman with a young boy approached him. “Hey you, janitor, come here,” she snapped, ordering Andrew to clean up her grandson’s vomit. “WHAT??! Are you kidding me, lady? I can’t touch that…Eeewww! No way!” Andrew recoiled in disgust. “It’s your job, and you have to do it,” she insisted. “Don’t tell me what my job is. I’m not touching that thing! I feel like throwing up…it stinks….” Andrew protested. “If you don’t clean it now, I’ll report you and get you fired!” she threatened.
How Andrew wished he’d never had to endure a day like this. He looked around for his assistant, but she was nowhere to be found. Andrew wiped his tears, put on gloves, and cleaned the vomit. He mopped the floor, feeling disgusted and helpless.
The rest of the day was no better. Whenever Andrew tried to rest, his assistant gave him more tasks. “Give me a break, lady…I’m tired,” he pleaded. “I’m human, not a robot. I need to breathe.” “We’re here to work, not rest,” the assistant insisted. “Clear the bins now…Up! Up!”
Exhausted, Andrew dragged the bins outside and quickly cleaned the lounge. Climbing stairs for escalator duty made him dizzy. Desperate for a break, he found a quiet spot and sat down, his head in his hands. Suddenly, a woman kicked him in the back. “Get out of the way, you lazy fool,” she sneered. “I’m going to report you for sleeping on the job.” “I wasn’t sleeping,” Andrew retorted. “I’ll make sure you get fired. How dare you talk back to me?” she stormed off.