Folk in the work don’t understand friendship dae they? They’re always lit ‘are yous brothers or something?’ before we say ‘naw we’ve been pals fir years.’ We usually get some snidey jealous remark back. Every noo an then though it’s gid tae think about how blessed we ur, Ah mean, can ye believe it? Imagine we hudnae been sitting near each other in school 25 year ago?
Even back then folk were jealous ae oor friendship. Mind when the teachers tried tae separate us and say we wur a gang? Aye Ah’m sure the boys watching Spider-Man and SpongeBob will be violent young offenders. School progressed and we’d speak everyday, hang oot at weekends. Eventually secondary school came around and we fun ourselves in different classes fir the first time. How wid we cope? We each went oor ain ways and made new pals, new groups. No quite the gangs that were prophesied. Ah’d go down tae town wae ma crowd and you’d stay in the lunch hall wae yours. Going in different directions but always brought back thegither. It wis standard grade maths that sat us next tae each other again. The teacher gawn daft at everyone fir no daeing the homework while ye quickly copied mine. It wis lit those years apart never happened and we wur five again.
After school we diverged. You git a job working every day ae the week while Ah wis gallivanting through uni. Ah’d take ye on ma nights out at the union and ye’d meet the folk Ah hung about wae. The ones neither ae us had oanything in common wae. Then ye’d bring me to yer works night oot and Ah’d be dancing wae 50 year old maws, wondering where oor lives wur gawn. ‘He yer pal aye?’ the maws wid ask and Ah’d nod. ‘That’s nice’ they’d say. Ye came tae ma graduation and we spent mare time blutered thegither than we did wae any of the folk Ah’d jist shared four years wae. ‘Wit dae Ah dae noo’ Ah remember panicking. ‘Ah’ll get ye in wae me’ ye winked.
And so began oor racket. Ye said tae yer boss, ‘here Ah know a guy that’s good at this’ and Ah spent the week preparing fir an interview. Lied right tae their faces about how much Ah loved stacking shelves. Ah wis in. Mind that first shift? You already a pro by then, me unsure how tae tie ma shoes. We shared a glance lit ‘can ye believe this?’
That wis when oor friendship wis tested fir the first time but. There wis money involved noo. Ye’d been trained tae work hard whereas Ah focussed every ounce ae ma being daeing the opposite. ‘Yer pals no very good’ they’d all say and ye’d have tae defend me even though ye knew they were right. Ah mean, Ah did heehaw. Probably should huv been mare grateful ye got me in cause Ah saved every penny then left tae go huv mare fun.
But you stayed and worked yer way up while Ah wis determined tae be the stray nail that gits hammered doon. Yet even while Ah bounced between jobs, essentially daeing nothing and being paid in experiences, we stayed in contact. After Ah’d hud my fun though, who wis there fir me when Ah needed them? Aye you. Ah wis ready tae go back tae uni fur a Masters. How would Ah pay fir it? ‘Ah’ve git this pal’ ye’d say again and Ah’d be back wae a better contract than ever.
That year wis class anaw. They’d demoted ye as a cost cutting measure so oor view ae the company aligned. Getting paid tae race aroon the warehouse in wheelchairs. Jist a couple a pals again. Unfortunately Ah made ma money and left fir the Masters. You stayed and they hammered you doon tae nothing. Ah had a great time learning this and that, meeting people fae across the globe. You wur starting shifts at 4am then going hame tae an empty hoose. Ah didnae think it could get better, you didnae think it cid get worse.
When covid hit Ah wis inside aw day playing xbox and writing essays. A sweet deal if no fur the fear ma parents were aboot tae die. You? Yer life didnae change at aw. Ye got nae days off. Ah graduated in ma bedroom while you wur clearly depressed. Those awful shifts meant starting at 2am but yer two days aff a week wur spent on xbox wae me. No like we discussed much but Ah think ye needed those games. Just being there, albeit electronically, wis the best Ah cid dae.
Ah wis unemployed but Ah spent mare time job searching fir you. Ah wis determined to get ye oot ae that hellhole. Ten year ye gave that company and what did ye get in return? When you said ye’d been offered a position Ah sent ye, Ah wis o’er the moon. ‘That wis me’ Ah pretended. Ye started to sound happy and the job actually rewarded ye. Ye widnae shut up about how gid it wis! A year later ye hit me wae it again. ‘Here Ah know a guy’ ye telt them. Now somehow ye’re ma boss.
Ye’re no meant tae like yer boss. Ah think that’s why folk in work huv such an issue. When Ah’m in work waeoot ye folk ask if Ah’m awright by mysel. Ah gie them a wee chuckle but honestly, Ah’m probably no. When ma parents got sick you wur there fur me. You negotiated ma leave so that Ah wis always here fur them. When they needed tae go tae the hospital you drove them because Ah still hadnae learned to drive. Ah honestly don’t know wit Ah’d huv done waeoot this job and waeoot you. Ye’re the best boss Ah’ve ever hud but ye’r one of the best pals Ah’ll ever huv anaw.