"You should find a job, Bart."
The words echoed in the head of the young man who would soon turn twenty-two. They were coming from his friends, they were coming from his family, even family friends, as though everyone enjoyed making him feel like shit.
Bart paused his video game and set down his controller, unable to focus, guilt gnawing at him. On that lazy afternoon, he had found himself alone and drawn to distractions. It was so much easier years ago – everyone was at school and he found more entertainment out of playing after class, whether it was with his friends or with Lisa and Maggie.
He couldn't remember when he was supposed to be an adult. Did people just magically know what to do after turning a certain age? It seemed to be the case with his friends – Milhouse found a job working in sales, Nelson helped in a garage, even Ralph had gone off to police academy to follow in his father's footsteps. As for Lisa, of course she would be off to college soon, with big plans of becoming a lawyer. He was proud of her, everybody was. But jealousy sometimes found its way into Bart's mind, ruining his happiness for her. Lisa was the genius child who would only succeed in life, even exceeding everyone's expectations.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Bart left the school system as soon as he managed to finish high school, hoping to find a life plan along the way. He tried some jobs here and there, but with little to ne experience he never seemed to live up to the expectations. He even tried working in Kwik-E-Mart, but he simply found no enjoyment working there at all, not to mention the high risks of armed robbery. All he could do now was to try to distract himself from feeling like a disappointment by hanging out with the boys on the week-ends - if they had no other plans of their own – and spending the rest of the week wondering what else he could do besides playing video games. With his recent celibacy since his girlfriend left him for someone else, a guy with a steady job and his own place, he added more jerking off to his daily activities. Bart couldn't exactly blame her, and now that Marge had found a steady job as well, he felt like the last one on Earth who had yet to settle down.
"Bart?" His bubble of spiraling self-deprecation was burst by Lisa, knocking sheepishly on his open bedroom door.
"What's up, Lis? I didn't hear you come home." He said turning towards her, trying to be welcoming.
"I cut my study short to hang out with my brother," she started with an exaggerated smile. Bart looked at her perplexed, obviously not buying it. "No, really, I am. I wanted to talk with you. Sherry heard that a café in Shelbyville was looking for someone, apparently it's an emergency. I thought, maybe you could give it a try?"
Bart mockingly raised an eyebrow. "You want me to work in a café, in Shelbyville of all places?"
"Well," she sat on the floor next to him. "I think it would be a good opportunity for you to make some money and to fill up your days." She sighed. "I know you're bored out of your mind, Bart, and with me leaving in a few months, I'm sure you could use something to make you feel better about yourself."
He stared at her, at a loss for words. She knew him all too well.
"Fine, I'll give it a shot." He groaned.
"Thanks, Bart. Here's the address, you should get ready," she happily handed him a small piece of paper.
"Wait, you want me to go now?" He let out an exasperated sigh. Now he had to take the bus all the way to Shelbyville to apply for a stupid job he won't even be hired for.
Bart set off later in the day, albeit half-heartedly, and took the bus straight to Springfield's eternal rival town. He arrived in a small shopping street, where he found a old sign reading Dave's Café. Bart stopped for a second, wondering what the point of trying even was, given his lack of experience in everything. Cursing himself for hesitating after getting all the way here, he opened the door. A couple of customers were drinking their coffee and a woman was working at the counter.
"Hey. Trying to get a job. You looking for someone?"
The lady paused whatever she was doing and laughed heartily. Bart felt a tinge of humiliation and turned his heels to leave. Well, he tried.
"Yes, we are, in fact."
"Huh?" He turned back.
"That was a bold move. You could work on your presentation, but what the well, we're short on staff. Let me get the owner."
She disappeared in the back, leaving Bart standing at the counter, perplexed, wondering if she would come back with her manager to laugh at his expense together.
She returned after a couple of minutes, a middle-aged man in toe.
"You applying for the waiting job?" He asked gruffly.
"Uh, yeah?"
"What's your name?"
"Bart Simpson."
The owner sighed and considered Bart for a few seconds.
"Any experience working in restaurants?"
"Err, no, I've never actually-"
"Whatever, you'll get plenty here. You'll start tomorrow at 11am. Sarah here will train you. Just don't be late."
The man swiftly walked back to the kitchen. "Sarah! I need help in the kitchen!"
The woman turned back to Bart. "Don't worry, he doesn't bite. We're in a real pickle since our waiter stopped showing up without a warning. We'll see you tomorrow, Bart, we're counting on you!"
And with that he was promptly escorted back to the entrance, wondering what the hell had just happened.
"So, you've got the job?" Lisa asked, visibly excited for Bart who had come home just in time for dinner.
"Yeah. It was weird though, I guess I showed up at the right time."
His sister smiled, but looked concerned.
"Are you going to be alright?"
"Yeah. I'll go there tomorrow and once they see how bad I am, I'll go home early and that'll be it. The thing is, I didn't expect to have to wake up early tomorrow."
"Oh no, don't worry sweetie, you'll do just fine," Marge tried her best to console him, but Bart knew she didn't really have arguments to make him feel better. He had little to no experience, and no interest of his own to work.
But he would try anyway. For Lisa who wanted to help him, for his parents who wanted him to be independant, and for Maggie who needed a good example from her big brother. There was nothing to lose, not even his self-esteem at this point, so Bart accepted.