I was out of money once again and went to work in a gas station. 

After a week had passed, a middle-aged woman came back from sick leave to work there. 

She had her left arm in a cast and her head was fixed sideways against her right shoulder, even though she didn't have any neck support. 

She looked like a broken puppet. 

"What happened?" I asked her. 

"Oh, I tried to stop two junkies from stealing beer so they broke my arm." 

"Holy shit." 

I usually let guys like that get away with it personally, so I couldn't really sympathize with her. 

"Did they hurt your neck as well?" I asked. 

"Oh no. It's an older thing. You see, I was working here alone one night, when a guy came up behind me with a shotgun. I had my back against him when he put the barrel next to my right ear and shot at the wall, so I can't hear anything with it anymore. He held me hostage until the cops came, and only then he gave up. He just wanted to drink some beer for free."

"You've suffered a lot for beer", I said. 

"Not just for beer, but for this company. I am a trusted employee." 

"I can see that. And the neck....?" 

"Well, " she said. "After that incident I was always looking behind my shoulder at work because I was so paranoid, that one morning I woke up and my head was stuck like this. The doctors don't really know what it is. Some kind of nerve-damage. It would cost a fortune to operate on it, and I don't have that kind of money." 

"Damn", I said. "It's a dangerous job." 

"Yes", she said. "It cost me my health more or less." 

"Ever thought about doing anything else?" I asked. 

"Oh no. I'm not good for anything else." 

"All right", I said. 

I guess she was right.

I'm Not Good For Anything Else

Thomas noBody