"This is your final warning," the managers ordered, pointing to the paper. "Sign your name and date here."

          Nicolas slumped over and signed with the pen, wondering how he could let himself slip so far. Nothing was more humiliating than the managers breathing down your neck in silence as you signed the document.

          "You can take this home or leave it with us," they said, referring to the document.

          Nicolas left the staff room, the awkwardness flowing through the air. He couldn't believe this was his final warning. What about all the fun, happy memories he'd made at Cineplex? Were they all going to be thrown away at the lack of his responsibility? 

          Walking with his head in shame, past theatres seven and six, Nicolas bumped into Ali.

          "Hey," Ali said, noticing that Nicolas looked like something was bothering him. "I finally figured out the scent of the cologne you wondered I was wearing. It's called—"

          "Sorry, man," Nicolas retorted. "I'm not really in the mood right now."

          "What's up?"

          "Nothing."

          "You sure?"

          Nicolas shrugged. "Ugh...just got my final warning."

          "Same here," Ali joked. "Why don't I just grab my third document and pull it out my asshole."

          Not even Nicolas could deny that was a clever one, making him crack up, despite the anxiety of indeed being on his final warning.

          "We're all on our final warning," Ali reminded. "Even VIP."

          It was true. The entire concession and floor team was a disaster, with people quitting and being fired in every direction you could think of. The final warning effect was in place, sending everyone into a panicked frenzy. No one was safe

          "Aryo is gone," Ali confessed.

          "Why they let him go?" Nicolas asked.

          Ali sighed. "He breathed."

          "Damn. What about Alvaro?"

          "He blinked."

          "Johnathan?"

          "Coughed without covering his mouth."

          Nicolas sighed internally. Those were big-time players. Aryo always told Nicolas how much he missed him, Alvaro was the definition of masculine femininity with his long flowing hair, and Jonathan was always in a jolly mood and fun to talk with.

          "Anyway," Ali said, motioning towards the cast room. "I gotta get changed and sign in. Talk to you later."

          "See ya," Nicolas replied, making his way back to the lobby. Now come to think of it, it was strangely comforting to know that everyone else was on their final warning as well.

          When he reached OutTakes, Nicolas spoke with Madison, who had arrived 30 minutes late on her final warning, but didn't seem too phased. She was spreading rumours that she was quitting for vape street, but Nicolas never took her threats seriously. She planned to leave back in September, and it was now mid-March of the next year.

           "Yoooo," he said as she wrapped up a chicken sandwich behind the OutTakes counter. "Guess what I got?"

          "Final warning?"

          "Ayy. You know it." Nicolas flexed now, as if this were some kind of badass move.

          She laughed, giving a fistbump. "Welcome to the club."

          "Now we just gotta get Tai in the final warning club," he joked.

          "Tai is already gone," she reminded him.

          "WHAT." Nicolas looked like he'd seen a ghost. "You mean Tai that could dance?"

          "Yes, sir."

          "For what?"

          "Dancing."

          Nicolas shook his head. "Dancing is a way of expressing one's emotions. He was really good too."

          "We're not allowed to have fun here," Madison dissed. "You have to be all serious. And now Matthui is on his final warning as well."

          "You mean farmboy?" Nicolas always joked that Matthui reminded him of a farmer. "He can always return home and feed the chicken coupes back in the barn and herd the cattle."

          Madison shook her head in disbelief. "Matthui doesn't look like a farm kid, okay? Get over it."

          "Oh yes he does. He could go for Ian's son with that Wednesday morning country playlist. I heard last night he accidently drove Ol' man farmer Ian's tractor into the barn and collapsed the foundation around the cow and horse stables."

         "Ian fired Eva for drinking water," Madison confessed.

          "Blondie? What a shame. She was just so nice and so sweet and—"

          "Yo Nick," Maxwell called from podium, waiving to join the floor team. Standing around him was the legendary Ryan B, the unpredictable Mobin, and if this were Harry Potter, the Dumbledor wizard of Hogwarts himself, Dave.

          Dave had recently blown out his hip, and assumed they'd give him the opportunity he always desired to be on podium, even when the managers never allowed him in the past. But even with a dislocated hip hanging halfway out of its socket, hobbling around in crutches, Dave still wasn't trusted on podium, and was replaced by Maxwell.

          After saying bye to Madison, Nicolas joined the group, finding out that both Caleb and Lukas had been terminated for signing out half a second early. Hazel and Ramyar were let go for leaving a single grain of popcorn in an AVX clean. Meanwhile, apparently over at concession, Keira and Amy got their final warnings for smiling at a customer. Then, there was Sunny, on his final final warning for showing up late in one of the world-class supercars he'd been renting. But where did he get the money?

          "Holy shit," Nicolas remarked. "That's a lot of people getting in trouble."

          "So why is everyone here on their final warning?" Ryan B asked, trying to kill time before the next theatre clean. "They were mad because I threw and broke that dirtbag lawn mower-thing they replaced the green vacuum with. That thing's from a thrift store and nothing but garbage."

          "There was a speck of white on my shoes," Mobin confessed, looking down where the group saw nothing but black on his feet, even the laces.

          "They must be racist," Nicolas joked, pointing to the soles of his shoes, which were nothing but white. "I had to take a bloody marker and colour them when first hired."

          "They finally realized I just sit and do nothing during theatre cleans," Maxwell admitted of his final warning.

          "Hey. At least you're honest and admit it," Ryan B joked. "What about you, Dave?"

          Dave's old eyes shot up as he came back into reality, standing with his crutches. "Huh, what? I'm a wizard, remember?" That's all he said.

          Rebecca then walked in with her hair redder than the Mexican sun itself.

          "You guys all on your final warning as well?" she asked, picking up and reading the floor schedule that lay on podium.

          "Yup," we all say in unison.

          "And how'd you break the camel's back?" Nicolas asked her.

          "Missed a bathroom check because a guest was having a seizure. Managers didn't care though. They want it done every twenty minutes."

          "Damn."

          "I forgot to mention, Sam from concession got fired for giving back two five-dollar bills instead of one ten for change," Maxwell confessed. "And Dariana got a final warning for the same thing handling the cash register."

          "Speaking of Dariana, look who's running late for their shift again," Dave's old voice chimed in, pointing to Arad's name on the schedule, only listed for a 30-minute shift. Yes, only 30 minutes.

          "Dude has a half-hour shift and still can't show up," Ryan B shamed, shaking his head. "What a bum."

          "I've taken shits longer than half an hour," Maxwell joked.

          "How the fuck is Arad still working here and Sam got fired?" Nicolas asked. "I'm flabbergasted."

          "Flabberghasted?" Rebecca rolled her eyes. "Do me a favour and please don't use that word again."

          "Whatever," Nicolas retorted.

          "Seriously though, is there anyone without a final warning?" Ryan B asked.

          "Alex maybe?" Mobin replied. "Sadra possibly?"

          "Nope. Sadra got his for asking where the mop bucket was," Ryan B admitted. "Poor guy got puked on by a drunk guest in VIP."

          "Same with Lauryn," Nicolas told. "Some kid tripped and spilt a soft drink all over her, but Steph claimed it was her fault for not going upstairs and providing more lids."

          There was a spike of silence in the group, everyone contemplating how they would avoid their final warning. Or, even worse, termination.

          "Well, we better get cracking on this next theatre clean," Dave confessed, hobbling with his crutches to AVX.

          "Sounds good," Ryan replied. "I'll grab the train. Nick and Mobin, you wanna grab black bins?"

          They both nodded.

          "I'll meet you guys after I get changed and sign in," Rebecca said, now making her way down to the cast room.

          The hands-on work resumed.

          All jokes aside, Nicolas gave himself a mental note to get his shit together, or he might not be so lucky next time.

          Because in the end...

          He was on his final warning.