🎭 Scene 4 – McDonald’s “This Isn’t What I Signed Up For”

“This Isn’t What I Signed Up For”
Based on the original script by the young creators of “You’re Fried!”, with added workplace conflict and emotional tension.

It’s Saturday. The line of customers stretches to the door.
Orders flash red on the screen — delayed, unassigned, piled up.
The kitchen is understaffed, but the expectations haven’t changed.

“Where’s my food?”
“I’ve been standing here for twenty minutes!”
“You people are useless!”

A young worker stands at the till, flushed and tense. She tries to stay calm.

“I’ll check on that for you.”

She looks around. No one is free. The fry station is overflowing. The ice cream machine is broken. The manager paces fast, barking updates into a headset.

Then, suddenly:

“Can I have a word?”

The manager pulls the young worker aside, just behind the drinks machine. Their tone is sharp — not loud, but cutting.

“I’ve been told you were holding up the queue. That you missed three orders.”
“One of your coworkers said you weren’t focused.”

She stares, stunned.

“I’ve been doing my best— I had no support on the till, and the printer was—”
“I don’t want excuses. We don’t have time for them.”

He adjusts his headset and walks off, mid-sentence.

But the next customer is furious.

“I’ve been waiting twenty minutes!”
“You people don’t know what you’re doing!”
They slam a tray on the counter.
The young worker apologizes, calls for help — no one comes. She looks over to the manager, who’s rushing from fryer to bin to tablet screen, muttering numbers.

“We’re short-staffed! Just give them a free dessert and move on!”

The young worker stands alone for a second. Not angry. Just… emptied.

Later, in the cramped break room, she folds her uniform in silence. Another young colleague enters, shrugs.

“They always blame the newbies.”

She nods, barely holding back tears.

“I just wanted a real job. Somewhere I could learn.
Where my manager… actually helped me grow.”

No one answers. The clock ticks toward her next shift.

In the cramped staff room, another young worker sighs.

“You just get used to it. Don’t expect too much.”
“It’s just a McJob. You work, you go home, you crash.”

But shouldn’t there be more? Isn’t this where “real-world experience” was supposed to begin?

This scene reveals the reality of poor-quality youth employment: unstable schedules, little support, no clear progression — and a culture of low expectations. While these jobs are often framed as stepping stones, they too often become traps.