A girl walks into the movie theatre with her date, they go up and order a medium popcorn. Junior Rebekah Fielding smiles at her friend who she has just spotted at the theatre. “Oh wow, hey. What’s up?” The friend says. “Nothing much, just hanging out. Oh, would you like to increase your size for one quarter more?”

Wait, What?

Fielding works at the Cinemark in 1890 Ranch as a concessionaire all week. On the weekend, her hours are from 7:30am to 5:30 pm, while on school days they vary from the usual 5:30pm to 11:30pm. This isn’t the usual story of a girl working hard and having everything in place, but a more common one, where life like usual in a teenager’s life is just being started and organized. Where homework doesn’t always get done no matter what, and seeing your friends at the work place is a delicate affair.

“It’s really awkward handing my friends popcorn,” Fielding said. “Especially when they’re on dates and I’m behind the counter. The thoughts that go through my head are, ‘don’t make it awkward, don’t make it awkward.’ It brings out embarrassment, maybe even a little jealousy that they have time for that and I don’t.”

Fielding is in AP classes and in advanced theatre, usually staying in practice until she goes to work. Homework sometimes isn’t at the front of her mind, and with her work hours, she has to find creative means of completing the assignments. While some students have a support system, Fielding takes it on her own to get her assignments done.

“I don’t really get a chance to do it,” Fielding said. “I end up trying to do it during class because otherwise it won’t get done. I can’t do it during my break at work because then I wouldn’t get a chance to eat dinner. My parents think that my job makes me more responsible so they really like it, but they don’t know about the homework. If they did, they would be irritated with me. It’s not that they don’t support me, it’s just that I’d rather not tell them I don’t have time for homework. If I did, they would always be bugging me about my homework and that makes me not want to do it.”

Some may ask why Fielding would work in a job that puts her academics second. Fielding, though, sees the pros and cons in the job and accepts what she has and makes do.

“I’ve got to make a bit of money so I can buy things for myself like gas for my car,” Fielding said. ” Though, one of  the cons is the stress it puts me under. It’s not a bad job, I actually really like it. I just don’t have a lot of time between my AP classes, the musical for theatre and Cinemark. My social life and homework are really hard to keep up with.”

Fielding knows she is still growing on her time management and how to make her high school life even more effective, but her advice for others is to learn to manage their time before they think about getting a job.

“Time management is key and if you can’t do that you shouldn’t be stressing yourself with a part time job,” Fielding said. “On top of your school work. I’m learning, and I wish I had known before because it would have made everything a whole lot easier.”