Everyone is familiar with Marcus. Marcus with the grin, the jokes, the way he remembers your usual before you sit down. Marcus gets the excellent tips, the regulars who request his area, the manager's easy-going authorization. Same course of instruction. Same six-hour shifts on aching feet. Jason, however, is invisible until something breaks.
Then suddenly everyone sees him, when the order's late, when he forgets the extra ranch, when he's too slow or too fast or too something that isn't Marcus. The other waiter picks up knowledge the golden boy never has to. How to be effective without being charming. How to live off of modest tips. How to swallow the unfairness when Marcus gets Saturday nights and you get Tuesday lunch shifts where retirees nurse coffee for two hours and leave quarters.
Taught him the POS system, kitchen shortcuts, dealing with challenging customers. Then watched Marcus get employee of the month. The other waiter isn't hateful. That is obviously a fib. The other waiter sometimes gets acerbity. There are some people who are lead characters. The other waiter is the rest of us.