“Hi welcome to All
Burger, how may I take your order?”
Sheila rolls down her window while in tears and proceeds to
lean over to speak into the mic. However, nothing comes out and she trembles
with her lips quivering.
“Hello? Is someone there?”
“JAKE IS A GIANT PIECE OF ….” Sheila screams into the
intercom while incessantly honking her horn, drowning out her own voice. A
pause goes by as he is trying to figure out how to react to all of this.
“Umm…well uh…”
“Oh nevermind! You wouldn’t understand what this feels like
– no one does. It’s just that I gave him two years of my life and for what? So
that he could just dump me and chase after Vanessa? Really? Vanessa!! WHO DOES
SHE THINK SHE IS? SHE DOESN’T EVEN GO TO OUR SCHOOL!” Sheila now resumes crying
into the intercom. Luckily no cars are behind her.
“Look, I’m terribly sorry and trust me when I say this, but
we suck. In fact, I apologize on behalf of the Male gender. We can be real dogs
sometimes.”
“I know! More like all the time!” Sheila shouts before going
into more tears.
A couple of cars pull into the parking lot, still none
behind her in the drive thru. After several more episodes of Sheila’s wailing
and gnashing of teeth, the man on the intercom manages to respond.
“Tell me about yourself,” Asks the man’s voice on the
intercom. Her tone changes as she is thrown off guard.
“Oh umm, well, I graduate next year and am looking into
Brown.”
“Nice! That sounds great! What do you hope to study there?”
“I was looking into Oncology, I lost my Aunt to it and I
want to help others.” Sheila answers now with more fervency in her voice as she
calms down. She now turns her car off to conserve gas seeing that it is
currently 12:36 at night and there was for sure no sign of any cars coming to
give orders.
“What about you?” Sheila asks the man on the intercom.
“Me?”
“Well yeah, I told you a little about me. So, now its your
turn.”
“I graduated last year from Mount Pleasant, and I was saving
up for California, but yeah that’s not going to happen.”
Sheila now gets out of her car and sits on the hood, “Yeah,
I am at Hope,”
“Oh, you’re one of those people.” The intercom’s voice
changes as if he were smiling on the other side.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Well its just that the College Hill and Blackstone crowd
tend to just get their way with anything in life.”
Sheila starts to laugh to herself, “Ok, don’t get it twisted. I know people think that that
area is really rich and all, but I’m from the rougher part.”
“Rougher part? We live in Rhode Island. Name me one rough
part.” The intercom laughs.
“Ok, ok. I thought I could keep it real, but you got me.”
Sheila sighs while looking up. The intercom buzzes from the back feed static.
“So what about California, why isn’t it ‘going to happen’
for you?” Sheila asks while turning her head toward the intercom.
“I’d like to get into film, but I’m far from ready on trying
to chase that dream.” The intercom replies.
“Have you made some stuff already?”
“Yeah, I’ve released some online and there is actually a piece
I submitted for a festival down in Cranston.”
“Well it sounds like you are already on your way. Don’t quit
on yourself.” Sheila answers soberly. There is another pause with the distant
crickets and the still midnight air.
“Well, hey umm…this might sound really lame, but would you
like to go with me? It’s this Friday.”
Sheila sits up – completely off guard.
“Umm...Are you asking me out?”
“Well, I figured it was fate that you came here out of all
the All Burgers in Providence and
just so happen to –“
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