One Life (Phan)

13 (Dan)

(That was the first time you kissed him, right?)

I slowly stir from my dream.

(And now you won't ever kiss him again.)

Shut up shut up shut up shut up

I keep my swollen eyes closed, ignoring the glaring sunlight. I wait until I hear Naki shift next to me five minutes later before I move.

The rest of the morning is all a blur. Between dodging other people on the street, to muttering excuses to people we happened to run into, Naki and I don't speak to each other. It isn't until afternoon was in it's full blast that we've exchanged more than two words to each other.

"Hey Dan?"

I turn, facing the sun. I place my hand over my eyes and focus on Naki's green eyes. She stared back. "What do you need?"

"Can we stop?"

I sigh, but agree. All we'd been doing for three or four hours was walking without break. Emptiness scratched at my stomach, caused by both hunger and the absence of my best friend.

My thoughts slowly drift back to Phil, as I follow Naki into a small restaurant. The way his lips curved slightly in a small smile every time he was pleased. The way his eyes lit up and how his hands flew to his mouth every time he laughed. The way his ocean-blue/green eyes seemed to engulf me, drowning me in hopeless love. The way--

"Here," Naki's brisk voice breaks through my thoughts. I turn to her and see her standing impatiently by a booth in the back. It doesn't take me long to realize the area is obstructed from the sight of the cashier and anyone who could walk by the window. 

The solitary waiter, a small, fat man who looked about thirty, grunts at the sight of us. He picks himself up from the counter, where he had been talking to a scowling cashier.

"Nice service," I mutter, earning a glare from Naki. I sit on the hard, dusty cushion on the bottom of the wooden seat. Naki slides in across from me, resting her head on her right fist.

I watch her bright green eyes follow the waiter all the way to us. They remain vibrant even as the man roll his eyes and asks, disinterestedly, "And what do you kids want?"

I feel my face burn up at the word "kids", but one harsh look from Naki makes me flick my eyes downward.

"We'll just have water for now," I hear her voice as I stare at the plain wood of the table. I follow a single grain with my eyes, concentrating on the way it weaved this way and that. A loud smack snaps my head up in surprise, and I stare down at the menus in front of us.

The waiter has already waddled halfway across the empty, silent restaurant when I'd been Naki's gaze. Her bright eyes pierced me with a kind of hate.

I look down in shame, though I know I've done nothing wrong. I fiddle with my hands, wringing them back and forth. I try not to think, in fear that the silent restaurant would force my thoughts to Phil.

I let my gaze shift up enough to grab a menu. I scrap my knuckle across the table, and realize that there is a thick coat of dust on it.

Why is this place so uninhabited? I wonder, looking at the broken lights and stained walls. Then I look at the bustling people of the outskirts of London. None of the colorful clothes even glanced at this place.

I look back at my menu. The list is separated by three categories, BREAKFAST, LUNCH, and DINNER. I look under LUNCH and find that it's broken into even more sections: BURGERS, SALADS, KIDS, DRINKS.

Naki gently sets a menu down. I feel grateful for my own menu keeping a distance between us. I scan over the SALADS and find one that catches my eye:

CHICKEN DELIGHT:
This refreshing salad not only contains the delicate, crisp taste of lettuce and fresh ranch, but is balanced with hearty, perfectly grilled chicken. Plump tomatoes and freshly grated cheddar cheese tops this tasteful bowl of wonder.

I reluctantly bring the menu down from my face and unto the table. But relief quickly floods my system as I spot the fat man stumbling over to his solitary costumer. A heavy frown twists his face, his eyebrows bent and his mouth fixed into a scowl. Sweat glistens on his forehead, and I note that the restaurant is too stuffy; as if the A/C hadn't been active in years... if there was a cooling system available. I also notice that the restaurant is indeed warm, not biting cold like the outside world.

"Have you decided what you want?" The man says gruffly. He pulls out a small, beaten notepad. Cracks criss-cross the black leather, and I can see that the paper is stained and folded in an odd way, as if it was shoved in a small space and forgotten.

"Yes," Naki spoke. "Can I have the pepperoni pizza slice?"

"I'll just have the water for now," I stutter as his beady eyes land on me. 

He scrawls something down, grunts, and then moves to the other end of the restaurant, leaving me and Naki waiting for an order that would never come.