Through the Lens | Dodie Clark

4

/412 days/

I was finishing up my shift at Red's Cafe, the dinghy restaurant I waitressed at, when I was approached by Thomas. (Remember him? The guy who invited me to his lame ass party?)

"Hey, Evie?"

"Hm?" I unpinned my name tag and placed my apron on the provided hooks. Thomas stared down at his dirty shoes as he shuffled his feet before suddenly stopping and looking up with not-very-well hidden nervousness. I scrunched my eyebrows, now giving him my full attention.

"I feel like we've really been hitting it off lately, and I was wondering if maybe you'd like to get drinks sometime, like, as a date." Thomas was not someone you'd look at and think, 'wow, that guy exudes confidence', but it was apparent he was trying to be that guy. He had his hand, though slightly shaking, firmly on the counter beside us as he leaned in to whisper into my ear. This left me in an uncomfortable position for a multitude of reasons.

I backed up as far as I could before hitting the wall. "Thomas, I thought you knew. . . I'm gay. I thought I was being obvious about it, you know, talking about female celebrity crushes and pretty customers."

The unconvincing suave act was gone, and Thomas's ears turned red. He immediately backed off, giving me some much needed space. I could see his normal self with all of his nervous tendencies returning: the toe tapping, the wringing of his hands, and the facial expression reminiscent of a puppy that had just been kicked. "Oh man, I thought that was, like, a jealousy thing."

"Uh, well, I suppose you could say I'm jealous of the people who get to screw Marina Diamandis and Scary Spice, but one could argue that that's what kinda makes me a lesbian."

Thomas chuckled uneasily. "Are we still going to be cool, then? That must've been weird for you, I- I'm really sorry."

"No, no, don't even worry about it." The timing was in my favor when Dodie walked in, wearing a rather stunning high waisted tule skirt paired with a bralette. I waved goodbye to Thomas before making my way from behind the counter. "Dodie, what's the special occasion? I feel underdressed."

"Oh, you know, just hangin' out with my favorite person." She giggled as she did a playful turn, arms outstretched. I reached for her hand and spun her once more, her grin widening.

I linked arms with Dodie as we headed out the (squeaky) doors for food. The first time she met me at my workplace, she made the mistake of suggesting to eat there. I assured her that Red's wasn't the place she'd like to be in for any longer than was necessary. The cooks' hygiene were questionable at best, there was an alarming rat problem in the storage room that everyone pretended not to notice, and it was a strange occurrence when the whole restaurant didn't smell like bad chili. So we went in search for a place without mystery stains coating the walls.

-

I watched Dodie as she unskillfully picked at the fried rice with her chop sticks. We decided on Chinese, mostly just because it was closest. The low lit setting reminded me of the party we met at, which felt a lot longer ago than a few weeks. I regretted not bringing my camera to potentially capture this moment too, so I focused on taking a shot of it in my mind.

She looked up from her rice and caught me staring. "What? Do I have food on my face or something?"

I smiled softly and shook my head. "No, you don't," I paused, looking for another subject. "Hey, guess what happened at work today."

Dodie shifted in her seat as she thought. "Hm. Someone sneezed in a dish, and served it anyways. A rat bit a cook and they got rabies. Ooh! An old patron hit on you!" I laughed at all of her guesses.

"You were closest on the last one. Thomas asked me on a date."

Her face grew in excitement. "Really? I've always thought he'd be the perfect match for you! You guys could go on double dates with me and my boyfriend! Ugh, you would be so cute together."

I raised my eyebrows at the last bit. I felt my heart beat faster in an anxious panic and my stomach flop about like a fish out of water, tying itself into knots in the process. "Boyfriend? We've been hanging out nearly everyday for the past two weeks, and you've never made any mentions of a boyfriend."

I had been under the impression that Dodie had been flirting with me, it sure came across that way. Was I wrong to think she liked me?

Dodie pondered this. "I guess I haven't. I bet you guys would get along nicely, though. But this isn't about me right now. What did you say to Thomas?"

I kept my voice and expression monotone, unsure of how to feel towards the new information that was hurled at me. "I said no. I guess he'd be perfect in all aspects, except for the fact that he's a guy."

"Oh. . . oh."

I could feel a 'sorry I assumed you were straight' apology coming on, but I didn't feel like doing that all over again. "It's fine, honestly." I tried to flash a smile, but I could practically feel the ingenuity seeping from between my teeth.

Dodie glanced around everywhere, avoiding looking at me. After a moment, she perked up again. "Do you wanna sleep over tomorrow? You could meet Charles- my boyfriend, and we could play cheesy slumber party games, and eat popcorn that's not made by your flatmate who probably still hates me."

I smiled for real this time, and thought about how being friends with Dodie, though not as ideal as being able to kiss Dodie, could be pretty rad. "It's a plan."