Peach Pits And Mint Bubblegum

05: Make That Two Shakes Please

r i p l e y

     Ripley makes his way to his favorite diner on fifth street. As he opens the door the familiar scent of cheeseburgers and milkshakes embraces him like a nostalgic hug. He smiles slightly at the laughter coming from a pair of teenagers sitting at a red booth in the corner. The girl's face is not visible to him, but he can tell she's beautiful. Her golden locks cascade down her back as she takes a sip of the milkshake she's sharing with the hazel-eyed boy.

     Ripley sighs remembering his diner dates with Vesper. She always ordered a cookies and cream milkshake with extra cherries.

     He makes his way over to the counter and orders some fries. He never orders a burger. Vesper always did though.

     "Hey man!"

     Ripley looks to his right to see his best friend, Carsten, at his usual seat next to him on Friday's at 6pm. They were both somehow always on time without even trying. "Hey Carsten. So tell me the usual weekday gossip."

     "Well for starters, that girl I went on a date with last night was awful. She insulted The 1975. Who the fuck does she think she is? I will personally smash her over the head with Matty's wine bottle."

     "What's her name? I'm not sure if I should warn her to run while she can, or be your fanboy sidekick and help you attack her."

     Carsten smiles at Ripley's offer. "Her name is irrelevant bitch."

     Ripely chuckles at Carsten's highly frustrated demeanor, which has simmered down a bit by now. Carsten has always stored a lot of love and respect for his idol.

     "How about a milkshake? Food is always a good solution to any problem."

     "Sounds like a good plan to me," says Carsten as he turns to the grey-haired old lady behind the counter. "A strawberry milkshake please. Extra whip cream." After ordering and smiling at the old lady he turns back to Ripley. "So, what's the latest scoop on you?"

     "I've just been thinking a lot."

     "About?"

     "What I always think about."

     Carsten gives an almost unnoticeable sympathetic look to Ripley before a small smile tugs at his lips.

     "You're going to need some uplifting. Wanna milkshake?"

     "Never in my life, will I ever say no to that question."

     Carsten turns back to the old lady. "Make that two shakes please!"

While the two boys wait for their order, they begin conversing about their day until a yell interrupts them.

"UH!"

They look at each other with furrowed eyebrows before focusing their attention to the other side of the diner. A girl is standing on a table, dancing and singing. Definitely not the kind of thing they usually see on their weekly trips here. The girl seems to finally notice all the attention that's being given to her as she offers them a small awkward smile and sits back down.

"What the hell just happened?"

"I don't know dude. But I totally just got the funniest snapchat video."

"Let me see that," says Ripley as he grabs Carsten's phone. "That girl, is my soul mate."