Passenger | Unedited Version

chapter five | sparks fly

chapter five | sparks fly 

"Do you see anything that you want to get?" I ask Indie, who is peering at the chalkboard in front of her eyes. There seems to be dozens upon dozens of choices to get at this place, ranging from the classic deep fried catfish to really cheesy mozzarella sticks. I will never know why anyone would come to a seafood store and order anything that isn't seafood because it just doesn't make any sense to me at all. Then again, most people in this whole town don't make sense.  

        "I'm still looking!"  

        "Take your time," I say, even though I don't want her to take her time. It's already been a solid five minutes and I'm bored. I get the same order every time that I come here and its been that way ever since I was little, so I'm not used to such delay in getting my food. I'm hungry, too.  

        Can she even see the sloppily printed words of the menu? Indie is squinting and arching her head forward a few inches toward the blackboard. It would make a whole lot of sense if that's the reason its taking her so long to order something. It's either that or she just doesn't know what to get.   

        Indie turns towards me with a dumbstruck expression and a voice full of disbelief. "They serve pizza and hamburgers at a seafood place? That makes, like, no sense at all. Why wouldn't they just sell fish and stuff, as that's what seafood is?" 

        "I know right! It makes no sense to me either, Indie, but I suppose they do that to boost profits. Not everyone here likes seafood and maybe they want some decent and not fast food hamburgers. And I'm sure that there are bound to be people that are sick and tired of fish, as we live on a lake and most people here are fishers by trade."  

        "That makes sense, I suppose, but I still find it weird." She turns her attention back to deciding on the perfect order. It's a good thing that she can't see my face from her position, as I'm rolling my eyes at her like something fierce. At this slow rate, we'll never make it past this first stop and I might just die from starvation.  

        With one last attempt on speeding Indie up, I offer her my expertise. "Do you need some help deciding what to get? I've tried nearly everything here, so I can tell you what their best and worst dish is. I'm basically the connoisseur of this place, you know." I really hope she lets me do that, so I can put a fast track on this whole thing and get to the finial place soon enough.

        "I think that I might just take you up on that offer, Miss Antsy." Oh shoot, she noticed how impatient I'm getting. I had thought that she didn't notice it at all, even though I wasn't trying to disguise it. I hope this doesn't make her feel bad for anything like that, as that would make this date so much worse than that car ride. "What are you planning to order, Nellie?" 

        "I'll take the halibut" I tell her without having to think about it.  

        "Oh, I wasn't even thinking of ordering that. I don't even know what that is, actually. Is it like kind of fish or plant or something? It sounds weird, whatever it is. Like it's from the butt of something. Not appetizing." 

        "You don't know what a halibut is?" Indie really doesn't get out of her house much, does she? It's one of the most popular types of fish that seafood sellers all over the world have in stock. It also happens that it taste the best with the mix that this place uses. Mama was always more of a catfish kind of girl, but even she can't resist the temptation of the halibut and orders it occasionally.  

        Indie looks a little bit disappointed in herself for not knowing what I consider common knowledge and she frowns. "Not in the slightest bit. My family didn't really eat any seafood when I was growing up and by not really, I mean absolutely never."