that's life » s. hyde

[04] eric's burger job

Eric's Burger Job

The gang was all hanging out in the basement, yet again. Jackie was standing, blissfully listening to a song and swaying from side to side, while everyone sat there annoyed. Izzy was in Hyde's lap, her head resting on his chest and his arms around her waist. She had her hands over her ears, desperately trying not to hear the same song that Jackie had forced them to listen to all afternoon.

"Ooh, ooh, I just wanna hear the guitar solo one more time!" Jackie said, going to start the tape over.

"Not again. Use the headphones." Hyde huffed. Jackie made a face at him, then plugged in the headphones and put them on. "Good, now wrap the cord around your neck."

"Steven! Not nice." Izzy said, laughing. He just replied by putting her hands back over her ears, which made her laugh even more.

"Hey, would you guys respect me if I worked in the town dump?" Eric asked, looking at the job offers in the paper.

"The town dump?" Donna asked. "No. Now the state dump... wait, why are you looking for a job?"

Eric sighed. "Everything costs money! Gas, clothes... fun."

"Dates. Dates cost money." Kelso pointed out.

"No Kelso, that is prostitution!" Fez said, smiling proudly at his comment.

Hyde pointed at Fez. "Dating is prostitution, man! Only you don't always get what you pay for."

Izzy looked up at Hyde, her mouth open. "That is disgusting."

"Yet true."

"Said the man who's never had a girlfriend." Donna said.

Hyde scowled. "What, you guys don't remember Esther, the biker chick?"

"Hey, whatever happened to her?" Eric asked.

"She dated my uncle."

Izzy rolled her eyes. "What a winner."

Donna got up from her seat. "Well, I'm going home for dinner." She paused, then glanced at Eric. "Oh, by the way, Mom and Dad are going to the Playboy Club at Lake Geneva. Do you guys want souvenirs?"

"Ashtrays." Hyde immediately said.

"An art career?" Izzy added.

"A woman!" Fez sighed.

Jackie walked over to Donna excitedly. "Your parents are gonna be out of town.... really?"

Donna's eyes were still on Eric. "Yeah. I mean, I'll be babysitting my sister Tina all weekend. Just me... alone... watching TV." She sighed heavily. "I might order a pizza."

Kelso gasped loudly. "I've got an idea!" He yelled. "We'll have a party at Donna's. A toga party!"

"Michael. Michael!" Jackie scolded. "Maybe Donna doesn't wanna have a party. Maybe she wants to be alone."

Donna sighed again, even more dramatically. "Yeah, just me... alone. If someone happens to stop by, that'd be cool."

Kelso jumped to his feet. "So we're on! I'll bring the beer!"

"Donna, I have never been to an American party. May I come?" Fez asked.

Donna just brushed him off. "Uh, I don't care. So, um, Eric? Are you gonna be there?"

Eric looked up from the newspaper. "Yeah, yeah. That sounds fun."

"Cool." Donna said, looking relieved. "Catch you guys later."