fine line.//shirbert au

13

"Excuse me, I have been waiting on my order for the last 30 minutes now" complained an old sweaty man who way over exaggerated the amount of time it had been since he ordered his food. "Sir, I'm very sorry for the inconvenience but we are very busy I'll be sure to check on your order now" replied the waiter with a smile that seemed genuine but was secretly hiding the boys annoyance. The boy quickly made his way to the kitchen and retrieved the food.

The kitchen was hot and filled with steam which caused the waiters and waitresses to hate having to go in there to collect the food. "Here is your food now, sir" the boy set his tray down and returned to his upright position with that same non genuine smile he was obligated to wear by his boss. "It's about time" complained the old man which caused the young boy to roll his eyes and divert his attention to the woman calling for assistance from a few tables across.

"Excuse me, young man? Yes hi I would like to swap my sons food his order got mixed up" the woman gestured to her sons plate that happened to be empty. "But he already ate it" replied the boy nicely even though he was on the brink of wanting to scream at all the people he came across for the rest of the day. "Yes I know but his order was still wrong" the older woman looked like she couldn't understand the problem with her request, that really frustrated him.

"You can't return something you have already eaten, ma'am" the annoyance was abundantly clear in his tone. "Just get me my son the food her ordered or I'll have you fired" the worst thing about this city was the people the boy thought to himself. They were all so obnoxious towards anyone who belonged to the working class but all of them once belonged there themselves. "You know what? I quit" the boy had had enough and pulled his apron over the top of his head and threw on the floor next to him.

The woman gasped loudly as the boy made a unfriendly gesture towards the woman before grabbing his stuff and exiting the restaurant. His walk 'home' was filled with whispering profanities under his breath and having strangers push his shoulder roughly as they tried to make their way down the opposing way. "Hey babe, how was work?" Asked a tall brunette with wavy hair that reached her waist. She was the type of girl you would see working on television not playing housewife to a 19 year old boy.

"I quit" replied the brown haired boy as he stormed his way over to their second hand couch that lay in their small two bedroom apartment on the lower east side of New York. "What?!" The brunette quickly turned off the stove where she was cooking pasta and rushed over to where her boyfriend lay. "I quit" he repeated with the same annoyance in his voice he had earlier that day. "Don't take that tone with me and I heard you the first time I was just hoping it wasn't true" the girl had her arms folded and her faced formed into a very serious look that implied he was about to be scolded.

"Well it is and I did. So what? You know I hated that job anyway" it was apparent they did not share the same view on this situation. "I know you hated it but we really need the money, babe. If you want to go to medical school we need a sustainable income" she had now moved herself to sit right next to the boy and began stroking the back of his neck in an attempt to stop the fight that could have been. "I know" he replied with a sad look in his eye. "I'll go back and beg for my job tomorrow. At least let me keep my dignity for tonight" he chucked at the last part as the brunette kissed his cheek sweetly before getting up and returning to the stove.

I hate this stupid town. I hate the harsh people. At least I have Christine though. My beautiful girlfriend Christine. He smiled at the thought that had just occurred in his mind.

Maybe I should have stayed in Avonlea.

The boy let that thought cross his mind for a single second before banishing it completely. He never let his mind wonder as the thought was too painful to him. He hated his life for the last year and missed all the people he left behind but what's done is done and there is nothing he could to change that. The only thing that gave him comfort was coming home to Christine every night. She was his new normal and he planned to keep it that way.

He got up from the couch and replaced his frown with a jovial smile as he walked over to Christine and hugged her from behind. He kissed her cheek lightly and then proceeded to kiss her neck. The rest of the night became a blur but even though the boy tried his hardest to keep his mind from wandering to unchartered territory he still couldn't manage to keep a certain place out of his mind. Or a certain someone who was always present in his mind albeit buried very deep.