Life is Funny Like That

Wun. Confetti

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"Why do you look so sad all the time?" The boy asks, waving his toy in the air. His spotty brown eyes flit to the passing customers and whatever else moves. They resemble the bottom of a crunch bar, little rice crispies sticking out of the chocolate in random places.

"Seriously? Can you stop following me around? And please get that dinosaur out of my face." Adrian shoves the action figure away, pushing the little brown-haired boy back as well. He knows it's of no use. The boy never listens. Ever.

Picking up three salads, he walks to a booth on the far end of the diner.

Adrian's face shows no hint of frustration or stress, but just underneath his eyes, it's like seventeen tabs are open in an old Dell laptop. Three of them showcase some daydreams that aren't fully processed yet. They appear to consist of what the world would be like if he was president, and what would happen if (metaphorically speaking) hail was just lightly packed snowballs.

Another five tabs look to be about the news he watched this last week. Global warming, the state of the economy, resurfacing of Ebola in Africa, and so on.

Seven tabs proudly hold his emotions. The first emotion tab is currently opened in his mind at the moment. Three little girls were sitting at a coffee shop he walks by every day. They all had pigtails and were wearing green overalls. Pure joy emanated from their faces as each of them ate a chocolate chip cookie that was bigger than their heads. The picture brought tears to his eyes. The two emotion tabs after that, are the unsettling angst of the question; who am I? These two have never left his brain. They have been his constant occupants since the day he could walk. The next tab is of the embarrassment of how he had cried in front of a group of strangers. That tab would probably remain in his brain till his dying day. The other four emotion tabs are of older happenings, most consisting of pictures of abandoned puppies, skinny cats, and a sobbing baby at the bus station. Those would come to Adrian's attention at approximately two forty-three, the next morning.

The last four tabs are completely frozen, but one of them is still playing music. The song on today's broken record is some stupid love song he doesn't even know the name of. You can bet your bottom dollar, he is going to google it when he gets home.

The song abruptly pauses as Adrian's hip collides with a booth seat. His eyes zoom back into reality as the gnawing voice of the little boy assails his ears.

"Is your hair really silver? How did you get it? Did you go to a wizard? They have gray hair too. Do you have magical powers? Cuz wizards have magical powers. What kind of magic can you do? Can you show me?"

He ignores the never-ending questions, plastering on a heavy simper. Remembering his duty, he straightens his back as he approaches a table.

"Hi, can I take your order?" The pencil taps the notepad with anticipation, leaving little lead ticks in its path.

"Two soup and salads." the customer orders, looking up from her phone. The girl opposite her gives him a half glance before returning to her device once more.

"Will that be all, then?" Adrian asks, letting his grimace slide back into its proper place. There is no need for a friendly face, seeing that they don't care if you are missing all your teeth or can penetrate their very souls with just your eyes. Anyway, this is for the better. It is easier to frown than smile. As long as it doesn't hurt anyone.

"Can you get a new napkin? This one is stained." The girl on the right side of the booth shoves the offending cloth into his face. All the while, her focus remains on her phone.