Living on a Time Limit

Chapter 3 ~ Poison

The diner looked just like how I last remembered it.

It has the look of a 1950's American diner, with a black-and-white checkered floor as if it were a chess board, iconic yet faded red and white seats, and a jukebox that actually still seems to work. We played around with the buttons on it as kids without actually putting in any coins.

Ayelet inhaled and exhaled dramatically, taking in the sights, scents, and sounds of the diner, even if she goes here every other day, as she claims.

Everything here would be overwhelming to me in a normal situation, but a sense of familiarity washed over me, and I smiled.

Ayelet looked over at me.

"Look who's having fun now!"

I made my smile turn into a frown and crossed my arms.

"Who said that I was having fun?"

She responded with a "Hm." and a smile. She knew I was enjoying this, but we both didn't say anything about it.

Just then, a waitress came up to the high wooden table in front of us.

"Sorry for the wait, table for 2?" Her voice had a western accent in it.

"Yes, table for 2," Ayelet said for me.

She picked up two menus and started leading us to the main area.

"Right this way, please."

As my cousin walked directly in front of me with a stride, I stayed close behind her. Now that she couldn't see me, I smiled again. Ayelet was right, I am getting quite a lot of nostalgia from going to this diner, and it feels nice to be going back here again.

We stopped at a booth, and the waitress placed down our menus as we sat down.

"Don't hesitate to call me over if you need anything." She then went to go assist some other people.

Ayelet picks up her menu, and I do the same. I know that she's been here enough times to memorize all of the meals and their ingredients, though.

"What do you think you're gonna get?" she asks.

"I dunno. What do you recommend?" I ask back.

Ayelet laughs. "I'm not a waitress here, Akuji. But, either way, I recommend the classic burger."

"A burger? That's not very extravagant."

"What more do you expect out of a 1970's retro-style diner?"

"True. I'll get that, then."

"I told you, I'm not a waitress, Akuji!" My cousin acted like she was mad, but she started laughing. "Ah...you're too much."

"I'm aware." I couldn't hold back a smile.

We talked for a bit before the waitress came back and asked if we were ready to order yet.

"Alright then, what can I get 'cha?" she asked when we said yes.

"I'll have the cheese straws and a strawberry and mango smoothie," Ayelet said.

The waitress wrote that down and then turned to me. "And what can I get you, sweetie?"

"I'll have the classic burger and..." I looked at the menu quickly for a drink. "A raspberry iced tea."

"And how would you like that cooked?"

I didn't know the terms. I turned to Ayelet for help, and she said for me, "Well done, please."

The pen against the notepad sounded harsh as the waitress was writing. Maybe that was just because of her writing style.

"I'll have the drinks out shortly." She then left with a sweet smile.

"She's nice, isn't she?" Ayelet watched her leave then turned back to me.

"She's just doing her job, isn't she?" I replied.

"Yeah, and doing it well."

"Guess you're right."

We talked for a bit more, then the drinks came out, and the food not long after.

Ayelet sighed. "Can't ever get enough of the service here." She took a bite out of one of her cheese straws.

I took a sip out of my drink. "Oh wow, this is good."

"Sure is." My cousin smiled, but maybe because she was savoring her food.

I picked up my burger and was about to take a bite out of it, but then stopped.

"Hey, do you think that this burger would be raw?"

"Huh?" Ayelet took a sip of her drink and looked at me. Putting the glass down, she took a look at my burger. "Don't think so, no. It's well done, after all."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. Here, I can show you that it isn't." She took a knife and cut my burger in half. "See, there's no pink."

"Okay..." I picked up one half of the burger and was about to try to take a bite out of it again but stopped once more. "But what if it's poisoned?"

"Akuji, stop being so irrational."

"I have every right to believe that it's poisoned." I put the half of the burger down onto my plate.

My cousin smacked her hand against her forehead. "And what makes you think that it is?"

"What makes you think that it's not?" I countered.

She ignored me and called for a waiter.

Once one came over, she asked, "Hi, would this burger be poisoned, by any chance?"

"I don't see why it would be poisoned, we monitor everything that goes on in our kitchens, so there would be a very slim chance that it is." He looked at us as if we were delusional.

"So you're saying there's a chance?" I stared at the waiter.

Ayelet laughed awkwardly. "Excuse us for a moment."

She got up, grabbed my arm, and led me to a more secluded area with less people.

"Akuji, if you don't shut up about this, I'm going to kick you out of this diner myself."

Shocked and surprised, I stayed silent. I've never seen her this straightforward before, except the time that my sibling accidentally pushed her into the sandbox at the playground near our childhood house when we were kids. That was a scary time for all of us.

"I'm trying to make this a fun time for both of us, but if you keep thinking about this kind of stuff, you're going to make this a hell," she sighed and let go of me.

I looked down at the ground to avoid making eye contact with her. "I'm sorry."

Ayelet put her hand on my shoulder comfortingly.

"It's okay, I forgive you. Just...try to refrain from thinking about death, please?"

I looked back up at her with a faint smile.

"No promises."

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