Can You Kill Me Now?

Chapter 13: Oh My God~Junie! *Gag*

"You," I begin laminating, "Seem off," I tell him, using my eyes to indicate his bouncing knee. Junior usually vibrates energy, but this is something altogether different. Even yesterday, he was acting uncharacteristically quiet and un-Junior-like. Yeah, he wanted to ride rides and have fun, but every time it was quiet, he was unusually silent and distracted.

He looks down at his leg and stops bouncing, "What makes you say that?"

I roll my eyes, "Being vague is not your strong suit; spill it."

I can sense his apprehension, but he eventually caves, "We are getting really close to my hometown, and the place we are stopping at is right outside it."

The game plan for today is to essentially just make it seem like we are traveling to our next location. The only thing on the agenda is to hit another ATM. There's a touristy diner I figured we could stop at, but other than that, it's chill in a hotel kind of day.

"Are you worried about being near the dealers?" Which honestly is a valid concern; I mean, it would have been nice if he had told me which town to avoid.

"There's that, but I'm also worried about running into anyone I know; I mean, if word goes around that I'm back, they will no doubt come to threaten me some more," There's a bead of nervous sweat running down his cheek.

"Are we that close to the deadline?" I ask nervously. He never clarified whether they had given him a specific date.

"They gave me a few months but didn't specify a specific date per se, though it's been over a month already. I tried working first, and that took up some of the time."

Sigh. This might be a more dramatic excursion than I realized.

"As long as we stay on the outskirts of town, It should be okay!" He tries to sound cheerful, but it does nothing to ease my doubt.

We eventually make our way to the cute mom-and-pop diner this area is known for. It's got a retro fifties theme; monochrome walls and neon lights decorate every surface of the outside. The inside resembles a long subway train with titanium poles to match. Every surface is covered in fifties-themed ads, stamps, pictures, and food/drink posters. There are a lot of checkerboard print designs, and the stools at the counter have a Coca-Cola logo on them. We opt to sit in one of the over-stuffed red booths.

The menu highlights the restaurant classics, the reason why they are so popular is their infamous hamburgers and milkshakes. I'm just going to stick to the tourist theme and try what they are known for. Their plates even have checkered borders, and the french fries come in a little wire basket. The milkshake is large and has a wafer sticking out of the whipped cream. Everything is served by a waitress or waiter wearing classic diner outfits and roller skates. How they manage to bring food to customers wearing skates is beyond me.

"So, if you live near here, did you used to come here?" I ask Junior, dipping a waffle fry into my chocolate milkshake.

"Maybe once or twice," He says after swallowing, "My family didn't have much money growing up, so we rarely left the house. I did come here with a friend's family a couple of times. Back when I played sports in middle school, I had a friend on the team, and after games, his parents would sometimes take us here to eat."

I wonder what a littler version of Junior looked like sitting here eating in a basketball jersey. Sigh. He was probably as tall as I am now.

"What about you? Was there anything like this where you grew up?"

"Maybe. I honestly don't remember. I stopped celebrating my birthday pretty young and my parents had a hard time getting me to go to school. I'm just a homebody, I guess," I give a light shrug.