Captain Pluto

01. THE HEALTHIEST SUBWAY SANDWICH

01. THE HEALTHIEST SUBWAY SANDWICH

IF TOBY'S PARENTS HAD NOT decided to waste an insurmountable amount of money on handmade upholstery, maybe he would have started off college a little wealthier.

For some bizarre reason, his parents used to be obsessed with handmade curtains, lampshades, comforters- you name it. They were absolutely against machine-made goods and that wasn't a bad thing but they insisted on buying original, handmade pieces. Those obviously cost a fortune but Toby's parents-very well aware of this fact- paid no attention to it. Nothing would stop them from visiting everything from flea markets to expensive antique stores in search of the best.

Any other normal, responsible adult would have spent wisely or at least been aware that all their savings are being sapped but it was Toby's undeniable luck to be blessed with such unaware parents.

It took them almost four years to stop buying unnecessarily expensive upholstery but by then, they had spent close to a half a million dollars. That was when Toby's mother started working two jobs and his father- for once- tried to complete his projects before the deadline.

Maybe it would not have been such a waste if all these things were not lying in the basement and gathering dust now. Toby doubted that his parents even remembered it. He wondered if things were different, would he still be working in the campus Subway on weekends instead of going to clubs and Saturday night parties like a normal person. He can't really use the doing-hard-work-to-feed-hungry-students excuse for the not partying because a) He only works in the afternoons and b) he hasn't been invited to a single one because c) he hasn't made any new acquaintances even though d) he talks to about fifty people everyday working at Subway.

A senior asks him for a roasted chicken salad with extra vinaigrette. Toby sets to work and-to hell with being modest- he's pretty good. He's quick and clean and he usually tries to spare smiles for customers.

He smiles at the senior as he hands him his salad. The older boy only nods vacantly and pays up. Toby feels like stuffing a handful of freshly chopped lettuce into the boy's mouth. What does a guy have to do to get a tip around here?

The boy is just leaving with his salad when a pretty Indian girl enters. She ties her black hair into a ponytail as she makes her way to the counter. Her dark circles are more prominent than usual and the way they grace the dark skin of her face reminds Toby of the shadows on the moon.

She walks up to the counter, leans on it and grins at Toby. "Knock, knock!" Zara announces loudly.

"I'm working, go away."

"Oh, shut up. Knock, knock!"

Toby sighs and wipes removes his plastic gloves. He wipes his hands on his apron and looks at her. "Who's there?"

"Lettuce."

"Lettuce who?"

"Lettuce treat our friend with a free Sub!" She beams at him with the glee of a child. In the artificially bright lighting of Subway, her face glows warmly and her acne is almost invisible. This information would thrill her.

"You're not getting a free Sub," Toby tells her sternly.

"Oh, come on."

"No."

She drops the smile and scowls at him, looking more like her usual self. She stands up straight and crosses her arms. Since Toby knows she's not necessarily harmless, she always succeeds in scaring him.

"Where's Charlie?" He asks her, craning his neck to looks for him.

"He's coming... behind, I don't know," Zara answers with a shrug but she turns around too. "He was behind me ten seconds ago."