Sinister Ego : Dangerous Minds

6. Same Old Argument

Burger King has never been anybody's dream job. People always tell me I have such a bright future because of how smart I am, or at least how smart they think I am, but I just don't know. I still don't know exactly what I want to do with my life, honestly I've never had much of a clue. Sometimes I wonder if I'll be standing behind a cash register forever.

I was halfway through my shift, and it had been just the same as always. Just standing there, throwing burgers together and punching in orders. Karly hadn't made a reappearance, thank god. And we'd had little to no annoying customers so far. So I guess it was going well.

"Will that complete your order, sir," I asked a rather overweight middle-aged man in a Metallica shirt. He nodded and trudged away, standing a couple yards from the counter to wait for his food.

The next person to walk towards me to order was a girl about my age, maybe a year older. She had blond hair and wore a rather tight pink tank top.

She wore no make up, but she was still very beautiful.

I stopped myself and shook the thought out of my mind. I didn't want to think about girls right now. Or at least I didn't think I did...

The girl was talking on her phone. Arguing would be a better word. She spoke madly, heart shaped face becoming redder with each second. As annoyed as I wanted to be that she wouldn't just put the phone down and order, for some reason I was finding that difficult.

"Fuck you too," she said, and shoved the phone into her pocket. She walked closer to the counter, completely ignoring the looks from people around her.

"T-thank you for choosing Burger King," I said. I tend to get nervous around attractive girls that I've never met. "Boyfriend issues?"

I said it without even thinking. Impulsiveness. Another problem I have in these situations. I inwardly cringed, trying but failing to read her blank expression. Way to go, Ricky. Way to keep it cool.

"S-sorry."

She laughed. "You're cool. Yeah, my boyfriend is being a dick. Probably about to be ex boyfriend, though."

I smiled at my own good luck.

"Yeah, relationships can suck. I just broke up with a crazy bitch...still won't leave me alone."

She laughed again. And I smiled again. I was trying my best to not let my awkwardness take over.

"Anyway...I'll take one Whopper meal to go."

"That'll be $6.99."

She dug into her purse and pulled out a wallet, producing a few bills and some coins. After she payed, she smiled at me as she walked off to wait for her food, and I returned it.

After she got her food, she winked at me as she left the Burger King.

And I returned that, too.

******

I was still thinking about her as I was driving home two hours later.

This is how little of a life I have.

But hey, when you're a guy that doesn't get much action with the ladies and you've only ever been in one serious relationship, these moments are to be cherished.

But I knew it was nothing. I mean, she was a fucking customer I had served at Burger King. I'd probably never see her again. And even if I did, I didn't need another relationship right now.

I laughed at myself as I pulled into Rory's driveway. Only I would be pathetic enough to keep dwelling on this one little thing. I didn't know if it was normal. So I just figured it wasn't.

I sighed as I walked in the house. Rory and his dad were arguing in the kitchen. Nothing new. But it didn't change the fact that I'd have to deal with an agitated Rory afterwards. Though the father and son normally had an ok relationship, fights between the two weren't rare. Rory's dad was always worried that he wasn't responsible enough or he was going to end up with no job. Sometimes he'd ask Rory if he'd be living with him forever. Sometimes he'd even say he was worried worry would end up in jail.

Rory thought that was a huge load of bullshit.

And I agreed completely. Sure, Rory had a knack for mischief and getting himself into trouble, but jail time was a little too far.

I closed the front door and stepped into the living room. If they had heard me, they made no sign of it.

"Rory, I'm your father!"

"So what?"

"What the hell do you mean, so what?"

"I'm eighteen years old."

"Yeah, but you live under my roof and I'm the one paying for your food and clothes. So you should probably show me some respect."

Silence followed. I slowly creeped through the living room and made my way towards Rory's bedroom, that we were sharing for the time being. I flopped down on my pallet on the floor and just stayed there for a minute.

Soon after, I could feel angry footsteps shaking the ground as the door was ripped open. There Rory was, fuming, angrily pacing around the room. He kept grabbing at his hair like he always does when he gets mad.

His dad does the same thing.

"He's such a retard sometimes, I swear!"

"What was the problem this time?" I asked with a sigh.

"Apparently Mrs. Brewer emailed him about how shit I did on my science exam. I failed it really bad. It was just the same old shit about being responsible and my future."

I didn't say anything, just looked down.

"And he thinks he can ground me like I'm some kind of child even though I'm eighteen. When will he see that I'm basically an adult?"

I almost laughed at that one. Rory was so childish it was almost a joke.

"I....I need a Dr. Pepper!" he huffed angrily, and stormed out of the room.

At this I actually did let out a chuckle. "And I need to go to the bathroom..."

I stood up, and picked up both my phone and my English exam to bring with me.