The Unusual Adventures of the Hobbits

Chapter 3: Fastfood

     After driving for about a minute in silence, Sam asked, "Do you have any children?" Danielle kept her eyes on the road while answering, "No, Jim and I don't have any children yet. We're both so busy. I'm a school teacher for the fourth grade and he's a photographer for the local news paper. Although, I'm currently unemployed. I desperately want children of my own one day, though." "Oh," said Sam. "I have a wife and a daughter, Rosie and Elanor, then one on the way. That's why I want to get home so bad, they need me." Danielle's head snapped back to look at them for a moment. "What do you mean? You can't be more than five years old!" "Begging your pardon, ma'am, but we're not children. We're hobbits of the Shire. Halflings. Perian." Said Frodo politely. "Well, I've never heard of such things!" Exclaimed Danielle. "How old are you?" She asked.
    
     The hobbits each gave her their respective ages and they could see she was amazed. "So, you're all adults?" She asked with amazement. The hobbits nodded, making their curls bounce. "So, do you, like, have a rare form of dwarfism, or something?" Danielle asked, while trying to regain her composure. "No, ma'am, we're not dwarves, we're hobbits, as we've said before. Meaning no offence to you." Said Sam shyly. "Hobbits..." Danielle mused to herself. "Now there's something I'll have to ask Google."

     "Is Google a wise wizard, like Gandalf?" Asked Merry, leaning forward in his seat. "Well, I don't know who Gandalf is, but I guess you could say that Google is like a wizard. You can ask it anything you want and it will answer your question." "Woooooow!! Gandalf almost never answers any questions!" Pippin exclaimed, eyes wide. "When we get to the the great and powerful wizard of Google I shall ask him every question the world has ever known!" He added, a gleam of excitement in his brown eyes. "You better be careful, Pip, you don't want to anger the wizard. Remember Gandalf." Merry said, glancing at Pippin. "Umm.. I never said Google was a wizard, I only said it is like a wizard. Its not alive either." Danielle said, slightly amused, but still rather shocked at the situation.
     
     Pippin looked confused. "But if the Google wizard isn't alive, how can it answer questions? Is it like a palantír?" He asked. "I don't know what a palantír is, but I will show you Google when we get home, which should be soon." Said Danielle with a smile. She was beginning to really like these funny, adorable little guys with the strange clothes. She just hoped Jim would like them too.
    
     Soon they turned towards a large, colorful building with a giant, yellow 'M' on top. "Here we are." Danielle said cheerfully as she stopped the car in front of the building. The hobbits needed assistance getting unbuckled, but with help from Danielle, they were soon free from the green car's clutches. "Wow. So many other cars are here." Said Frodo, looking around the open space where a rainbow assortment of cars were scattered. "That's because this is a parking lot, a place where lots of cars are parked." Danielle said as she led them toward the door of the building.
    
     The hobbits followed her, a little intimidated by the multi-colored building with the pictures of a grinning clown holding plates of strange food. When they entered the building, a delicious but strange smell wafted towards them. "What would you like to eat?" Danielle asked when they reached the counter, gesturing to a large sign that advertised all the different food options. "Hmm.. What do you recommend?" Asked Pippin, folding his arms across his chest and standing on tip toes to in order to peer over the counter at the pudgy woman behind it.
    
     The chubby woman behind the counter stared at him for a bit, regarding his odd clothing choice, and said, "Happy meals are half off today and come with a free milk shake of your choice." "Alright then, we'll take four." Danielle said before the hobbits could make up their minds. The woman behind the counter punched at a black, square thing on the counter and looked over the top of it to Danielle. "And what about the shakes?" She asked.
    
     Danielle looked at the hobbits. The hobbits looked at Danielle. "What flavor of milk shakes do you want?" She asked quietly. The hobbits glanced at each other and shrugged. "We don't know what a milk shake is. I guess you can order whichever one is best." Frodo said, a little unsure. Danielle turned back to the lady behind the counter and said, "Four chocolate shakes please." The pudgy woman punched at the black box once more and told them to wait and that their food would be done in a few minutes. "A few minutes?" Sam said, perplexed, as they walked to a table near the counter. "This is a fastfood resturaunt, the food is always done in a few minutes." Danielle said softly. "Oh.." Sam said, not understanding how food could possibly be done that fast.
    
     While they waited, the hobbits looked around at the other people that were there. Most of them were chubby like the lady behind the counter and the man at the park. All of them were wearing strange looking clothes. Some of them were staring at the hobbits. "Why does everyone around here wear such outrageous clothing?" Asked Merry. "Well, I'm sure its not what you're used to, being from some third world country or wherever you come from. Around here, these clothes are normal. Your clothes are the strange ones." Danielle said with a friendly laugh. "Alright then." Merry said, now deep in thought.
    
     Soon the chubby lady at the counter announced that their order was ready. Danielle motioned for the hobbits to remain seated, then got up and retrieved the food. When she returned to the table and set the tray down, the hobbits looked at it confusedly. The tray contained four small paper bags and four small drinks. Frodo grabbed a bag and opened it, reaching in and pulling out something warm that was wrapped in paper. He unwrapped it and took a wary bite out of the food. When he did, his eyes lit up. "Mmm! What is this? Its delicious!" Frodo exclaimed.
    
     "That is a cheese burger. I'm sure there should be french fries in your bag too." Danielle said, handing him one of the drinks. The hobbits all reached in their bags and pulled out cheese burgers and fries. Pippin was the first to try the chocolate shake. He sipped at the straw and his face lit up. "This is very good! If I'd a known there were such things, I would have drunk them all my life!" For the first time since they arrived in this strange world, the hobbits laughed.