The Euphoric Youth

i [harry] // panera chips

photo of harry on the right

c h a p t e r 1 p a n e r a c h i p s

harry's pov / 31 august 2012 / friday / 12:16 pm / central park, manhattan, ny

Goddammit Elle, goddammit.

Why is she always so late?

Okay, fine. if she isn't here by 12:20, i'll call.

My ongoing mental scolding of my best friend is stopped abruptly when Dance in the Dark by Lady Gaga starts blaring from my back pocket. I reach into my back pocket and jerk out my iPhone 4S hastily. I have an incoming call from "Vogue🌸🌚" Get it? Vogue? Elle? Magazines? Stupid jokes. I drag my finger across the "slide to unlock" option bordering the bottom of the screen. Before I put the phone to my ear, i unnecessarily flip my hair in an extra sassy fashion, then I put the phone to my ear.

"Where the hell are you?"

"Panera."

"Dammit Elle, we agreed on meeting in Central Park first!"

"Whoops."

"You just love making my life harder don't you?"

"Nah. I just thought I'd cut out the middle man."

"Which Paner-"

"Union Square."

I can hear the smile on her voice.

"I hate you."

"Love ya too."

She hangs up.

I haul a taxi with my one free arm, my other arm holding two bags. One from the Lego store on Rockefeller (don't act like you wouldn't be tempted), and one from Urban Outfitters, carrying Lana Del Rey's Born to Die on vinyl. Although UO is an okay substitute, I prefer Hirsch back at home. Hirsch Vinyl. And no, I don't listen to Vinyl because it's "hipster" or "grunge" or whatever, I listen to it because I genuinely enjoy the quality of vinyl over anything else.

A cab notices me.

The driver smoothly glides over to the curb, awaiting me. I rush into the vehicle, flinging open the door

"10 Union Square"

"'Aight"

The driver was a scruffy heavy-set guy probably in his mid-40s. He had a strong italian accent and was wearing a Mets Cap. The car reeked of sauerkraut.

The car starts accelerating forward. I zone off watching the skyscrapers touch the heavens, moving behind me at light speed.

☯ ☯ ☯ ☯ ☯

"this is your stop, kid."

I jerk out of my day dream.

"$12. On the dot"

Swiftly, I reach into my pocket and give him a crumpled 10 and 5, and mutter a "thanks"

Then I see Elle out of the crowd.

Her neon pink blazer stands out from the crowd, considering everyone else is wearing a deep violet

"Come the fuck on," she says through gritted teeth. I step onto the sidewalk and twist my body around several students decked in purple,

"Of course today was the NYU orientation."

"These people are us 4 years from now, Elle"

"Except we'll be attractive and acne-free by then."

"Damn straight."

We walk into Panera, and a large blast of chilly air is pushed unto us. Practically no one was there. We make a beeline to cash registers.

"How the hell is no one here?"

"I overheard some conversations. All the Tischies are meeting at some coffee shop a block away, and the Sternies are scattered about Union Square. The majority at the library and Barnes and Noble, however, it's understandable that some are here."

"Elle. I told you to stop doing that."

"Stop doing what?"

"Purposely eavesdropping on people talking."

"Ugh, Harry-"

"All i'm saying is that one day the wrong person is going to notice."

We approach the cash registers. The only person in front of us is a woman in a pencil skirt lugging around a toddler clad in shades of pink. She steps away, obviously completing her order.

I turn to Elle.

"Know what you want?"

"Same as usual"

I turn back to the cashier. He's a stocky hispanic guy with a buzzcut.

"Welcome to Panera Bread. May I take your order?"

I hide a cringe. Whenever someone calls it "Panera Bread" I die a little inside. Just call it "Panera," Please. Elle speaks.

"I'll have the Thai chicken salad, please."

"What side, ma'am?"

He seemed rather unenthused.

"The fruit cup."

I pity Elle for things like this. She has never tried a Panera chip. And everyone knows Panera chips are the best.

"And I'll be having the bacon turkey bravo."

And of course I get the chips.

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"I still don't understand why the fuck you like the chips so much"

"Well, first of all, they only have 3 ingredients. Which makes them healthy and stuff."

"But they're fried"

"But they have sunflower oil!"

"Whatever. Are you almost done? I wanna go."

"I've been done. You've just been sitting here for the past 10 minutes telling me how bad the Panera chips are"

"No."

"Yes."

"Maybe."

"Definitely. It's over. C'mon. Let's get out of here."

And with that, we walk out of Panera, a wave of humid air cascading onto us.

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A/N: So that's chapter 1! I just wanted to clear up a few things. Just imagine the actors for the roles being younger. All child actors today are shit, for the most part. Also, if the photo on the right doesn't show up, please let me know. I wrote the entirety of this on my phone since I have no access to a computer right now. I've been switching from the computer site to the app constantly and ugh. So anyways, leave your feedback!