Knight

05

Mason Maloney

The restaurant Sam took me to was small and quaint. The walls were painted a deep red and there was a counter with round cushioned bar stools in front of where the wait-staff stood. Sam chose a booth in the corner for us. On the wall next to our table hung a picture of the restaurant from when it opened in 1953. The black and white photo showed the outside of the diner, looking much like it did now, with a man and a woman standing underneath the large "Patty's" sign, grinning happily.

"This is the best little diner in town," Sam said once we were seated comfortably.

"It's nice," I answered truthfully.

Sam smiled, this time a real smile and not one of his insolent smirks.

"My dad used to take me here for milkshakes all the time," he told me happily. I could feel the nostalgia radiating from him.

"What's the best milkshake to get?" I asked with a smile of my own.

It was nice to see Sam in this way. He wasn't being overly cool and smooth like he always was. He was just being natural, happy, and him.

"Classic chocolate," he said seriously. "Definitely chocolate with whipped cream and a maraschino cherry on top."

I looked at him in disgust. "Maraschino cherries are gross."

Sam gasped, holding his hand to his chest. "I'm sorry Mase, I don't think this friendship is going to work out."

I laughed and shook my head at his dramatic reaction. "How about we both get a milkshake and I give you my maraschino cherry."

Sam grinned and snapped his fingers. "Friendship restored."

When our waitress came around, the two of us ordered burgers and shakes. Sam assured me that I had to try their burgers since, along with the milkshakes, they were his favorite thing about the small diner. I wished we had a place like this on our side of the tracks. The closest thing I could think of was the bakery. Other than that, all we had were chain restaurants, nothing special. Why did a place like this belong in Knight territory?

"Do you come here a lot?" I asked Sam after our waitress walked away.

He nodded. "I come here with my friends quite a bit and the team has a tradition."

"A tradition?"

Sam nodded again. "We come here every year at the end of hell week."

I nearly groaned on the spot. "You seriously brought me to a Knight hang out spot?"

"Maybe I'm trying to convert you," Sam suggested with a smirk.

"Don't even bother. Nathan would kill me," I answered just before the waitress brought us our milkshakes.

After the waitress left our table with the promise that our burgers would be done soon, I took my cherry out of my milkshake and plopped it into Sam's like I told him I would. He looked at me gratefully before taking one of the cherries and placing it in his mouth, pulling it off the stem and munching on the cherry happily.

I grinned at him before taking my straw in my mouth and sipping on my milkshake. I was instantly consumed with delight on my tongue as the liquid entered my mouth. The milkshake was sweet, but not overbearingly so. This consistency was thick enough to almost resemble ice cream, but thin enough to be a creamy drink. It was the best milkshake I had ever tasted. It felt like a party on my taste buds.