Mixtape For The End of the World

23. Pete obtains the Coca-Cola recipe.

23. Pete obtains the Coca-Cola recipe.

The next morning, I worked at Fall Out Bros. in the morning, dropping off my letter to Mikey at the post office on the way there. One of the other employees took over for me around noon so that I could get a lunch break, leaving me free to do whatever I wished for the next hour. I took a slice of pizza and headed into the parking lot, but before I drove home in the DeLorean, I decided to stop by Tea Monkey.

When I entered the tea shop, I saw that Elisa was behind the counter, but Patrick wasn't. She immediately noticed me and said, "Hi Pete. I presume that you're looking for Patrick. He's in the back right now - he'll be out here in a few minutes."

I nodded, but I wasn't really listening to Elisa. I was focused on the name tag that Patrick had left on the counter. While Elisa was helping a customer, I grabbed a Sharpie, crossed out "Patrick," and wrote "Lunchbox." I then placed the name tag back on the counter and waited in the back of the shop.

A few minutes later, Patrick showed up and saw what I had done. "Holy smokes!" he shouted.

"What's going on?" Elisa asked.

"I think Pete must have messed with my name tag," Patrick said, but he clipped it on anyways after he put a Tea Monkey hat on top of his fedora.

"Lunchbox," Elisa read. "Why would Pete put that on your name tag?"

Patrick blushed and said, "It's one of his nicknames for me."

Elisa rolled her eyes. "Of course you two have adorable nicknames for each other," she said.

"Where is Pete anyways?" Patrick asked as he looked around the shop. "He has to be around here somewhere if he wrote on my name tag." He then spotted me and waved awkwardly.

"Hi Patrick," I said as I walked up to the counter. "How are you doing today?"

Patrick smiled and then said, "I'm doing very well, thanks to you. I just have one question for you, Pete."

"What's your question?" I said, although I suspected that I knew what he was about to ask.

"Why did you write Lunchbox on my name tag?" Patrick asked.

"Because you're my Lunchbox," I said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Patrick wasn't nearly amused by the whole thing as I was. "All of our customers are going to think that my name is Lunchbox now," he said. "Who names their kid that anyways?"

"I would totally name my kid Lunchbox," I said. "He'd be named after you, of course."

"Pete, you're a great guy, but you'd be a terrible father," Patrick said.

"Are you kidding?" I said. "I'd be a wonderful dad. I'd tell my kids that you gotta show the world the thunder, and I'd name them cute things like Bronx, Saint, Marvel..."

Patrick still looked skeptical, but he didn't bother to argue with me. "I still don't get why you wrote Lunchbox on my name tag, but I guess it is sort of a sweet gesture," he said. "I should get back to work though. Can I call you this evening?"

"Of course," I said. "I'm not doing anything after I finish my shift. By the way, could I get a cup of the America's Suitehearts blend?" That tea had started to grow on me, but it was mostly just an excuse to stay and talk to Patrick a little bit longer.

Patrick gave me a wide smile and then asked, "For here or to go?"

"To go," I answered.

Patrick started to make me a cup of tea, but he continued to chat with me as he did so. "I heard a rumor about you beating up Neo-Nazis at Fall Out Bros.," he said. "Is that true?"