26,000 U.S. Dollars

Nopity Nope, That Ain't Dope

        A blond, a ginger, and a ravenette walk into a Five Guys. This may sound like the set up to a joke, but this is just my casual, every other Thursday evening.

       We have come to this same restaurant ever since the oldest of us, Benjamin, could drive. We always had the same order, the same corner booth near the window, and the same waiter. Everything was always in perfect order like it should be.

       Benjamin sat across from me, like always, and Liam occupied the space to my right. Once the food was brought to our table, we began to dig in.

       We had ordered the same thing we got each time we came here. Liam had gotten a simple grilled cheese with an order of fries and a small oreo shake, Benjamin had gotten a veggie sandwich and water, while I got a bacon cheeseburger, large onion rings, and a vanilla milkshake with added bacon.

       "I still don't understand how you eat so much! You're half my size, Gem, you're tiny. Where does it go?" Benjamin hounded me, confused. He did this all the time when we went out to eat, not quite understanding that, even though I'm a beanpole, I eat like a pig.

        I laughed, covering my mouth with my napkin. "You obviously haven't met my family! Which reminds me, my grandpa does want to meet you both sometime."

        Everything went serious after that. Liam's mouth hung slack, his half-chewed fries falling out of his mouth. Benjamin's face paled drastically; which is saying something since I don't think he gets much sun. I stared at their faces, raising an eyebrow.

        "What? You got a problem or something? And Liam, shut your mouth, you'll catch flies."

        "Y-your grandfather wants to meet...us?" there was a pause, "Did we do something wrong? Because if we did, I severely apologi-"

        "Benjamin! Chill! My grandfather isn't like what they say in stories, he's actually really really nice." I waved my hands out in front of me, stopping any heinous ideas he got about my family. Yes, it was true, my grandfather was part of the mafia when my family lived in Italy. Keyword; was. Now, he owns a small Italian diner at the edge of town.

        "He wants me to bring you to the restaurant before bringing you to the house. You know how he is with new people. Anyway, I was wondering if you were up to the challenge. So, any questions?" My eyes scanned them down, looking for any form of disapproval.

        "Uh, Geminus?" Liam's hand was raised daintly in the air.

        "Yeah?"

        "Are you going to finish your onion rings?"