Escaping Reality

Chapter 11: Wealth Paradox

The alcohol pickup had gone surprisingly well and I had a little bit of free time before I had to be back at the hotel to set up. There was one thing in particular that I really wanted to do. I had seen a picture of my favorite musician Kanye West going through a McDonald's drive-through in his Lamborghini and thought it was so cool. Now I didn't drive a Lamborghini but I figured a Porsche in the McDonalds drive-through would still be a sight to see. There was something about driving a wildly expensive and luxurious car and eating quick unhealthy food that really enticed me. I looked up the nearest McDonalds and sped over, excited to see the look on the drive-through attendants' face.

I'm not going to lie, I felt pretty badass going through the McDonald's drive-through in a Porsche. To add to the range of emotions I was also incredibly hungry to devour some food. All I had really had was the cookie the lady at the front desk had given me. I was starving and knew drinking on an empty stomach would spell disaster.

"Can I, uh, get two Big Macs, a ten-piece nuggets with buffalo dipping sauce, an apple pie, and an Oreo McFlurry please," it felt like grocery shopping on an empty stomach, everything looked good "Oh and can I also add a medium fry with some extra salt" I added, completing my order.

"That'll be $18.74" the microphone replayed in an unenthusiastic monotone voice.

That was by far the most I had ever spent on a single McDonald's order. I pulled up to the window wearing the biggest smile, happy in general and even happier to get my hands on some food. The window attendant's name was Gerald and she looked to be in her mid-fifties. She was completely expressionless as I traded her my cash for the meal.

As she handed me my change I asked, "Would you mind taking a picture of me in my car as I go through the drive-through?"

She looked at me blankly. I sat there in awkward silence as she seemed to stare into my soul. I noticed the small patch of facial hair rested on her upper lip. Finally one of her co-workers asked what the holdup and I repeated my favor and she was more responsive and even seemed excited to take the picture for me. She had seen the picture of Kanye going through the drive-through and even came outside to try and get the same angle.

The picture was incredible. With a shy smile, I immediately uploaded it to my new fabricated Instagram account. "Stoked for tonight's party," I wrote as the caption before pushing 'post'.

Rather than go straight back to the hotel I decided to take the scenic route and drive through some of the nicer neighborhoods I had seen when I dropped Madeline off. Big Mac in one hand and steering wheel in the other I peeled out of the McDonalds parking lot and took off towards the nearest affluent neighborhood. Although, I wanted to think about school as little as possible on this get-away I had a legitimate interest in architecture and was looking forward to seeing something different than the cookie-cutter suburban homes I was used to back home.

The first neighborhood I approached was gated but I struck luck with the second. They were having a parade of homes for sale so the gates had been left open. It was a newer development and all of the houses looked incredibly modern with sleek lines and heavy use of glass. Occasionally there were more traditional Floridian houses with the beige-yellow exterior and red tile shingles. As I cruised by each house I pictured myself one day owning each house and how I would decorate the inside, what car would be parked in the garage, what changes would I make.

Just as interesting as the houses as the landscaping. I came from a pretty middle-class neighborhood and with midwestern winters landscaping tended to be pretty mediocre. Here it was another story. The number of fountains and shaped bushes and palm trees was astonishing. I would be okay living in any one of these houses I thought to myself.

After getting lost in the winding residential roads of another neighborhood I figured it was probably time to get back to the hotel. Even with Google Maps, it took me a couple of tries but eventually I managed to get back on the main road and headed in the right direction. With a full belly and high hopes, I sped down the interstate playing through all the different ways this night could turn out.