Short Stories

Off Duty

Life is filled with surprises. There's no doubt about that. One minute you could be screaming the lyrics to your favorite songs in the shower and the next you could be bumping into someone who will eventually become your best friend. You never know what's waiting for you outside your door. And that's exactly what happened to Peter a few nights ago.

Our cynical taxi driver had already given up on love. He drove around the snow-covered streets as he kept overthinking if he should go meet the girl his best friend Carla had set him up with or if he should pretend to forget about the whole thing. Another blind date that was meant to end in disaster and disappointment for both. At least that's what he was thinking. And to make it even worse, the date was at a new fancy restaurant in town. Curiosity was the worst place for a date according to young Peter.

"ugh... here goes nothing." he muttered to himself as he turned into Elmwood Lane.

He wasn't rushing at all. He was doing the exact opposite; he was driving below the speed limit, going against the taxi drivers' laws. His goal was to become the slowest taxi in the entire city, hoping his mystery date would get tired of waiting and would call it a night.

While doing so, he saw a woman who was signaling him to stop as he was reaching the main avenue. But he ignored her as he wasn't on duty anymore. He drove by her at a slow pace and even gave her a subtle dirty look. Unfortunately for Peter, the woman caught up to his cab.

"HEY! PLEASE LET ME IN!! I GOTTA BE SOMEWHERE!"

"Not my problem, sweetheart! I'm off duty!" smirked the dark-haired man without taking his eyes of the road.

"YOU HAVE YOUR SIGN ON. SO TECHNICALLY, YOU ARE ON DUTY. AND IT IS YOUR DUTY TO TAKE ME WHERE I NEED TO BE."

After listening to the young girl complain, he huffed and puffed a little. But then, he thought that if he took this woman to her destination, he would be even more late to his date. With an imaginary lightbulb on top of his head, the man unlocked the doors and grinned "HOP IN, MISS!"

The young blonde sat at the back of the cab and started fixing her hair and makeup as she held a small mirror on her left hand.

"You are really stubborn, you know that?" stated Peter as he quickly glanced at the lady.

"Well, you are a really bad driver. Everyone knows that taking the avenue at this time of night is the best way to be late."

"Oh... I didn't notice." Lied the man as he waited for the traffic light to change. "Anyway, where to, miss?"

"Curiosity. The restaurant in Garden Boulevard and Whar—"

"Yeah, sorry, but I can't take you there."

"What?! Why not?"

"umm... that restaurant closed a few months ago... Yeah! Terrible sanitary incident! I can take you to that other restaurant on Ash Row... The Noodle Cottage! I hear it's great!" said the driver trying to convince the young woman.

"Wow, so you are a bad driver and a bad liar? What a great combo! The place is new, so there's no way they are closed tonight."

"But The Noodle Cottage—"

"LISTEN MISTER! I'M MEETING WITH SOMEONE AND MY FRIEND WON'T STOP TEXTING UNTIL I GET THERE! AND SHE CAN BE VERY ANNOYING WITHOUT EVEN TRYING SO CAN YOU PLEASE TAKE ME TO THE FREAKING RESTAURANT?!"

"OKAY RELAX! THERE'S NO NEED TO YELL!"

"THEN WHY ARE YOU YELLING!"

"I'M YELLING CAUSE YOU ARE IRRITATING ME!"

"UGH YOU ARE SO.... SO... ACHOO!!"

The lady in the white dress let out the most delicate and yet the most destructive sneeze the taxi driver had ever seen. Glitter and some sort of dust contaminated the breathable air inside the vehicle. Peter tried not to lose control over the wheel while the sparkling lady covered her face in shame. He managed to park the car right outside the restaurant but didn't unlock the doors for a while.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" bellowed the scared driver as he turned around abruptly.

"Fairy dust and glitter..."

"FAIRY DUST AND WHAT?!"

"JUST FORGET ABOUT IT! YOU SAW NOTHING! And Don't worry. From now on, I'll be taking the bus."

"HOW DO YOU WANT ME TO FORGET ABOUT IT? HEY! YOU LITERALLY SNEEZED OUT GLITTER!" kept screaming the man from inside the car while the girl hurried inside the restaurant, hoping the driver didn't decide to follow her inside looking for answers.

Our friend Peter was still counting the money he had made that day when he started thinking out loud.

"... What kind of person sneezes like that? ... What if she isn't human? WHAT IF SHE'S LIKE A FAIRY OR SOMETHING! NO! I'M NOT GOING TO GET INTO THAT LADY'S MESS! I should just drive away... Not only is there a stranger in there hoping to get to know me, but now this girl is also in there... I should go home.... UGH BUT CARLA IS GOING TO KEEP ON TRYING TO SET ME UP WITH SOMEONE! ... Who was she setting me up with this time? Anna? Amy? ALICE! THAT'S IT! Alright, I should go in there."

He got out of the taxi and tried to fix his outfit a little, hoping the Curiosity waiters wouldn't judge him for not respecting the restaurant's dress code. He went to the front desk and asked for his table, hoping to find an apology note from the mystery girl he accidentally stood up. But his date was there at the table, waiting for him with a big smile on her face. A smile that faded quickly after noticing who she would be sharing a meal with.

"You!"

"You? You're Alice?!"

"Umm... yeah... And I'm assuming you are Peter."

The man nodded and sat down, trying to avoid the obvious question on his mind.

"Wait. Why did you tell me this place was closed? Were you trying to get out of our date or something?"

"Me? PFFFFF No way!"

The girl raised an eyebrow and placed her hand on top of his.

"You can be honest with me, Peter. You see, I'm not like other girls."

"Yeah, I figured that much." Added the taxi driver with a shy grin on his face.

The young couple shared a few laughs and a lovely dinner. Peter didn't regret his date with his mysterious new friend, and he was more than looking forward to their second date. Peter had given up on finding his human soulmate. But who knows? Maybe his soulmate was never a human being to being with.