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Short Story / "Swift Judgement"

“Fast Food”
by: Eric Stauffer

Twirling a lock of golden blonde hair around her finger, Kelly sighed.

“Wanna supersize that?” she asked, the question mechanical.

“Uhh… sure.” the fat balding man dropped a crumpled ten into her outstretched hand.

“Need a number three!” she shouted over her shoulder.

Counting his change, she turned her attention back to her customer only to find him blatently staring at her chest. Disgusted, she spilled his change all over the counter, folding her slender arms over her breasts. Sure, she was sporting a generous amount of cleavage- but still! What a creep!

The man’s face turned a deep shade of red.

“I’m sorry- I didn’t mean to-” his frightened eyes dropped to his muddy sneakers.

“I’m 19 years old you freak!” she shouted, causing a few heads to turn in the resturant.

Too embarrassed even to collect his scattered change, the blushing, balding fat man fled out the nearest exit, his car started before the automatic doors closed.

Stifling a giggle, Kelly pocketed the man’s forgotten change.

Approaching the counter was a man who looked to be in his mid 40’s. Dark bags hung from his red rimmed eyes. He looked tired, thin, and worn.

‘Probably some junkie who’s gonna sneak a peak like all these other slobs.’ she thought as she let out a broad smile, revealing her perfectly white teeth. Palms on the counter, pushing her shoulders back, she almost popped yet another button off her blouse.

“Can I help you, sir?” softly raising an eyebrow.The man looked distracted and confused, eyes locked on the counter.

“Sir?” a little louder this time.

“Y-Yeah.” he sounded distant, preoccupied. “Cheeseburger and a coke.”

“For here or-”

“To go.” he interrupted, rubbing his sleepless eyes.

“Dick.” she muttered, flicking her blue eyes to the ‘junkie’ who was now glancing at his watch.

She dropped the grease saturated paper bag in front of him.

“That’ll be $3.60.”

He dropped 4 one’s on the counter.

“No change.” he grunted, swiping the bag and heading out to the parking lot.

“What an asshole.” she mumbled, unsure if she was upset due to his curtness or the fact that he paid her absolutely no attention. ‘whatever, probably a fag or something.’ she thought as she put his 40 cents into her pocket.

---

Tossing his empty cup and half-eaten cheeseburger into the hospital garbage can, a group of medics pushing a gurney almost bowled him over. He caught a glimpse of the balding fat man on the gurney, his wrists wrapped in blood soaked gauze and his face looking ghostly white.

Scratching his unshaven face, he walked down to the end of the hospital corridor, heels clicking softly off the freshly waxed linolium floor. Turning left, he entered a small room- completely silent save the soft beeping of a heart monitor, the only sign of life he could expect any time soon. A completely bald skeleton of a man- testemant to the cancer and inevitable kemotherepy treatment- lay still on the bed. Gripping the old man’s hand in his own, he spoke.

“I’m back, dad. I’m here now.”

---

The following day, in the breakroom, Kelly paged through a celebrity tabloid chewing a piece of bubblegum. Had she been paying attention, she might have recognized the face on the cover of the local newspaper, the face right below the grim headline “Medics Unable to Save Suicide Victim,” The face that was a fat, balding man. It seemed he was a manic depressant with no family and no friends. It also seemed evident that Kelly’s performance the day prior had set him a bit over the edge.

“Hey Kel! You’re 15 over on your lunch!”

Rolling her eyes, she went out to her cash register. The first person in line was a young black woman dressed in sweatpants and a teeshirt. ‘It’s true- hobos do love fast food.’ she thought with a smile.

“Can I help you, m’am?”

End.

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