On The Run

Chapter Three - "Running and Run-ins"

I stepped into Daisey’s Diner, after glancing back to make sure I wasn’t being followed. If I were, the best place to be cornered would be inside a small space, like the diner. The smell of pancakes and waffles wafted up my nostrils, and I felt my shoulders slump in relief. I walked in, and sat at a table in the back corner, so I was barely visible in the dim lighting.

I’d barely sat down when the plump waitress walked over with a pleasant smile; her nametag said ‘Daisey’. “Hey there, hon. What would you like?” she asked. Couldn’t she smell me? I couldn’t understand the smile. That’s service, I suppose. You don’t retreat from a customer, however much she smells like the bottom of a sewage plant.

I quickly scanned the menu, and replied, “Um . . . can I have two pizza burgers, please?”

“Anything else?” she asked, her smile not wavering.

“Chocolate chip pancakes, eggs and . . . um, orange juice?” I replied.

She raised her brows and said, “Somebody’s hungry.”

I really didn’t know what to say to that, so I just looked back down at my menu.

“How would you like your eggs?” she asked, “Poached, scrambled, sunny-side up—”

I cut her off, “Scrambled,” I answered a little too quickly. The whole thing was drawing out too long.

She gave me a curious look, but walked off without another word. I let out a breath, and leaned back into the shadows; I was going to have to try to act as normal as possible, so I didn’t stand out, or who knew what people would think, if they noticed me?

I was messing around with the sugar and salt, when I heard the diner bell ring, as the door swung open. I was hidden from view, which meant I couldn’t see who was walking in.

“Hey boys!” I heard Daisey say cheerily.

I was not going to let my curiosity get the better of me again, so I slouched lower in my seat, pulling my hood back up.

“Hey! And girl!” I heard a female voice say; she sounded young.

I heard snickering, and then a familiar voice said, “Kayla, its just cause you blend in so well.” The voice sounded like that boy’s – Ricky from the auto shop, but I couldn’t be sure. I remembered him having a distinct scratchy voice, but New York was a large place; who knew how many other people had soft scratchy voices?

“Shut up, Ricky,” the girl whom I now knew as Kayla, replied.

Oh no.

My heart rate sped up, and my eyes widened; it was him. It would be too much of a coincidence that another Ricky with the same voice just happened to be hanging around Brooklyn, a couple blocks away from the auto shop.

Like I said, I’d been going around in circles, and somehow ended up right back where I’d started. I’d spotted the auto shop a distance away, and I’d instantly turned around and headed in the other direction, until I got to Daisey’s Diner; I just couldn’t resist the food images on the window, so I’d walked in.

I knew I should have kept going.

“So, the usual?” Daisey asked.

“Yeah,” another male voice said. I didn’t recognize it, but it could have been Ricky’s friend, Trey.

I had a feeling that they would not be very pleased to see me; I’d broken into their shop, slept in their car, and when they’d tried to help me out, I’d run off. I wouldn’t like me very much, either.