Hazel's Hitchhiker

6: Aunt Hilda's Family Diner

Joey

Noon wasn't too far off as we had been in the car for nearly four hours. Hazel's podcast had put me to sleep for a couple of hours. I'm sure she was thrilled that she didn't have to hear from me for a solid two hours. We were approaching Bakersfield. My stomach began growling in immense pain.

"Are we going to stop anywhere for lunch?" I asked looking at my phone for places to eat in Bakersfield.

"I wasn't planning on it. If you're hungry, we'll stop at Circle K for food."

Her response took me by surprise. "Seriously? Why can't we stop somewhere?"

"Because," she began taking off her sunglasses and chewing on them. "We have to be in Austin by Thursday. Nursing majors are required to be there to check-in."

"Alright, but you don't even have to check in until Thursday evening. Right now it's almost Tuesday afternoon and we have about twenty-two hours left of this drive. I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to check-in by Thursday." She continued biting on her sunglasses and I began wondering how she had such damn perfect teeth."

It took her about a minute for her to respond. "Fine, we'll get lunch. But it won't be more than half an hour."

"Half hour it is then. Zingo's Café looks pretty good. It has good reviews and everything."

The sunglasses immediately went back to her eyes. "No way in hell we're eating at Zingo's Café. I know a better place. Trust me, you'll like Aunt Hilda's Family Diner. They cook the food fast enough to get you out of there in ten minutes."

Not once did I ever see Aunt Hilda's Family Diner listed on Google. There was no use in arguing with her I suppose. She was nice enough to let me ride with her. Getting kicked out of the car wasn't an option.

In the flash of an eye, we had arrived at the family diner. There wasn't anything special about this building. It was a simple white building. Walking in wasn't anything special either. Sure, it was your typical diner with a few pictures of some old singers like The Beatles or Elvis. All the customers in the building were past the age of sixty. The music in the jukebox played a country song. The two of us found a seat with the waitress quickly arriving providing menus and giving us a moment to decide. Hazel insisted that I get the 'Diner Veggie Burger' with curly fries and iced tea. Not wanting to argue, that's exactly what I ordered. Our order would be out in five minutes.

"Can I ask you something?" asked Hazel who didn't wait for a reply. "Most fraternities in Austin don't bus anybody until the Monday before the semester starts. Why were you going to be bused a week earlier?

Trying not to bop, I responded. "Delta Chi gave us that option. Everyone else but me was against going early, but I insisted on it."

"And why were you trying to get there early?" A pen was spotted laying on the table leaving Hazel to tap on it.

Her question caught me off guard. Did she seriously just ask me that? "I don't know, I guess I'm just sick of being at home with my old man. All that piece of shit does is sit on the dam couch and drinks his ass off. And when he's not doing that, he's working."

Hazel just sat there unsure of what to say next and just bit her lip as she nodded her head. This was the perfect time to ask her a question.

"Alright, so let me ask you this. Why is it important for Nursing Majors to get there early? Couldn't they get there at the same time everyone else gets there?"

"If I get there early, I have the option of starting nursing school a semester earlier. And I can also get a limited scholarship. The sooner I can start nursing school, the sooner I can graduate." Licking the border of her mouth, her head looked around the diner as if she were hoping nobody could hear what she was about to say. "And the sooner I can get my parents off my back and live life on my own."

"What do you got against your parents?" My stomach growled again. At that moment all I really cared about was the food. When was the food coming? The five minutes were almost up.

"Nothing, it's just that they're super controlling." An emphasis on 'super.' "Last summer, they forced me to take a stupid internship at a hospital. Apparently, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity that couldn't be ignored. Sometimes, I just want to be a big girl and make my own damn decisions. Her fist banged against the table without thinking. It was hard not to feel sorry for her.

Just in time, our food arrived. The waitress smiled without a word and took off leaving us be. Hazel began eating her burger. Even though my stomach demanded food, I couldn't help feeling distracted by the diner. My mind began to wonder why we weren't seeing any children in this diner? Why weren't we seeing any young adults in here? The thought quickly died and I began chewing on my lunch as if my life depended on it.

Hazel

My throat wanted to vomit seeing the way Joey chewed on his food. Not once did he ever close his mouth. And as he chewed the lunch on his plate, loud noises involving saliva consumed that chewing mouth. To make things worse, he began moaning every time the food was swallowed. Joey's attention was purely on that meal. It didn't take long for my eyes to close while I ate. If I was going to sit here with him and enjoy this meal, there would be no way in hell my eyes would be allowed to watch what was happening. Everything about this moment reminded me of my dad and the way he ate food. Maybe it wasn't all that bad. But maybe it was. In the end, part of me wanted to watch the boy eat his food. It was almost fun to watch. Something different. What the hell was wrong with me?

Austin, Texas Clock Update: 22 Hours

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to comment and vote!

What's your favorite restaurant?

It's almost Tuesday Afternoon! Can Hazel and Joey make it to Austin by Thursday Evening?

Should Joey be chewing with his mouth open?