Hazel's Hitchhiker

55: Hot Dog Contest

Joey

At the halfway point between El Paso and Austin, we needed to get gas. Hazel found a Circle K and began fueling. Making my way inside, I noticed a large line of people at a booth outside. They appeared to be signing up for something. The curiosity got the better of me.

"What's going on here?" I asked hoping someone would answer.

Someone in fact did provide an answer. "We're having ourselves a good old hot dog eatin' contest," announced an older man in a cowboy hat who stood in line. "The winner gets a free tank of gas for their car. You need any gas boy?"

Looking towards Hazel, I could imagine that most of the tank was already full. "That would be nice, but it looks like we already have our gas."

"It don't matter. They'll pay for the gas that you already bought. And it looks like you might need a good full tank of gas. Am I right?"

He was right. Hazel had been paying a lot for gas on this trip. A free full tank of gas sounded appealing.

"Alright, what the hell? I guess I'll sign. The line looks like it's moving fast."

"Smart answer. This contest will be startin' in about five minutes. I suggest you get your stomach ready. Don't forget, these are Circle K Hot Dogs. Your belly might not agree with them at first." There was no answer from and he allowed me to cut into the line. Nobody else complained or said anything. "My name's George. George Branco. And what's your name boy?"

"Joey. Joey Garcia." We both shook hands which led George to spit onto the ground.

In a short time, we swapped stories. I told George about Hazel and I going to Austin, while I discovered that George was on his way to Oklahoma to visit his dying father. Apparently, his father hated hot dogs and would only eat hamburgers, burritos, and tacos.

Once Hazel finished fueling up, she made her way towards me and was completely dumbfounded as to what was going on. George took the liberty to explain what was happening. At first, I thought she wouldn't be on board with this idea and would complain that we needed to get to Austin, but that wasn't the case. She was more than down for this eating contest. However, she didn't want to do any of the eating. Instead, she felt that I would be best suited for it. Apparently, I was the perfect candidate for this. Damn, I wish she could've complained about this. There's something about the hot dogs from Circle K that I really hate.

Just like George said, everyone was ready to compete within five minutes. Out of everyone competing, it was me and about fifteen other guys standing next to our table with a plate of hot dogs in front of us. All of these guys included, George appeared to have a large gut. A few of them were overweight. Hell, maybe I could actually win this. If possible, a couple of these guys might be passed out before the contest is over.

"Ready?" asked the person running the contest. We all gave him a thumbs up. "Get set, and go!" He shot his gun high into the air.

Most of the guys rushed right into eating their dogs. George had his first hot dog finished within less than twenty seconds. By the time his hot dog was done, I had finished my first bite. At this rate, we were surely going to lose and there would be no free tank of gas. To make things worse, the bite of my food tasted like complete horse shit. The thing was too thick and slimy for my taste buds. It almost had me wanting to vomit. Would my stomach be able to handle this? Why did I even bother to enter this contest? Was it too late to back out of this?

"What the hell?!" Hazel screamed along with the rest of the yelling crowd. "What happened to the boy who ate with his mouth opened?!" You eat like it's the end of the world! If anyone can do it, it's you! What the hell is wrong with you?! Get your head into the game!"

Wow, Hazel really believed in me. No wonder she wanted me to compete and not her. Maybe I needed to believe in myself.

"Alright," I told myself. "These hot dogs might be bad, but you can do this."

Closing my eyes, I took another bite followed by another one within another second. The only way I was going to survive this contest was if I ignored how these tasted. Just eat fast and the taste won't be there. Gulp! The whole dog was swallowed down. I could do this. I could definitely do this.

"Yes!" shouted Hazel with much enthusiasm. Keep going! Take that next swallow.

And that's exactly what I did. While I chewed on the buns and washed them down with the water bottles that were provided. I barely chewed on the wieners, and mostly gave them a swallow. My body would be paying the price for that later. In just a short amount of time, I was ahead of everyone. It looked like we were going to get a free tank of gas. George even noticed how well I was doing and tried to speed up the eating production. He couldn't no matter how hard he tried. It was obvious that the man was getting tired. Two of the other guys passed out into a food coma. Another competitor looked like he was about to give up. All I could do was to keep at it.

Gulp! The last bite was swallowed. We were getting a free tank of gas. The crowd cheered and Hazel rushed up to me giving me the tightest hug anyone had ever given. George made his way over to us and congratulated me. For the next hour in the car, Hazel couldn't shut up about how amazing I was.

Only 5 chapters left! WOW!

Would you ever eat hot dogs from a gas station?