There Once Was A Derek & Lia (ongoing)

Chapter 13

PLS PUT YOUR PLAYLIST HERE

"Do you even have a job?" Derek asked his tone harsh.

"Money just doesn't fall out of trees," I huffed. "Of course I have a job." With my mother unable to hold down a job of her own, someone's had to pay the bills this entire time. "Where would the money come from to support my mother's addiction, Derek? It's obvious now that she is not able to function, right?"

"You said you worked at Earls."

"Derek," I say in my most patient voice, "I shouldn't have to owe you an explanation but for the sake of ending this conversation because I'm an extremely busy person, I'm not going to deny that you caught me in a lie. I have a job that part is true, but I work elsewhere. Where? That part is none of your business." I don't need him to stop by to drop off lunches like I'm some kind of 5 year old.

"But aren't you hungry?"

"Not really. I have some snacks for later if I get hungry."

"You won't tell me where you work even if I promise to bring you food?"

"Feed it to some birds then. Hang out in the McDonald's parking lot and they'll approach you in herds."

"It's a BLT."

I pause. A BLT? A glorious sandwich made with bacon, lettuce and tomatoes?! Why me?!

"...Had half left over after practice."

I crave BLT's----like all the time. If I could have BLT's for every meal of the day, I would. If I was a skilled songwriter and artist, you could count on there being at least 1 or 2 songs off my album talking about my love for this sandwich. I love you, BLT!

I hesitated. "No tomato?"

"I'll eat the tomatoes for you. C'mon Lia."

Yikes, Derek sure knew how to use my favorite sandwich of all time against me. This is so unfair! "Put it in the fridge. I'll eat it when I get home." I'm not hungry but as always, the word BLT seems to ignite my stomach into a frenzy. One time, many moons ago, I was sleeping over at Sam's house. We ate a lot of food and stuffed our faces with various desserts. I love cheesecakes! We were in a food coma and didn't think we would eat for days. The next morning her mom made BLT sandwiches and suddenly, my stomach growled in hunger. Remember how I said we didn't think we could eat for days? Yea, well, my stomach made room for that BLT and continues to do so to this day. BLT's make my stomach do remarkable things.

I swallow. "You're a terrible person," I tell him. "...This would be like telling you that I have a SpongeBob Square Pants Popsicle in the freezer in my summer home in Paris." Derek never liked watching SpongeBob as a boy but had an 'obsession' with buying SpongeBob popsicles when the Ice-cream truck came down our street in the summertime. Every day like clockwork, he'd sit outside with his $1.75 waiting for his treat.