Horrid Thoughts with Hard Questions
Shake it up, baby
“Lizzy, I’m hungry!” Claire moans, as we walk down the street, dragging our bags behind us.
“I put some jolly ranchers in your bag. Eat one of those.”
“Jolly ranchers aren’t food, they’re candy. Please can we stop somewhere?” As much as I love her, Claire can get on my last nerve. I have about a hundred bucks stashed in my suitcase, but that’s it. I don’t want to spend it on eating out. “Look, Lizzy! Let’s go there and eat!” She squeals and points to a diner a few feet away. I feel so guilty for not being able to feed her that I have no choice.
“Well, come on then,” I say reluctantly, as we make our way to the door.
The diner isn’t that crowded, considering it’s breakfast time. The inside is kind of old timey, with a juke box in the corner and some old, slow 50’s music playing in the background. There are a lot of booths with shiny silver seats. We sit down at one near the end. I look around at all of the pictures of famous people from the past and old instruments hanging on the walls, and then I watch Claire rest her head on her fists.
“What’s wrong?”
She sighs. “Where are we going to go, Lizzy? We have no money and we don’t know anyone. We should just give up and go home now. The beach was fun and all, but it’s time to face the facts. We’re done for.”
“Claire! Don’t talk like that. We’ll be fine. I’ll figure something out.”
“But that’s just it! It’s my fault you have to figure things out. It’s my fault you wasted all of your money. I don’t want to ruin your life!”
I don’t know what to say to that. I can’t believe she’d think she was ruining my life. She’s always been the one who made it worth living.
“Here.” I hand her a quarter I found on the way in. She gives me a confused look.
“What’s that for?”
“This music is depressing. Maybe you can find something good, huh?” The minute it comes
out of my mouth I see her expression lighten up. I knew that would work.
With a smile on her face, she snatches the quarter out of my hand then skips to the juke box. A minute later I hear a peppy 60’s song coming from the speakers. I start laughing when I see her dancing to the beat. The few people that are in the diner start looking at her.
She dances her way to our table and motions me to follow. I shake my head, but she yanks me out of the seat. Then, I just can’t help myself. We start dancing and the whole diner is staring at us, but we don’t care. It’s a chance to forget about our problems, if only for three minutes.
“I put some jolly ranchers in your bag. Eat one of those.”
“Jolly ranchers aren’t food, they’re candy. Please can we stop somewhere?” As much as I love her, Claire can get on my last nerve. I have about a hundred bucks stashed in my suitcase, but that’s it. I don’t want to spend it on eating out. “Look, Lizzy! Let’s go there and eat!” She squeals and points to a diner a few feet away. I feel so guilty for not being able to feed her that I have no choice.
“Well, come on then,” I say reluctantly, as we make our way to the door.
The diner isn’t that crowded, considering it’s breakfast time. The inside is kind of old timey, with a juke box in the corner and some old, slow 50’s music playing in the background. There are a lot of booths with shiny silver seats. We sit down at one near the end. I look around at all of the pictures of famous people from the past and old instruments hanging on the walls, and then I watch Claire rest her head on her fists.
“What’s wrong?”
She sighs. “Where are we going to go, Lizzy? We have no money and we don’t know anyone. We should just give up and go home now. The beach was fun and all, but it’s time to face the facts. We’re done for.”
“Claire! Don’t talk like that. We’ll be fine. I’ll figure something out.”
“But that’s just it! It’s my fault you have to figure things out. It’s my fault you wasted all of your money. I don’t want to ruin your life!”
I don’t know what to say to that. I can’t believe she’d think she was ruining my life. She’s always been the one who made it worth living.
“Here.” I hand her a quarter I found on the way in. She gives me a confused look.
“What’s that for?”
“This music is depressing. Maybe you can find something good, huh?” The minute it comes
out of my mouth I see her expression lighten up. I knew that would work.
With a smile on her face, she snatches the quarter out of my hand then skips to the juke box. A minute later I hear a peppy 60’s song coming from the speakers. I start laughing when I see her dancing to the beat. The few people that are in the diner start looking at her.
She dances her way to our table and motions me to follow. I shake my head, but she yanks me out of the seat. Then, I just can’t help myself. We start dancing and the whole diner is staring at us, but we don’t care. It’s a chance to forget about our problems, if only for three minutes.