Trapped in the Drive-Thru

Trapped in the Drive Thru

Niall sat silently in the living room staring incoherently at the flat screen tv. He was completely zoned out, and all he really knew was that he'd left the TV on some VH1 documentary. That, and, well, he was a little bit hungry.

The clock read 7:01, which was certainly their dinner time. Liam hesitantly walked in the room, not quite knowing what Niall's response would be. Glancing at the TV, he felt he recognized what was playing across the screen.

"Is this Behind the Music with Lynyrd Skynyrd?" he asked, walking up behind the couch and resting his arms on the back next to Niall.

Niall shrugged, "I dunno. Hey, it's getting late. What'cha want to do for dinner?"

"I kinda had a big lunch, so I'm not super hungry," Liam elaborated as Niall shut off the TV.

"Well, you know, I'm not starving either, but I could eat," Niall responded, turning to look at Liam.

"So, what do you have in mind?" Liam asked.

"I don't know. what about you?" Niall retorted.

"I don't care if you're hungry, let's eat," Liam shot back, growing slightly annoyed at the situation.

"That's what we're gonna do," Niall answered, "But first you have to tell me what it is you're hungry for!"

"Let me think what's left in the fridge," Liam responded, putting his thumb to his chin.

"Well, there's tuna, I know," Niall answered.

"That went bad a week ago," Liam answered.

"Is the chili okay?" Niall asked.

"You finished it yesterday," Liam rolled his eyes.

"I don't know, do you want to get something delivered?" Niall asked, standing up from the couch.

"Why would I want to eat liver? I don't even like liver!" Liam answered, not quite grasping what Niall had just said.

"No, I said delivered," Niall explained.

"I heard you say liver!" Liam retorted.

"I should know what I said," Niall answered, running his hands through his hair.

"Whatever, I just don't want any liver," Liam retorted.

Niall opened his mouth to say something, but his cell phone started to buzz. When he pulled the smart phone out of his pocket, the caller ID claimed it was Louis. The 3rd time he'd called today.

"Let it go to voicemail," Liam instructed, reclining into the couch.

Niall muttered a simple, "ok." Before continuing with "where were we? Oh, dinner, right. So what do you want to do?"

"Why don't you whip up something in the kitchen?" Liam suggested.

"Yeah? Why don't you?" Niall retorted sticking his tongue out.

"Niall, can't we just go out to dinner please?" Liam asked.

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes. Oh, here's your keys." Liam handed Niall the jingly chain of car and house keys.

"Alright. Where do you want to go?" Niall asked.

"How about the Ivy?" Liam asked.

"I don't feel like getting all dressed up and eating expensive food," Niall whined.

"Olive Garden?" Liam suggested.

"Nah, I'm not in the mood, and Burrito King would make me gassy. There's no doubt," Niall answered, playing with his keys.

"Just forget about it," Liam sighed.

"No, we can drive somewhere, I swear!" Then an idea formed in Niall's mind, and proclaimed, "I know what we'll do!"

"What?" Liam asked.

"Yes!" Niall exclaimed, still excited by his idea.

"What?!" Liam asked again.

"We're going to the drive thru!" Niall yelled, dragging Liam out of the house. They got in the car and started on the way to the drive thru.

The five minute drive was short, and they were soon in line at the fast-food restaurant. There were cars on either side of them.

The Volvo behind them had his high beams on, nearly making Niall mad. He leaned out the window and yelled "hey! What are you trying to do blind me?!"

Liam rolled his eyes and suggested, "maybe we should park. We could just go eat inside."

"I'm wearing bunny slippers," Niall exclaimed, pulling his foot into Liam's view. "I'm not leaving this car."

They pulled up to the speaker, and were asked for their order.

"We'd like two hamburgers with onions and cheese," Niall ordered, but Liam stopped him.

"Wait! I've changed my mind. I think I'm going to have a chicken sandwich instead this time," Liam stated.

"You always get a cheeseburger," Niall answered.

"That's not what I'm hungry for," Liam shrugged.

Niall lowered his head into his hands and screamed, "I don't know who you are anymore!"

"I don't have all day," the voice on the speaker said.

"Then take our order, and we'll be on our way," Niall answered, "I want to get a chicken sandwich, and I want a cheeseburger too."

"You want onions on that?" The voice asked.

"I already said that I do. Plus we need curly fries. And don't you dare forget it. And two medium root beers. No, just one, we'll split it," Niall finished, "I'm guessing that you're probably not too bright. So read me back my order. Let's make sure you got it right."

The voice answered, "one, you want a chicken sandwich. Two, you want a cheeseburger. Three, curly fries and a large root beer-"

"Stop! Don't go any further. I never ordered a large root beer. I said medium not large," Niall exclaimed.

"Sir, we're having a special. I supersized you at no charge," the voice responded.

"Oh," Niall answered.

"Now there's something else that I really think you should know. You can have unlimited refills for just a quarter more," the voice suggested.

"Great," Niall said, "except we're in the drive thru. So what would I want that for?"

"Wait a minute," the voice said. "Your voice sounds so familiar. Hey, is this Paul?"

Liam responds, "no that isn't Paul. Now tell me who's this Paul?"

"Oh, he's just some guy who goes to school with me. I sat behind him last year and I copied off of him in geometry," the voice answered.

"Hey, I know a guy named Paul. He used to be my plumber. He was prematurely bald and moved to Pittsburgh last summer. He also had bladder problems and a really bad infection on his toe."Niall explained.

"Mr, please you can stop right there. That's way more than I needed to know." The voice said. There was a moment of silence before she continued with "Sir next window please. That'll be $5.82."

So they moved ahead in line, but they were moving rather slowly, so Niall reached up and turned on the radio. He had forgotten how loud the volume was , and his girlfriend's Pierce the Veil started blasting through the speakers. The sheer force of the bass forced Niall back against his seat, making it take several seconds to turn of the radio.

"Thank god. I was beginning to get a headache," Liam sighed, smiling at Niall.

Niall stared back, noticing a piece of food on Liam's tooth, "Uhm, I think you have something in your teeth."

Liam turned away from Niall, and then turned back. "Did I get it?" He asked.

"Yeah, well I mean, most of it. But hey, you know, don't sweat it," Niall shrugged.

Liam messed around with his teeth some more and asked, "How about now?"

Niall made a shooing motion with his hand, "there's still a little bit there, but don't worry. It's probably just a piece of toast."

They inched up to the pay window, and Niall reached into his pocket. To his disbelief the pocket was empty. He had forgotten his wallet.the lady at the window stared at him for a while before speaking.

"Well, well, well. That'll be $5.82," she requested.

Niall turned to Liam and asked, "How much 'ave you got on you?"

Liam rolled his eyes and said, "I'll pay for this, I guess." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his own American Express card.

Niall handed it to the lady, but she handed it back and said, "Oh dear. It's gotta be cash only. We don't take credit cards here."

Niall handed the card back to Liam, and Liam held up a measly pile of three one-dollar bills. Niall sighed and opened up the glove box, dug between seats and underneath the mats. He had gathered up a pile of mostly coins and handed them to the employee.

Quickly she counted up the change and sighed, "you're still about a dollar short."

Liam glared at Niall for a few seconds, before screaming, "You know I wasn't even really hungry in the first place!!!"

Niall turned to the cashier again. He shrugged and muttered, "Okay, uh, forget the chicken sandwich then."

Niall picked up the change and receipt before creeping up to the pickup window. The employee was acne-ridden, and wearing a nametag that stated "hello, my name is Eugene."

He handed Niall his bag, and Niall looked him in the eyes before asking, "hey, Eugene, could I get some Ketchup for my fries?"

They engaged in a staring match for a while before Eugene blinked. "I'm sorry. What did you want again?"

"Ketchup!" Niall snapped.

"Oh, yeah. that's right," the worker muttered, "Sir, please, wait there for a second. I'm really kind of burnt tonight"

Niall retrieved the Ketchup and pulled away from the drive thru, about ready to explode from the smell of food so close to him.

Luckily the light turned red before they pulled up to it, and he looked over at Liam.

"Give me that burger. I just want to have a bite," Niall asked, holding his hand out for Liam to place the burger.

Liam took the burger out of the bag and handed it to Niall. He quickly unwrapped the paper and took a bite out of the burger.

Much to his dismay, Niall realized that they had forgotten the onions.