Red White and Black

Chapter Thirteen

Jay C

The roar of the exhaust could be heard from over a block away but inside the car, the music was deafening. Jay C pulled into the parking lot, inadvertently allowing the undercarriage to scrape the curb, grinding metal against concrete. He couldn't hear it--so loud was the music-- but he felt it and mentally cursed himself, not wanting to damage his car. He slammed the door and only after a thorough inspection was satisfied no real damage had been done. Still, it irritated him to be careless after pouring so much money into his ride.

Crossing the lot to the restaurant, he could see the reflection of the car in the glass door and realized the very thing he was so proud of and had spent so much money on was now just an irritant. Oh, it still turned the heads of everyone who saw it but his sweet symbol of success had now turned bitter with no real friends around to appreciate it. There were plenty of people who wanted to hang around and party, but they didn't fool him. Word had gotten out that Jay C had some cheddar to spread around and it didn't take long for the rats to come out of the woodwork for a taste. It was flattering for awhile to be the center of attention but he was smart enough to realize the color of his money was the only thing that really mattered.

"What can I get for you, sir?" asked the young girl behind the counter.

She was maybe seventeen or eighteen with the kind of mischievous grin that normally had Jay C instantly interested. Today, he barely noticed. "Gimme a couple a burgers and some onion rings."

With her flirtatious look failing to elicit any response, the girl sniffed and collected his money, "It'll be right up."

How could things have gone so wrong when they were just starting to be so right? He knew the answer but refused to allow himself to think about it. He had put Markus and everything about him as far out of his mind as possible. While he had somewhat succeeded in mentally sequestering his best friend, the realization he was alone and friendless hammered home without mercy. That's what you get, you stupid nigga, for pullin' a gun on your best friend. Of everything he had done of late, that was the one thing he felt worst about. He had lived that moment over and over, hating himself and wishing he could go back in time to intervene and change his irrational response.

The girl slid his order across the counter. "Have a good day," she said with robot-like inflection.

"You see somethin' wrong with this order?" asked Jay C looking down at the tray.

Taken aback at his tone the girl frowned and shook her head.

"Oh, I get it. You get the order wrong, then you act stupid on top of it." He grabbed a sack of fries form his tray and held them to her face. "Do these look anything like onion rings? You do know what onion rings are, don't you?"

Now offended at his words, the girl answered back, "Don't be treatin' me like that. Of course I know what onion rings are."

"I don't think you do. 'Cause if you did, these things would be made of onions and they'd be round." He wadded the sack of fries and threw them against wall.

The manager heard the commotion and moved to intervene. "I am so sorry, sir. Please let me get you order straight. It'll just take a minute."

Jay C opened his mouth to respond and then stopped, the words and anger behind them left unspoken. The realization struck him that he was being intentionally belligerent and confrontational to a girl stuck in a menial job just trying to make a living. He turned from the counter and walked to the door, unable to face the girl or the manager, embarrassed with himself and his behavior. He wanted to be away from them more than anything, disgusted at how he must have looked but unable to deal with it in front of them.