Say Hello For Me

f i v e || pizza

Dedicated to @stereoactive because this chapter's name is "pizza" and the Pizzeria Boy remains one of my favorite short stories.

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The hour hand is inching toward the ten. By now, she starts to expect a phone call from a boy who might have gotten a Plain White T's song permanently stuck in her head. She's got to get a Spice Girls song stuck in his head in return sometime. That would really teach him a lesson.

When the clock strikes ten, the phone rings as almost on cue.

"Hello, thank you so much for calling AskAway." She stops speaking there, cutting off her voice.

"Not going to continue?" Liam hums.

"I'm just going to waste my breath if I keep going. You're just going to cut me off."

They both begin to laugh at the same time, the sound of their laughter adapting the same unique rhythm.

"Do you know who I am then?" he asks.

"Hi, Liam," she says casually, knowing that this phone call sounds more personal than professional. "What can I do for you tonight?"

"What toppings should I order on my Domino's pizza?"

He can't be serious, she thinks.

"You do know that you called a relationship hotline, right?" she asks just to make sure.

"Yes!" Liam nearly shouts into the phone. "Why do you keep asking me that question? I have this number saved on my phone as a contact now."

"Under what name?"

"The girl that helps me with my problems," he tells her confidently.

"Are you serious?"

"Dead serious, and you know it," he replies, "But hey! Stop distracting me, woman. I need to know what to order on my pizza. This man over here is hungry."

"I can't really help you."

"Why not?" he asks in disbelief. "I thought your job was to help people. You're not much help right now."

She pauses, tapping her fingers against her chin before says, "Papa John's is so much better."

"It's really not."

"You keep telling yourself that at night, Liam."

"But I'm serious! What should I order on my pizza?" he presses her for an answer.

"Well, what do you like?"

"Everything."

She smacks her forehead, the sound of her hand coming into contact with her skin resonating through the phone line. "Liam, you should just order a supreme pizza. That would solve all of your problems."

"I don't have the money for that, woman."

"Stop calling me woman!"

"Sorry," he mumbles. "You still haven't told me your name."

"I know . . ."

"Are you ever going to tell me your name?" He wonders if she will ever trust him enough to let him in.

"Maybe when you decide to call me again and talk about real problems."

"This is totally a real problem!" he replies defensively. "What should I do about my pizza?"

"Don't worry about it."

"What do you mean?"

She hangs up the phone before he has the chance to ask her anymore questions. Liam's left sitting at his apartment on the couch wondering where she is going with this, still in shock over the abrupt end to their conversation.

Almost ten minutes later, Liam gets another phone call. It's from a number he doesn't recognize, but he picks up anyways.

"Hello, who is this?" Liam answers.

"This is your favorite pizza shop, Papa John's," a high, female voice responds. "Someone ordered a supreme pizza for you, and she told me to call this number to get an address."

"I can't believe this," he whispers to himself so low that she can't hear him.

"She also wanted me to tell you that Papa John's is a thousand times better than Domino's. I have to say that I agree with her."