Chapter Two (continued)

An Application for Death

"Help Wanted" it read in its bright red lettering. Noah smiled up at Mark, grateful that he had pointed it out. Working at K. B. F. would be almost like a dream come true. She came to the restaurant so often that she practically knew the place by heart. She felt comfortable there.

Noah waited patiently in line. When it came time for her to order, she simply said, "I'll have the Kenyon Supreme."

The cash register boy nodded. "Okay. Anything else?"

"A chocolate milkshake, please, and a side of nachos." Noah completed her order with a smile. She brought out the exact cash and change that she needed to pay for this meal, as she knew it by heart from ordering it so many times.

The cash register boy took her money with a dull smile. "Here's your receipt. Thank you and come again."

Noah sighed. She could do such better job, even just as a cashier. She headed over towards where her friends were waiting for their food. For a fast food restaurant, the food wasn't always delivered very fast. You had to wait around for your number to be called and then you have to show your receipt for proof of purchase. The system was annoying, especially when you're incredibly hungry.

"No, are you going to apply?" Sara asked in a hush whisper.

"After I finish my meal. It seemed weird to ask as I was ordering, you know?" Noah shrugged her shoulders and they all not so patiently waited for their food.

Noah's eyes glanced around at the building. It was a brick building that had glass windows surrounding the three sides where the tables were. As people walked down Kenyon Ave., they could look through the windows and see who was currently at K. B. F. This usually resulted in friends waving to friends through the glass. Noah personally liked to think of herself as being mildly popular, which was not far off from the truth. She has always been well liked and respected by her peers, invited to countless spur of the moment parties, and always the first to know about pointless gossip that she never really cared about. However, she wasn't the queen of popularity. She was too different to be that high up on the spectrum of popularity.

Noah is not a fan of all the boy bands that her peers obsess over, but she is not a 'hipster' neither. In fact, she truly despises that term and cringes every time she hears it being used. She doesn't even appreciate a good Tumblr blog, making her so alien to the rest of her peers. Noah mostly adores a good nineties' band, along with their sitcoms. Sometimes she wishes that she had just been born during that era, since they seemed to have it all.

Except for Wi-Fi.

"Number 235!" the one guy called from somewhere behind the counter. Taking one last glance at her receipt to make sure that it was really her number, she walked it over to the guy and grabbed her food, being the last of her friends to receive their meal. The friends awkwardly ate in silence, still dwelling on the fact that they would leave each other soon. Noah was far from ready to graduate, though it was what her heart ached for. She needed to leave this high school setting, though she was not ready to leave her friends behind.

It wasn't long after they began their meals that Nancy and Jade left the table, Jade saying that she needed to return home. Nancy went along with her, seeing as Jade was her ride for the day. Noah, Sara, and Mark ate their meals peacefully, avoiding conversation and eye contact at all costs. That might be the dumbest thing that they could have done, considering their limited amount of time left together, but it was the path that they chose.

The sound of crunching, chewing, and swallowing filled their minds, making only Noah disgusted. If there was one that could be described as "pure torture" to her, it would be the sound of people chewing their food. The disgust in the sound made Noah want to stop eating and leave the restaurant.

"Guys, I'm scared." Noah broke the silence, not even realizing what she was saying, before she had said it. Her friends gave her concerning looks, but she only shook her head.

"I don't know. I think that I am probably going insane or something, but part of me is so worried for college and stuff. Like, yeah I know that everyone gets anxious over college, but I'm more worried about this summer." Noah bit down on her bottom lip, a habit that she had picked up on once she got nervous.

Mark gave her a nervous chuckle. "No, what do you mean?"

"I don't know," Noah said, allowing for a sigh to release itself from her lips. Her eyes drifted away to the ceiling and she took a deep breath. "I just have a bad feeling about this summer."

Sara shook her head. "Just chill. What's the worst thing that can happen, besides from a lot of things?" Mark elbowed Sara's arm, making her let out a cry of pain.

"Look, I'm just saying that death is ultimately inevitable, but not much else can really happen that would be too bad, right?" Sara shrugged her shoulders, taking a sip out of her chocolate milkshake.

Noah rolled her eyes at the two of them. "I'm just being silly, of course."

"No, no! You're allowed to feel how you feel, Noah, but just know that no matter what happens, we will be behind you to help you out." Mark gave her a gentle smile, and Noah nodded, grateful for at least one supportive friend. Sara just nodded in agreement next to him, trying to be an equally supportive friend.

The usual amount of chit chat countered between them as they finished their meals. Friendship was such a curious thing. There are billions of humans on this Earth; one human comes upon another, says "Yeah, I like this one" and they just keep in touch. It's so strange when put into perspective. Why was one drawn to that particular human, and not the other people in the room? Even so, Noah didn't really care what the purpose was behind it. She was just quite glad that she came into contact with the people that she had.

"I'm going to head home," Mark announced, crumpling up the wrappers and napkins from the meal.

"See you!" the two girls bid him goodbye.

After he left, the two girls just stared at each other in awkward silence. "Ready to go?" Noah asked, quietly.

Sara shook her head. "Aren't you going to apply?"

Beginning to feel nerves rise within her, Noah decided against it. "I can always come back another time when I'm not so tired, you know?"

Sara pushed her friend towards the counter. "I'll clean up our mess, and you can go get that application."

Noah sighed. "Sara, seriously, it's fine."

"Okay, then we will go together!" Sara smiled, and Noah knew that there was no way she was getting out of this. Once Sara had her mind set on something, there was no way that she was going to get what she wanted. The friends cleaned up and strolled back into line, waiting patiently for the other customers in front of them to order their food.

"Back again?" The guy behind the counter raised an eyebrow, as if their presence was not welcomed.

Sara had to bite back her tongue before a rude snare came his way. She definitely had a few cooking in her head. "We would like to apply for a position here!" she said happily.

Noah shot her a confused look. "We?"

Sara nodded. "I told you that you didn't have to do this alone."

"I'll go grab the applications," the guy said in a very monotone voice. It took him a few minutes before he returned with two applications and pens. The girls walked over to their table and began to fill them out, still annoyed by the cashier's attitude.

"If we get these jobs, we are not going to be like him." Sara snapped back at the cashier and clicked her tongue. His shadow even looked like death.

After promptly filling out their applications, they returned them to the cashier. He grabbed them, looked them over, and gave the girls a smile. "You're hired!"

***** 

Author's Note:

Hey all!  Hope that you are all enjoying the novel thus far.  Would love to hear any thoughts or feedback that you have on our two protagonists: Donovan and Noah!

If you have any questions about anything (writing advice/questions about my writing sessions/about me/randomness), make sure to leave them down below.  I made a post on Instagram about this and got some questions, but since I haven't had time to film yet, there's still time to ask! (:

Lots of love,

Ali xoxo