The drive-through of the Burger King is windowless and tight. There is no bright lights flashing and just a small ash black speaker separating me and my server. A small camera the size of an orange sits atop of it. Then, a distorted voice sounds through that gradually turns pleasant.
“Good morning Sir! Welcome to Burger King! We have our breakfast promotions this morning, which includes hash browns and spicy bacon. May I have your order please?” the voice spoke.
The lady on the other side of the speaker spoke highly of their services and even tries to up-sell me on their meals. Even when I insisted on just ordering ala-carte. I wanted to have a small bite as I cannot eat much in the morning. My acid reflex acts up sometimes and I feel full in the very early mornings.
Nevertheless, I eventually manage to get what I came for. A regular cheeseburger without ketchup. I had gotten a lot of flak for not including ketchup in my burgers as a special order over the years. And usually I will just succumb to peer pressure and order it the way it is anyway. But today I am alone and therefore I can have it my way.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
The lady beckons me to wait for my turn patiently as several of the orders in front are large orders. I appreciate her honesty and tell her that I am fine with waiting. But truly I may be late for my appointment at eight am. I look down at my smartphone, it is seven-thirty. Cutting it close once again. I never change, I thought to myself.
I open the storage unit where my wallet is sitting nearly empty. I grab the remaining one dollar notes and empty out the coins. It is just barely enough for the small tiny pathetic burger. But I am delighted. It is just what I needed.
After waiting in line for about fifteen minutes I grew tired of the wait. Then, my smartphone rings unexpectedly-
“Is this Eden? Have you reach the location? We are eagerly awaiting your results. You know this will likely make or break the project. Be very careful when auditing the financier.”
I answer with calm assurance that I will do my job properly. It is Ashley on the other end of the call. Unlike her usual jovial character, she has an extremely serious tone. This must go through no matter what without a hitch, I thought.
The car in front of me makes his way off and I turn to the counter. There, my server hands me the bag with my cheeseburger in it alongside packets of ketchup.