Bzzt.

Low Battery 5% of battery remaining

> Low Power Mode

> Cancel

The filling part of the battery icon turned a sickly yellow, the kind that had the sheer visual acidity to burn the retinas from eye sockets if stared at for too long. The phone immediately darkened its screen, leaving only that battery icon, the highlighted Speaker button, and the red End Call button visible in the outside light of the sunset.

"And just think of the odds! I mean, he shows up only once a week–if I had gone to turn in the project tomorrow, I would've totally missed him!"

"Yeah, I mean, that's some good luck. Nice to see old friends."

"Oh my gosh, and we used to be totally joined at the hip back at camp. 'Friends' would be an understatement. It's really funny–when we started talking, it was like nothing changed. He's like, still that same goofy kid. And he still totally knew how to call me out, too."

"Ha, wow. Kinda sounds like us."

"Yeah, kind of! He's kinda like you but a cute boy. Also not so prickly. More like a marshmallow. An awkward marshmallow. One that you want to heat over the fire."

"Ha. Well, I… uh, I…" Xanthippe struggled to come up with words to respond. She slid the tip of her index finger's nail across the pad of her thumb. She wondered, if she pressed a little harder and slid a little quicker, would her thumb slice open?

"Psh, yeah, I know, you're 'not even gonna try to analyze that one'. You sound kinda off today. You doing alright? Work going okay?"

She looked up. Above the roofs of several nearby restaurants and littered with incandescent corporate logos on giant pillars, unusual amounts of smog and clouds billowed into the setting sun, the fuzzy pinks entwined between greys like fiberglass insulation.

"Um, I dunno. I'm a little tired." She slid her nail across her thumb, again. "So what, you gonna ask him out or something?"

"I already did, actually! My mom's gonna be psyched that I'm finally going on a date. I think she was kinda getting the wrong idea from us hanging out so much over break…"

"Aha. Yeah. Can't have that." She broke skin. A drop of deep red bulged at the end of a thin line.

"Really, though, I wouldn't even call it a first date. I'm serious, Xan, it's like we already know each other so well. Though I'm def gonna grill him about being a Marine Bio major. Because, seriously, he used to be so grossed out by that stuff."

"…yeah. That's crazy." She pressed her thumb against the black server's apron that covered her knees. The dark red liquid smushed across the coarse polyester, soon dried, and blended in perfectly with the miscellaneous food stains that always appeared at this point in her shift.

"…you sure you're okay?"

"…yeah. Like I said. Just tired."

"Cuz… well, we don't have to talk about this. If you don't want."

"No. It's fine." Xan massaged her temples and sighed. "I'm really happy for you, Audrey. This all sounds like exactly what you've been looking for."

"Okay, well… if you say so."

"We're still hanging out tomorrow, right?"

"Oh, um, actually–that was the only day that he had free this week. Could we rain check for another time? I'll seriously make it happen next time, it's just that this came up, and… you know–"

"No, no." Xan massaged the bridge between her eyes with her thumb and forefinger. "That's fine. It's… not like I'm really doing anything."

"Tomorrow, you mean?"

"Sure." Xan heard a heavy door behind her groan open and heavy footsteps approaching. "Hey, I gotta go. Coworker just stepped out to take his turn."

"Okay! Have a good rest of your shift! Love you!"

"Night, Audrey." Xan grimaced. "I love–"

The iPhone beeped out a downwards trill, and the screen blacked out.

Half-heartedly, Xan pressed the home button. Nothing. She pressed the power button. Nothing again. She pressed the home button again, over and over again, absent-mindedly staring into the reflecting black, cobweb-like cracks marring the surface. Her other hand gripped the rough cement of the curb, and felt the sandpaper texture scratch the inside of her palm.

Her attention diverted for a moment as a pair of heavy fake-leather non-slip black boots walked up to her side, accompanied with deep breaths and the waft of a lit cigarette.

"Still talking to that girl, huh?" Hasan's gruff voice was muffled slightly by the smoke he exhaled.

Xan tossed her phone onto the asphalt, where it landed with the same trademark cracking noise that had given it all the damage it already suffered, then leaned back with her palms behind her. "Yeah. I guess."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"You want one?" A large, hairy palm held out an open carton of cigarettes down towards her cheek.

"Nuh-uh. But thanks." Xan shook her head. "Honestly, you don't have to offer. You know I'm still trying to quit."

"I know. Doesn't mean I won't ask." Hasan bent down in a squat, his white apron crumpling down onto the cement, picking up rubble and smudge, his 'Harold' nametag barely holding on by a millimeter of safety pin. "My wife thinks I should quit, too."

"You should probably listen to her. Shit'll kill you."

"Everything kills you." As the smoke from his breath wafted up, the sun finally disappeared behind the ocean. "And the best part about living in America, living here, is that you get to choose what shit you want to kill you, and exactly how fast."

Xan rolled her head to the side to look at Hasan, popping her neck along the way. Despite what he was saying, his eyes were soft and relaxed, rolling up slightly as he drew in. "S'there something about being forty-year-old men that obligates you all to give young adults meaningless advice?"

"Fine, fine." Hasan moved from a squat to a sit, his belly jutting out into the street almost as far as his beard. "But even my old ass can see that that girl is killing you, too. Quicker than cigarettes."

"It's not like that." Xan exhaled and laid all the way down onto the cement. "I just need to find the right way to think about it–the way to think about it that'll make it hurt less so I can just enjoy it for what it is."

Hasan smiled through his thick, salt-and-pepper beard, and raised an eyebrow. "And that's why we older folks are compelled to give you advice–you all still believe you can think your way out of your own head."

"Okay, well, now you're just swapping words around to sound smart."

"Ha," he laughed, stood up, meandered over to Xan's discarded phone, scooped it up, and dropped it on her apron. "Nothin' wrong with liking things that kill you, Xan. Maybe just pick something that kills you either a lot faster or a lot slower. And especially less painfully."

"Fuck your cigarettes, Hasan." Xan smiled, slid the phone into her back pocket, stood up, leaned against the side of the dumpster, letting the blood rush out of her head with a faint dizzy spell, and dusted herself off. "Still quiet in there?"

"Yeah. Record silence for a Thursday night. Nadiya is flipping out about the numbers tonight, though, so you'd probably better get back in there quick."

"Of course she is." Sighing, Xan retied her apron, the fraying black ends tickling her fingers, and trudged back towards the heavy metal door. "Like numbers're gonna save us from nobody wanting a goddamn Denny's in this city."

The kitchen was pristine, likely just re-mopped–in the middle of the 'rush' of all times–and the dishwasher was running. Nadiya frantically rushed around the work area, ignoring Xan as she walked through, and Xan was happy to be ignored as she pushed open the swing door that opened into the dining area–also spotless.

She scanned the room, sighing at the lack of any obvious distractions, until she spotted two heads of dark hair whispering to each other over in the waiting area, still having not been seated. Dusting the dirt off her hands onto her apron, she half-jogged over to where they sat.

"Hey there, sorry for the wait." The two girls jumped back, taken aback by what Xan estimated was likely the very first person they saw appear in the entire restaurant. "Welcome to Denny's. You guys here to pick up a takeout order?"

The shorter, older one of the two shook her head. "Er, no, we were actually hoping to get a booth." She looked around at the empty dining area. "You are open, right? I saw the neon sign but it kinda looks like…"

"No, no, you're fine. Just follow me, right this way, okay?" Xan forced a smidge of enthusiasm and picked up a couple shiny menus from the wood-veneered holder. She led the two girls to a booth that was perfectly spaced from the register–far enough that Xan could maintain some privacy, but close enough that it was a short walk between them and the kitchen, and and still leaving the view out of the window from the register unobstructed.

"Thanks, this'll be perfect," The older sister–as Xan figured they must be siblings–confirmed cheerily.

"Yep yep. I'm… uh, Annie, and I'll be your server tonight." She had to grit her teeth when using the 'waitress' name with which Nadiya had designated her–because, apparently, 'Xanthippe' sounded too unfriendly. "Drinks?"

"Er, we're good. Just waters, I think."

Xan looked over at the other sister–while they shared the same jet-black shiny straight hair, the younger one was taller, lithe, her arms clearly toned even underneath the oversized men's tee that draped over her shoulders. Her cheeks were a little flushed and her eyes a little red, but even without makeup, Xan couldn't help but think–she was certainly one of the prettiest girls that had ever shown up here, of all places.

"Sure, sure." Xan pretended to write something in the dinky little notepad produced from the black apron. "Say, I… don't think I've seen either you around town before. You guys travelling together, or…?"

The older sister smiled and raised an eyebrow. "Uh, no, sorry. Though we are from the East Side. You know, the barrio. Just wanted to, uh… get out of the usual places for a little bit."

"No, that's cool. That's cool. I'll… be right back. With the waters." Xan bit her lip and turned away, focusing really hard on not walking away too awkwardly. Her own head felt strange on top of her head.

Jesus, gotta not let this Audrey stuff get to me, she thought as she drew in a deep breath. 'You from around here', of course they are, stupid. C'mon, just be normal. She pressed one glass against the water dispenser and slapped herself with the other hand.

"Aaand there y'all go." She blinked and she was back at the table again, face-to-face with the two sisters. She paused for a minute, trying to process the time warp, staring off into space and narrowing her eyes.

"Excuse me?" The older sister waved a hand in front of Xan's face. "You doing alright? I don't think we're ready to order quite yet, so…"

"Ah, no, of course. Sorry. Take your time. I'll circle back in a bit." Xan floated back to the register, confirmed that she was out of sight, and buried her face into the keyboard.

Without thinking, she flipped her phone from out of her pocket, and once again took another few button presses to realize that it was dead as a doornail. Groaning perhaps too loudly, she reached under the counter to fish for the spare lightning charger that the one girl from the day shift thought she hid so cleverly. Xan pushed her whole arm through the drawer, and with her ear pointed towards the two residents of the booth, she began to pick up words from their hushed conversation.

"…you're sure? I mean, sometimes that other line kinda comes in just barely, and then your brain starts playing tricks on you." The older sister's voice papered a calm facade over obvious concern.

"I'm serious, Sadie. God, I wish I hadn't thrown it away. Then maybe you'd believe me." The younger sister finally spoke, breathy and strained.

"No, no, I believe you, I just… well, this is a big deal. And I want to make sure everything's confirmed, y'know, before you tell anybody. Especially him."

"God dammit." The younger sister pressed her hands to her face. "Did it feel this surreal when it happened to you? Like you're disconnected from your own body, like you're just watching some movie where terrible things happen to somebody who kinda looks like you?"

"…not really." The older sister hesitated. "Listen, sis, I'm sure it feels weird, but… we'll figure it out. Take it slow. Just… talk to me. Even if that's all you can do, right now."

Xan's fingers finally curled around the frayed wire of the off-brand charging cable, and the copper wire wormed its way into the razor-thin wound on her thumb.

And so, she bled just a little bit more.