Room Gremlin

By the time the bars started shutting down, Freddy told Gemma, “Well, that’s half of the ones I know. We’ll get to the next half next weekend.” They were linked arm in arm, giggling their way down the sidewalk.

“I am starving,” Freddy declared.

Gemma nodded, her stomach growling in agreement. “Same.”

They headed toward the golden arches, only to find the lobby closed and the drive-thru the only option.

Gemma stopped at the curb, eyeing the line of cars. “What are we supposed to do now?”

Freddy grinned. “Follow my lead.”

They joined a small crowd of other late-night bar goers—the only difference were they were in cars—slipping into the drive-thru lane on foot and advancing with the line as if they belonged there.

Gemma lowered her voice. “Um, will they actually let us do this?”

Freddy just winked. “We’re about to find out.”

They walked up and stood at the glowing order speaker. Freddy leaned in, all confidence. “We’d like an order of fries and two chocolate shakes, please.”

 

A crackling voice replied, “You can’t walk through the drive-thru. This is not a walk-up.”

 

Freddy clutched her chest in mock distress. “But dear sir, if you don’t help us, we’ll starve. I don’t know how we’ll ever make it home.”

 

Gemma doubled over, grabbing her stomach. “I’m so hungry!” she wailed dramatically.

 

A car behind them started honking. “Let them have some food so we can order!” someone shouted.

 

Gemma, quick on her feet, pulled out her phone and ran back to snap a selfie with the guy who threw up a peace sign for the camera, then hurried back to Freddy, who was still pleading their case.

 

“But we’re cute!” Freddy insisted on the speaker.

 

Laughter echoed from inside. They heard someone—probably the manager—call out, “Just take their order! We’re backing up out there!”

 

Freddy shot Gemma a triumphant grin as the worker finally relented and took their order.

They walked up to the window and paid, just like the cars before them. When their order was ready, Gemma insisted that the crew at the window take a picture with them. The workers laughed and squeezed in for the photo, fries and milkshakes in hand.

Dipping fries into chocolate shakes turned out to be the highlight of the night—better than any bar or round of pool. They wandered back to the dorm, sitting on the steps outside, eating and talking until the fries were gone and the shakes were nothing but icy slush.

Still laughing, faces flushed from the night out, they finally headed upstairs. Gemma changed and climbed into Tony’s sweatshirt, then curled up in bed with her phone. Freddy, meanwhile, kicked off her shoes, flopped onto her bed, and was snoring within seconds.

Gemma scrolled through the photos on her phone, grinning at the memories already made. She posted one of her and Freddy posing with the drive-thru crew, the shot of the guy flashing a peace sign, and a selfie of her and Freddy, cheeks flushed and eyes bright, right before they’d come upstairs. Her caption read:

First Saturday in Colorado and I survived!

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Back home in Oklahoma, Tony lay in bed in his tiny apartment, the glow of his phone cutting through the darkness. The ping of a notification jolted him. He opened F******k, and there she was—Shortcake, looking happy, surrounded by new faces. She’d only been gone four days, but seeing her like this made it feel like a lifetime.

Toby hit the like button, staring at the screen for a moment longer. This is what he wanted for her, right? Happiness. Friends. A life beyond home. He set his phone aside, rolled over, and finally let himself drift off to sleep.

Back in Colorado, Gemma sat looking at her phone. She saw Tony’s like and, on impulse, texted him: Good night, Tony. She didn’t wait for an answer—just rolled over, pulled the sweatshirt tighter around her, and let herself slip into sleep.

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Freddy was up at 6 a.m., already lacing up her running shoes and stretching by the door.

Gemma sat up slowly, squinting at her roommate. Freddy didn’t look like she’d had more than one drink the night before, while Gemma’s head felt like it was about to explode.

“Want to go for a jog with me?” Freddy asked, cheerful as ever.

Gemma stared at her in mock horror. “Excuse me? Me—go jogging?” She grinned and held up one leg. “Um, my leg. I don’t run. And if I do, you’d better run faster, because something is chasing me. With those legs,”—she pointed at Freddy’s—“you’d leave me in the dust.”

Freddy laughed. “If there’s a zombie outbreak, you think I’m tripping you?”

Gemma shrugged. “You trip me, and I’m zombie food. That’s just the law of the jungle.”

Freddy laughed, shaking her head. “Don’t worry, Em—I’d only trip you if you slowed us down.”

Gemma flopped back into her pillow with a groan. “SEE. I guess I’ll just stay in bed and let the apocalypse take me.”

Freddy grabbed her keys and water bottle, still grinning. “Suit yourself. But if you hear screaming, it’s probably just me outrunning the undead. Or maybe just a frat boy on a scooter.”

Gemma waved her off, eyes already closing again. “Good luck out there. If you make it back, bring coffee.”

Freddy shot her a thumbs-up as she headed out the door. “Will do, room gremlin. Try not to die of dehydration before I get back.”

Instead of going back to sleep, Gemma called her mom. Deb picked up on the second ring. “Hey, honey, is everything good?”

“Just seeing if you guys made it home.” Gemma didn’t want to admit she just needed to hear her mom’s voice.

“We just pulled into Florence a few minutes ago,” Deb replied. “Your dad and Kyle took turns driving on the way back—and I think they did a lot more than the speed limit when they caught me napping.”

“Sounds like them. Try riding on the back of a motorcycle with Kyle sometime,” Gemma replied, rolling her eyes fondly.

Dee laughed. “No thank you. That’s all you, sweetheart. Hang on, let me put you on speaker so you can say hey to your dad and brother.”

“Hey, Bug,” her dad called.

“Hey, Dad. Better slow down before you get a ticket,” she teased.

Then came Kyle’s voice. “Thanks a lot, Gemma. Now I have to give Tony fifty bucks.”

“Serves you right,” she shot back, grinning. She could practically see him close his eyes, pretending to be aggravated.

“Okay, honey, sorry to cut this short—we’re just pulling in at home and I need to get out of this van and take a proper nap. One where I don’t have to worry about flashing lights or having wings. We love you.”

“Love you guys, too.” Gemma hung up and lay back, waiting for Freddy to get back.