Belief and seeing are both often wrong.

These distances are much longer then they seem when you're driving, Sam thought as he peddled up the hill to work. There was a cold wind in the air and the road was icy with potholes here and there. I chose the wrong time of the year to get a D.U.I. he thought bitterly. It had gone all as he thought it would after he got pulled over. He had given the cop his license and registration and then the cop had started asking questions like weather he had been drinking, or on drugs, and it had all gone downhill from there. They had done a breathalyzer, then brought him in, impounded the van. It was almost a blessing, he had thought in his drunken haze was he sat in the back of the cruiser. It was never going to pass inspection, it had that red 'r', maybe this was some kind of crazy blessing in disguise. He'd borrowed the money from his mom to get the van out, then he turned the van into a junkyard for 300 dollars. Might as well get something from it.

Sam went up to the stoplight that led to the diner. The sky was a ominous grey as he looked up. Everyone's going to be talking about it, that much was sure. Andrea had broken up with him when she found out he had in fact, been in jail, when he was supposed to go over and see her. In a way he thought it was something of a perfect excuse. How could he have known that he would have gotten pulled over? That at that exact time there would be someone waiting for him. Maybe there was an alternate version of the very same story playing out in some other timeline where he didn't get pulled over at all, where the whole thing was just fiction. He hadn't said much to her when she told him, and the impact of it hadn't really been felt on him as he was still dealing with the van and everything else. He could tell though, once it hit it wouldn't be pretty. He'd be sitting in the dark,at the computer, nursing a pint or some large vessel of alcohol, and it would all hit him. That she'd left him, that he was back to square one, the same lame, depressing, sexless place he'd been for so many years. Except this would be worse. He had never been much of a 'Look on the bright side.' kind of guy, he could see himself going off. Spiraling down into the unknown.


Sam swung his bike into the diner parking lot, feeling strange already.  Gary was gone, he had heard. This should be a good thing, he thought as he pulled in. He walked his bike toward the shed, as he approached he noticed Mike sitting there, 'Hey what's up man?' He said as he approached. 'Not much, just getting in.' Sam said bringing his bike around the back of the shed. Mike was trying to make conversation, it was obvious. Mike was part of the same class of weirdo's who would talk to you on the bus and try to ply out your life story, or the people on airplanes who would try to talk to you. Sam pulled his bike into the back, and walked it around back. He didn't think anyone would take it, and even if they did, he lived close enough that he could walk home. He looked at his phone, ten minutes to four. I guess ill talk to this guy, Sam thought as he walked into the shed. 'So Zach got that assistant manager job.' Mike said as he entered. 'Yup.' Sam replied. He put his backpack in the back. He had a pint of vodka in it, and he was hoping to transfer that pint to the walk-in freezer later on. Maybe at 9 or so, so that by the time he got out at midnight it would be nice and cold. Of course he would likely sneak in a few sips at quarter of, to make the ride back slightly more bearable.'I'm glad he got it though, he earned it.' Sam remarked, breaking the silence. Mike said nothing but his face betrayed his emotions. It was natural, he was Alex's man after all, they were thick as thieves. Sam wondered if maybe he had promoted Zach knowing that it would win him some loyalty for promoting someone who had been there for a while, and who everyone liked. It would also make it easier to blame someone when he fucked up, Sam could see his game.

Alex was cleaver, and he used it to make up for his lack of intelligence and lack of competence. 'Hey do you have any bud?' Mike asked, out of the blue. Mike was always very blunt about such things which Sam had found somewhat unnerving. Sure a certain casualness about recreational drug use, could be refreshing but Mike seemed to have no filter. 'I don't have any right now, I could probably get some.' Sam said casually. 'Alright,' Mike replied. Sam got up and walked through the back door, Mike has got to be some kind of a spy, like a jailhouse snitch. Or one of those low level crack dealers who get busted and then cut a deal with the P.D. to be allowed back into circulation if they rat on their bosses. Except this time the 'bosses' in question were his own co-workers, doesn't get lower then that, Sam thought as he walked inside.

The familiar scent of bacon, eggs, and general must greeted him as he walked inside. The prep area was surprisingly clean, and the back sink remarkably free of pots and pans. That's ok, I'm sure there will be a shit ton of prep to be done that they left us, he thought as he walked to the time clock and punched in his number. He saw Zach now on the line, there were only a couple of slips on the board, just an order of fries and a soup. 'How's it going, man?' Sam said as he walked unto the line. 'Pretty good.' Zach said. 'Not too much going on.' Sam went out the door into the dining area, no menus that he could see. He walked back into the kitchen, 'Hey do you have a peice?' he asked Zach. 'Yeah.' Zach replied. He had had weed, it was true, just not for Mike.

This is going to be an awkward situation, Zach thought as he took the bowl Sam passed him. He had told Kevin that he could him and Andrea when he got off, which coincidentally was midnight, and Sam was still here. As far as he could tell he hadn't reacted much to the breakup, hadn't said much about it beyond a few remarks. But if she was there, with Kevin, if it was in his face, who knew. Humans are unpredictable, they could be one way one minute, and another the next. It was hard to say with Sam. It was a little passed, 11:30 and he had been out here for how long? it was hard to say. Time always seemed relative in the shed. You could be out there for what seemed like a couple minutes and it would be only a half an hour, you could go out there and smoke a joint for what seemed like an eternity and it would only be five minutes. Zach took a long drag of his smoke, pondering his next move. He had been friends with Zach long before Sam had started working at the diner, and they had already made plans. He was in the right, Sam would be getting off, he would meet them, they would go to his place, everything would be fine.


Sam looked out the window on the kitchen door at the time, almost ten minutes to eleven. Perfect, he thought, and walked over to the freezer. He had hidden his pint of vodka behind the frozen beef liver, nudged in the back. He walked in now and took it out, taking a large gulp. Long fucking day, he thought. It had been long too, tedious. They had cooked the orders well, but the waitstaff had put several thing's in wrong causing them to have to remake several tickets mid-rush. Still they had done alright, managed to get everything out one time. Sam felt the familiar warmth spread to his belly as he took another swig of the vodka, only about 8 minutes left, he thought to himself. He found himself obsessed with time, everything about it. What time it was, how much time had passed, it had always fascinated him. How people in the first year of the 18th century would be amazed at how people in the first half of the 20th century lived, the different eras and ages. I'm going to see her at some point, the thought hit him strongly. She's going to go with Kevin, it was only the logical conclusion. Can I live with that? Can I be the bigger man? Unlikely. It just seemed to much like defeat to him, to let his enemy parade their victory in front of him.

Time to go back, Sam thought as he sat in the cold. There could be a few ticket's hanging in the printer, Sam thought as he emerged from the freezer. The printer was empty Sam could see as he walked unto the line, Zach was gone too, the line was empty. Weird, he thought. She was there, sitting at the closest stool, 'Hey,' he said. 'Hey.' She replied.