Fast Food for a Thought

Fortunately, the hospital was within walking distance of Caleb's waking location. The fact that he ended up at Jason's party the previous night was a poor judgment call, but not one he had the right to sulk over. His genitals were burning as he came to, and panic swiftly washed over him. He was still terribly hung over, but sober enough to know what he needed to do.

His left hand felt the opposing side of the foreign air mattress, which was empty and icy. Rebecca was gone. He searched his pants with hopes he would find a phone number or at least some sort of note, but all he could muster out (aside from his wallet) was an open box of condoms and a crumpled receipt.

She wasn't just gone, she had left.

Rebecca felt it was necessary to “lose” her phone (this way, she had an excuse). She threw it in the trash as she passed the McDonald's around the corner from Jason's house. There wasn't a likely chance she'd see Caleb again, but she didn't want to take the risk of embarrassment. Her cell phone was very beat-up and the purple casing barely clung to it anyway, so the financial loss momentarily seemed a bit less significant.

For once, she actually felt something with him. Something just as terrifying as it was wonderful. Most people would be insane to pass up such an opportunity. Becca wasn't insane, she just always thought ahead...perhaps a little TOO far ahead. There was no way such incredible chemistry between two people could last. She recalled listening to her parents' sparkly-eyed conversation numerous times about how they first met at Fisherman's Wharf in the most perfect conditions imaginable, and the last time they told that story was 4 months before their bitter divorce.

Why put the effort in if that person is destined to find something better? If true love exists, it must only manifest in the most boring manner imaginable.

Caleb felt nothing of the sort for Rebecca. She was just “there”, but he was always open to new possibilities (despite being on his way to the hospital under suspicion that he may have gotten any variety of STDs – there was no implication that any condoms were actually used). As he randomly started cycling through the contact list on his phone during his stroll, he noticed that Rebecca's name showed up. What could it hurt? As he turned the corner and yellow arches appeared in the sky, he pressed the “Send” button.

An unusually specific pop song started sounding from the trash can. Caleb chuckled, out of equal parts disbelief and embarrassment. He pressed “End” and it went silent.

“What a slut”, he muttered to himself.