The Robbery

My eyes shifted around the diner. Different assortments of people filled the booths and tables around us. A somewhat crowded group huddled around a long table in the middle. A big, yet plastic, trophy sat at the end of their table, with a little white cross sitting next to it, words of the eternal scripture carved below.

I leave the Christians and search the room more.

Anything to help me feel better about this?

Across the room. A booth just like ours. A crew of friends sits eating their midnight meal of pancakes and eggs. Three males, one female. One of the guys has bright green hair, and the female is rocking a lousy ass red and black duo. Each has a band shirt and dark beanie: one Green Day, two State Champs, and one Falling In Reverse. We were looking like a good old regular cool punk crew. Hair crazy, shirts grooving, and then the final product of the modern-day punk soul, a dark beanie reading off the code of your hidden loss of the bands you thought would be your anchor till the end of time until you got hit by their sudden break-up. All you could do was sit in your room and mourn the loss of the only emo-black parade you'll ever be welcomed to.

"Stop staring," Garret murmurs, kicking my foot under the table.

"They look just like us. Or what we should look like…." I state, looking over my friendly crew member's outfits.

For fucks sake, we look like we're a part of the fucking pineapple express

"Band shirts mean concerts, concerts mean tickets, and what do tickets mean my lovely birds?" Theo questioned, lowering his glasses to nose length enthusiastically.

"We're not your fucking birds, you methhead," Garrett mumbled while scribbling more numbers down on the napkin.

"Will you two please shut the fuck up! Now, are we going to do this or what?" Charlie asks, inhaling deeply, trying to emasculate the panic attack that braised through his brown eyes.

"Yeah.." Garret responds, his head finally rising from the table and joining us again.

"Celine?" Charlie questions, looking over at himself.

"Yeah, let's get this shit over with," Theo sassed, running a comb through his greased-down bleached locks.

"Celine?" Garrett asks, joining in with Charlie.

"I'm ready. You should be proud of me, Garrett. It's my moment to prove my right on the king thrown." Theo says, "and for Uma Thurman's sake, answer the fucking question, Celine."

"Yes!" I anxiously stutter out.

Of course, this is the only choice we could come up with

"I know it's stupid." I feel Gary whisper over my shoulder. "I mean, we're fucking teenagers! Of course, we're stupid." We both let out a chuckle. "Plus, wouldn't you rather make mistakes when you're young so you can learn, or do you want just to be another replica of our parents, never learn, and wait till infants are born to fuck up?"

I look up to see Theo and Charlie masked and ready but still letting their inner self glow through their charmful eyes.

The show must go on

"Pretty smart, huh?" Theo asks, swinging his toothpick around his mouth.

I take the cue and scan the restaurant once more.

Christians in the middle

Rich white by the windows

Punks in the booths

Loners at the bar

"Pretty smart." I wink his way, Theo's pearly whites smiling back.

"Remember, same as before," Charlie starts in.

"What? There's never been a before, Charlie!" Gary laughs, rolling his eyes.

"You're crowd control; we handle the employees." Charlie finishes in, pointing Theo and I's way.

"Holy fucking shit, I should have never shown you guys that movie," Gary complains, "we're forever cursed, I fucking swear."

"Baby Gary, we've been cursed since birth." Theo chuckles Gary's way.

We all let out the last laugh to keep the euphoria going and hide our endless internal panic. I observe my friends as we prepare for the next scene in each other's lives. Each is running from home but finding each other and creating our own.

I love my family.

My naturally fucked up but loving family.

I set my hand on the table and swung my body to face the diner society.

I hear Charlie's father's gun click from my right corner. The crumple of a paper bag as Gary attempts his cover-up design. I feel the dry object swift against my left hand and look down to see one of the covered-up guns between myself and the booth seat.

"It's not real, that one," Gary whispers over my shoulder, "It's just a little plastic water one. Always need backup props."

I take a deep breath and let the scene set in.

"I love you, Pumpkin," I say, looking toward Theo.

"I love you, Hunny Bunny." Theo leans my way and lightly smiles back, placing his hand upon mine.

Action

Theo takes the lead, standing up on the table, holding his professional Pumpkin persona gun out in the spotlight for everyone to see.

"Everyone be cool. This is a robbery!"

I jump on and let my hair-triggered, loose-cannon Honey Bunny fly.

"Any of you fuckin' pricks move, and I'll execute every last motherfuckin' one of ya!"