Pizzagirl

Excerpt from Summer

One surprising thing about this place is that every employee smokes.  From mama bear Etta to pipsqueak Tim who looks 10 but is 16.  And they’re not shy about it, either.  One minute they’re smiling at a customer writing his or her order. The moment they turn the corner they pick up their cigarette take a deep breath in of smoke.  They take their sweet time putting the order tag up for the cooks then take one more long pull.  No shit, like its fresh mountain air.  Carefully set it into the big overcrowded yellow ashtray before again going onstage in a rush.  Like they just jogged a distance to make sure your mushroom calzone is steaming hot when you get it. That's the only thing on their mind.

If there are worse things than being 18 and a delivery driver at Pizza Delux please tell me.  I guess things have gotten worse because the new guy, the black guy.  Outside of his incredible volume, he thinks I don’t like him because he’s black. Isn’t race so fun. If we were married that would make for some awkward family gatherings but I've never been in a relationship and I'm not going to start just be because someone likes me.  You’d think someone so loud might actually sonic boom his crush to me directly, but not our Roger.  He goes to Etta so that she can tell me.