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Boris sat outside on the bench and watched the school bus full of children run and skip into Busy Burger for an early lunch and milkshakes. He knew they’d just ended their class trip down to the State Capitol. The weather had cleared and it was warm. He removed his heavy flannel shirt and let the sun beat down on his back. He lit a cigarette as he watched a young fast food worker walk out of the side door and light up a cigarette. He looked like a dumb teenager. It was time to make friends.
Boris stood, stretched his long legs and walked over to the young man who was sitting on the curb frantically texting on his phone. "Hey, dude, bet you had to get away from all those kids. It has to be crazy in there."
The young man had a bad case of acne, gauges in both ears, bleached blond hair and a little eye makeup. He smiled up at Boris and said, "Yeah. It's loud in there. I had to get out. Take a break,” he said as he returned to his phone.
Boris sat beside the guy and asked, "What do all those kids eat? They have a set lunch or something?"
The teenager kept texting and said, “Yeah. They get either a cheeseburger or a chicken sandwich. Everybody gets a chocolate shake. I’ve got to get my ass back in there and start making the shakes," he said as he hit send on his phone. He stared at his phone, hoping for a quick return message.
Boris fingered the whiskers on his chin and said amicably. “Tell you what, dude. How 'bout I work for you for about an hour? I've been thinking about applying to Busy Burger anyway so I’ll just give it a trial run."
The teenager's eyes lit up, "Man, that'd be great. I'm having a fight with my girlfriend and I need to text her back."
"You ain't gonna win, you know that, right? You don't never win a fight with a woman," Boris said, a note of impatience in his tone.
The teenager sighed deeply and said, "You're probably right. But I gotta give her a chance.”
Boris stood up and said, "Okay, just gimme your shirt and I’ll take your place for about an hour. Or maybe shorter if somebody pisses me off."
Once again, the teenager stared at Boris. "You sure, man? Those kids are gonna drive you crazy. It's going to be loud in there, louder than you can possibly imagine."
Boris gave him a wide grin and said, "Nah, it won't be that bad. At least not for long," he promised as he slipped the guy’s shirt on. "The chocolate milkshakes are served from the machine, right?"
"Yeah, they're all gettin' chocolate and everything you need is in the stainless refrigerator under the machine," the teen said as Boris entered through the back door. The kid never looked up from his phone. He was texting non-stop and oblivious to everything around.