“Thanks.” As Alex was picking up the slip of paper with her selected song, she continued to say, “Well, I guess I’ll take it up to the DJ.”
Before Alex was able to stand up, Miles said, “I’ll take it up for you.”
Alex held out the slip of paper for Miles to take while saying, “Okay, thanks.”
As Miles took the paper he said, “No problem.” Miles then turned and walked towards the DJ.
Doug reached out his hand towards Alex while saying, “Alex, let me have the book. Tonight I think I’ll give singing a shot too.” Alex gave Doug a grin before handing him the book.
As the evening progressed several topics were brought up and discussed in a lengthy conversation. Everyone at Alex’s table got to sing two, three or four songs along with several other people in the bar. A few times during the night Trudy and then later Brandy noticed when an attractive man would walk by the table, Alex would stare at him as if she was attracted to him. Neither Brandy nor Trudy said anything to Alex about it. Also during the night, Trudy had warned Alex about drinking too much, but Alex failed to take it seriously.
Everyone stayed until the bar closed. Miles was pacing himself and was relatively sober compared to anyone else in the bar.
Once the bar was about to close and the bright lights were turned on, the workers shouted out, “Let’s go people! It’s time to go!”
As Alex and her group were standing up Miles asked, “Who all drove here?”
Alex, Doug and Ben said, “I drove here.”
“I don’t believe you three are in any shape to drive,” Miles said. “I drive a van and it will fit all of us. I’ll bring you three back tomorrow to get your vehicles after everyone has sobered up.”
Alex motioned for Miles to go and said in her completely drunken speech, “Lead the way.”
Trudy saw Alex’s purse hanging on the chair and before Alex had a chance to walk away from the table, Trudy gestured towards the purse while saying, “Alex, don’t forget your purse.”
“I can’t forget that,” Alex agreed before picking up the purse and putting it over her shoulder. Everyone then left the bar.
Chapter Seven
Saturday, October 23 at 9:10 A.M., Richard was studying in the common room of his and Doug’s dorm room when Doug left his bedroom.
Richard looked at Doug before asking, “Where did you go last night, dude?”
“A few of us went to O’Shannon’s pub.”
“And you didn’t even think to invite me?”
“It was a spur of the moment decision to even go, and I misplaced my phone, so I couldn’t call you.”
“Dude, check your jacket. You wore it three days ago and it was the last time I saw you with it.”
“Ooh, I didn’t even think to check there. Thanks for the hint.”
As Doug was turning towards the bedroom, Richard said, “No problem, dude.”
Doug walked back into his bedroom and shut the door behind him. After he walked up to the closet, he checked the pockets of his winter coat. When he didn’t find the phone, he checked the pockets of a lighter jacket and found it in the right pocket. He looked at the phone and saw that it was set on vibrate. He also noticed that there were ten missed calls and a few text messages. Doug checked to see who had called. When he saw Elizabeth (Liz) Wrights’ name among the missed calls he grinned and hit the button to call her back.
Liz was running on a treadmill at a moderately crowded fitness club when her phone rang. She stopped running and looked to see who was calling before answering with, “You have a lot of nerve calling me after standing me up.”
“It wasn’t like that, Liz,” Doug said.
Liz said in an unpleasant tone, “I tried calling you Thursday evening and twice last night, so tell me. What was more important than answering my calls or keeping our date?”
“Well, about not answering your phone calls, I just found my phone after misplacing it for two days. As for missing our date, wasn’t our date for tonight?” He then cringed for making his last statement.
“Our date was for last night, and you were to pick me up at my grandparents’ house at seven o’clock.”
“Liz, I’m so sorry that I went brain dead about our date last night, and please let me make it up to you tonight.”
Doug noticed a short silence before Liz said, “You can pick me up at my grandparents’ house at noon. We can have lunch and if you don’t show up this time, don’t bother calling me again.”
“I’ll be there,” Doug assured her. Liz hung up without saying another word. Doug then clipped the phone to his pants and left his room.
When Richard saw that Doug had his phone, he said, “Good, dude, you found it.”
“I did, and I also discovered that I missed my date with Liz last night.”
“That explains the phone call from her I got last night.”
“Liz called you?”
“She called me about eight last night and was asking me where you were. She was all agitated and when I told her that I didn’t know where you were, she hung up without saying so much as a ‘goodbye’. I didn’t know you had a date with her or I would have reminded you about it yesterday.”
“I have a lunch date with her, so everything’s fine,” Doug said before gesturing for the door. “Well, I’m going to talk to Alex.”
“Later, Dude.”
Doug politely nodded before he turned and left the dorm.
Trudy, while carrying clean clothes and her shower items, left her dorm room. Before she was able to walk into the women’s bathroom, she heard someone calling out for her. When she stopped and looked she saw Doug hurrying towards her.
As Doug stepped up Trudy asked, “So how do you feel this morning?”
“I feel fine. Is Alex in the dorm room?”
“Alex is still in bed. I told her to take it easy on those drinks last night, but she wouldn’t listen.”
“I’ll go and get her up. We need to get with Miles so he can drive us to our vehicles anyway.”
As Trudy reached into her pocket she said, “I doubt you’ll be able to wake her up while knocking.” She pulled out her door key and held it out for Doug to take. “So here’s my key. Just have Alex bring it to me while I’m in the showers.”
Doug took the key while saying, “Will do.”
As Doug turned and walked towards the dorm room, Trudy continued towards the showers.
Alex had the covers pulled up to her neck and when Doug entered the bedroom he shook her awake.
Alex opened her eyes in a squinted fashion. When she saw who it was she faced away and closed her eyes before saying, “I’m sleeping. Go away.”
In a normal voice Doug said, “Alex, we have to…”
Alex uttered without facing Doug, “Shshsh, stop yelling. My head is pounding.”
“I’m not yelling.”
“Then whisper it. Better still, tell me when I’m up.”
Doug said in a quieter voice, “You need to get up now, so we can get our vehicles.”
Alex asked without facing Doug, “What’s your hurry?”
“I want to prepare for my date with Elizabeth Wright.”
Alex faced Doug and opened her eyes. Her covers were still pulled up to her shoulders as she asked in a slightly disbelieving tone, “You have a date with Liz?”
“Apparently I had a date with her last night that I didn’t know about. She agreed to have lunch with me today.”
“You’ve been trying to get a date with Liz for nearly a year, and in this reality you get one,” Alex pointed out.
“And I don’t want to blow this chance to date her. That’s why I want to get my Jeep. I need to prepare for my date now and I doubt Miles will agree to take us to our vehicles at different times.”
“Okay, I’m up,” Alex said before she slightly raised the covers and noticed that she was nude. She quickly covered up again while saying, “No, I’m not up.”
Doug gave Alex a confused look before asking, “Why ar
en’t you?”
“I don’t have any clothes on and I’m not getting up while you’re standing there.”
Doug grinned before questioning playfully, “What’s the big deal? We’re siblings.”
Alex uttered sternly and somewhat loudly, “Doug, get out!” She then quickly covered her forehead with her right hand and cringed from her searing headache. “Okay, that was too loud.”
After seeing Alex’s reaction, Doug questioned, “Since when do you get headaches from hangovers?”
“Apparently Alexandra gets bad hangovers. Trudy did warn me against drinking as much as I did.”
“Oh, that reminds me. I have Trudy’s door key and she wants you to return it to her.”
“Why can’t you return it?”
“I would, but she went to take a shower and the women in there would act like you and tell me to leave.”
“Speaking of leaving, will you please leave so I can get up and get dressed?”
“Fine, I’ll wait for you in the common room,” Doug said before turning and walking away.
Alex waited for the door to shut completely before she got out of bed.
Doug sat on the couch in the common room for a short time when Alex stepped out of her room while dressed in the clothes that she had on the previous night. She was carrying clean clothes and her bathing items.
Doug gave Alex a curious look as Alex said, “I’m going to take a shower, and while I’m doing that you should find Miles and Ben.”
“All right,” Doug said while standing up. “Just don’t take forever in the showers.”
“I won’t,” Alex said while following Doug to the door.
Thirty minutes later, Trudy helped Alex put on makeup.
11:00 A.M., Miles was driving Alex, Doug and Ben to O’Shannon’s pub. As always, Miles had his radio playing. Ben was in the front seat. Alex and Doug were in seats directly behind the front seats. As Miles was approaching a twenty-four-hour diner, Miles gestured towards the diner while asking, “Is anyone interested in grabbing some lunch?”
“I just ate, so no for me,” Ben said.
“I have a lunch date, so I’m out,” Doug said.
“I’m actually hungry, so I’ll go with you after you drop Doug and Ben off,” Alex said.
“I’ll drop you off too, Alex, and you can meet me at the diner,” Miles said.
“All right; that’s fine,” Alex said.
Five minutes later, Miles dropped off Alex, Doug and Ben near their vehicles. After Alex got into her Jeep, she followed Miles back to the diner.
One-third of the tables were empty along with a half of the stools at the counter. When Alex and Miles walked in, Alex immediately saw Maxine waiting tables. She quickly stopped and faced Miles before saying, “I can’t eat here.”
Miles gave Alex a curious look before asking, “Why not?”
Alex gestured towards Maxine and whispered, “That waitress’ name is Maxine and she doesn’t like me… well, actually she doesn’t like the Alex of this reality, but she thinks I’m her.”
Maxine saw Alex and Miles talking near the entrance. She walked up to them before saying, “Well, I’ll be. Alex, I never expected to see you in here.”
“You don’t have to worry about me because we’re not staying.”
“I was about ready to re-evaluate my opinion of you, but if you’re leaving, my opinion of you stands,” Maxine said.
“I was planning to leave because I didn’t think you wanted me in here,” Alex said.
“So are you telling me that the quality of food that is served in a diner like this and the type of service you would get are not beneath you?” Maxine questioned.
“Not at all,” Alex assured her. “I like the food that is served in a greasy spoon.”
“There are a few tables that are open and I’d be more than welcome to be your waitress… unless you have a problem with being here.”
“Not at all,” Alex quickly said. “Miles, I changed my mind. We’re eating here.”
Miles wasn’t sure how to react and slightly hesitated to say, “Sure. No problem.”
Alex saw an empty table to where a person sitting at that particular table could see the activities of the cook and Maxine. She pointed to it while saying, “Miles, let’s sit there.”
Before Miles had time to respond Alex was walking towards a seat. Miles and Maxine just followed. Alex hung her purse on the back of the seat and as she was sitting down Miles said, “This table will be good.”
As Miles was taking a seat Maxine asked, “Do you two need to look over the menu first?”
“Am I able to get breakfast still?” Alex asked.
“Breakfast is served twenty-four hours a day,” Maxine said.
“Then I know what I want,” Alex said. “Miles, what about you?”
Miles slightly grinned before saying, “I’m ready to order too. You go first.”
Maxine pulled out her ordering tablet just as Alex was saying, “Okay, I’ll have bacon and scrambled eggs with potatoes and toast.”
“Anything to drink?” Maxine asked.
“Yeah, I’ll take an orange juice now and a glass of milk when the meal arrives.”
Maxine wrote down Alex’s order and then turned towards Miles while asking, “What can I get you?”
“Breakfast actually sounds good,” Miles began. “So I’ll have ham and eggs over easy with potatoes and toast. I’ll also take orange juice now and a glass of milk.”
Maxine put her tablet away before saying, “I’ll be back with your OJ’s.”
Miles saw the serious look that Alex was giving Maxine as Maxine was walking away. After a moment of noticing it, Miles asked, “Why are you letting Maxine get to you?”
Alex looked at Miles before she defensively asked, “Who says I’m letting her get to me?”
“Oh, so you’re not eating here while Maxine is waiting tables in order to prove a point to her.”
“Okay, fine; I am,” Alex admitted, “but I’m not a snob like Maxine thinks I am.”
“You may not be, but the Alex from this reality is to a small degree… possibly even more than a small degree. Anyway, you can either accept the reputation that you inherited or you can drive yourself ragged while trying to change people’s opinions of you.”
“Well at the moment, I’m only looking to change one person’s opinion of me,” Alex said while gesturing towards Maxine. “I’ll worry about the other people’s opinions later.”
Miles just grinned and shook his head before asking, “So, in your reality, did you have plans to become a surgeon also?”
“I had plans to go into the scientific field, but with my current situation, I’m actually rethinking that plan. Attending medical school and becoming a surgeon does sound like something I would like to shoot for though, so I’m thinking about switching majors to that when I return to my own reality. What are your plans?”
“I’m in my fourth year of college, and I’m still undecided on a major, but I’m leaning towards law. I have even been taking courses to prepare for law school.”
Alex saw Maxine returning with the drinks as she was saying, “Well you better decide something definite before next September.”
Miles turned to see who Alex was looking at.
Maxine stepped up and placed the drinks on the table. After she was done putting the drinks down she said, “It will be a few minutes on your food order.”
“Thank you,” Alex said.
Maxine gave Alex an astounded look for a second before she turned and walked away.
Before the meal arrived and while eating the meal, Alex and Miles enjoyed a casual conversation.
Miles was done eating first and when Maxine saw Miles pushing his crumb-filled plate away, she walked up to the table. As she stepped up she saw that Alex still had about half of her food left. She then asked, “How are you two doing?”
Alex saw that Miles was giving her an inquisitive look before she answered, “I’m fine.” Alex then pus
hed her plate away. “In fact, I’m done also.”
Maxine looked at Alex’s plate again before asking, “Was there anything wrong with the food?”
It took a second before it dawned on Alex as to why Maxine had asked that. She then quickly and politely said, “Oh no. The food was great. I just wasn’t as hungry as I thought I was.”
“Perhaps we can get the check,” Miles said.
“Sure, I’ll be back in a minute,” Maxine said before she turned and walked away.
Once Maxine was out of earshot, Alex asked, “So how much tip should we leave?”
Miles gave Alex a curious look before saying, “Leave as much as you want.”
“I normally would, but in this case I don’t want to tip not enough to where Maxine thinks that I’m cheap… or something like that,” Alex began. “And I don’t want to tip too much to where she thinks that I’m trying to give her charity.”
“You’re over analyzing the situation, Alex,” Miles pointed out. “Just tip her what you normally would and if she’s bothered by that then that’s her problem.”
Alex nodded while saying, “You’re right.” Alex saw Maxine returning. She grabbed her purse and as she was pulling out her wallet Maxine stepped up with the check.
Before Alex was able to get any money from her wallet Miles took the check and said, “Put your wallet away, I’ll get this.”
“Well how much was my part?”
Miles pulled out a twenty-dollar bill while saying, “Don’t worry about it.” Miles handed the check back to the waitress along with the twenty-dollar bill.
As Maxine was giving Miles his change, Alex said, “I never expected you to pay for mine.”
“Alex, I want to.”
“Well, thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Have a nice day,” Maxine said.
“Thanks, you too,” Alex said. Maxine just nodded and walked away. Alex laid three dollars on the table before looking at Miles. “Well, I’m leaving the tip.”
“Okay,” Miles said with a grin before putting his change away. “So what are your plans for today?”
“I have to be at Little Bucks at five or before to start my shift. Between now and then I’ll be studying; unless something comes up.”
A Crossed Reality Page 10
