I started working at a pizza place early in my senior year, mostly on the phones as the manager thought my voice was calming when it had to be and authoritative the rest of the time. Callers usually identified me as “ma’am or “girl’ and I didn’t think anything of it, just simply took the orders and called them out to the prep area. I enjoyed it. It got me out of the house and—as my father would say—“put that work ethic in ya’”.
Our uniforms were black pants—that were always dusted with flour—and white t-shirts that loved the taste of marinara sauce. Some had aprons that would catch fire or melt as we found out one night when the fire department has to stop by. The store smelled like plastic with a hint of pepperoni and cheese.

The advantage of working at a delivery and carry-out only store was that I seldomly saw anyone from school. No, they would all meet at Taco del Rey or The Pink Bear with its all-female cashiers who got to wear the cutest outfits. There were days I wanted to put in an application to work there. I’d wear a pink dress and the bear ears if I had to, but I wouldn’t be able to stand my classmates and class enemies coming in. I’d rather throw a chicken fried steak—one of their most popular items—at some of them than serve it with a smile.

Dan knew I worked at the pizza place so he also knew where he could score a few pies and breadsticks on the cheap.
“How’s work, Chris?”
“Doing good, Dan. Anything going on for tonight?”
“Well, yeah, the LAN-party.”
Dan had invited eight other guys—myself at the time included—to lug massive CRT’s and towers to his house and then lay maybe a mile of cables all around to play Duke Nukem 3D, Unreal, and something called Quake. I didn’t own a PC, I had a Macintosh, something Dan would not let up about.
“Maybe they’ll make a multiplayer version of Myst.”
“You laugh now, but one day we’ll all have Apple products in our pockets.”
“Keep dreaming about that.” Dan replied with a snort.
“What do you want to order, Dan?”
His eyes danced back and forth across the menu board…which only had five items; pizzas, breadsticks, spaghetti, Pepsi products, and brownies that always had a hint of garlic butter.
“Why are you looking? You always get two pepperonis, an order of sticks, and a two-litre.”
“I have six other guys at the house, and they all want pizza too.”
“If you order seven, I’ll cut you a deal on the first three.”
“How about some Pepsi?”
“You’d be better off going across the street to the store. Sale on Dr. Pepper.”

Dan nodded as he took a wallet out of his pocket and handed over a wad of bills.
“They’re a little sweaty.”
“Dude, why do they smell so funky?”
“Remember Anthony’s threat that I owed him money for something?”
“Yeah?”
“Ever read ‘Papillon’?”

I almost threw the money and the pizza slice I had at break at him.
“I’m kidding, just a lot of sweat from moving computers.”
“I’m going to have to fumigate the counter,” I lamented as Dan walked to the door.
“It’ll be ready in, what, fifteen minutes?”
“Make it twenty,” I replied as I passed the ticket to guys in the back.
The phone rang. I picked up my ticket book and held the phone on my neck as I answered the call.
“Hey, yeah, I’d like to order a large spaghetti.”
I always wanted to ask a caller: “Why? It tastes like burned worms in a sugar-laden sauce,” but as I said I liked my job.
“Of course, sir. Anything else?”
“Some breadsticks.”
“Yes sir. One spaghetti and an order of breadsticks. That will be eight fifty-two and will be ready in fifteen minutes. May I have your name, please?”
“Tony Kedias.”

My jaw dropped for a moment and then I dismissed it. This was the greater Seattle area. While Kedias was not exactly “Jones” there had to be others out there with a similar name. After all, he called himself Tony, and not Anthony, so there was hope.
“Thank you. We will see you in fifteen minutes.”

I hung the phone up and handed the ticket to the back. Not that I never talked to the guys in the back, it was that I preferred to tend to the front of the house and if I took a step past the warming ovens then I would be in their world and I would have to understand how it felt to have two wives at once or how much community service I would have to for escorting an ambulance on the interstate because I refused to let them race last me. I will say, they were efficient and could prep a pizza like the miracle worker of Montgomery Scott, according to Dan.

Dan arrived ten minutes later as the guys were sliding his order into the warming ovens. I then pulled them out, along with the breadsticks and handed the stack over to Dan.
“You are coming after you get off of work, right?”
I figured I might as well go. I was invited and it allowed me to be around others who shared my outcast status of life.
“Sure. Don’t worry about saving any for me.”
“I got about ten six packs of Mountain Dew, the nectar of gamers.”
“I’ll bring several toothbrushes for the others,” I replied as Dan walked of the store.
“See you there!” I shouted with a wave and then turned to the guys in the back. ”Do you have the spaghetti and sticks order?”
“Yep,” came the monosyllabic reply as the items were hurriedly place on the counter.
Again, for as much as I didn’t talk to them, they were super in their delivery. So much so they could—and most likely did—leave out the back door to smoke and return in time for an order to leave the oven.
I walked to the side of the prep area and, yes, they had performed some kind of ninja vanish.
The front door opened and in walked a tall guy with a black leather jacket and his hair slicked back. I had to wonder if he had a motorcycle and if so, how was he going to place a pizza?
“Do you have an order for Tony Kedias?”
His face had a little bit of stubble, he didn’t exactly look like Anthony from school. Okay, maybe a little bit, but if it was him, he was going really incognito.
“Yes, sir,” right here.
“Thanks babe.”
Babe? I was a babe? I felt at my hair that was up in a ponytail, and I admit I was thin, but I wanted to think my face had a little bit of testosterone infusion to it. Perhaps he was mistaken.
“You’re welcome.”
“Are you from Roosevelt High?”
“Yes,”I replied as I bagged up his items along with some plastic ware.
“Have we met before?”
“It’s been a while, but yes, we’ve…met…a few times.”
“Yeah, that’s what I want to talk to you about,” he said as he laid a twenty on the counter. “This probably isn’t the best place, since you’re working and all.”
“I’m good for the moment. What’s on your mind, Tony?”
I cashed out the total and handed the money out to him, but he waved his hand for me to keep it.
“I…I want to apologize for, would terrorizing be the appropriate word? All your friends…and you.”
“Why did you?”
“I don’t know. Peer pressure?”
“Sounds like a cop-out, Tony,” I replied while crossing my arms.
“Yea, yeah…I thought that too. Listen, I’ve had some issues in the past and I just wanted to have people look at me, see that I’m, that guy you don’t want to mess with and then everyone leaves me alone.”
“Dan never bothered you.”
“I had to keep up appearances.
“I never bothered you.”
“No, you didn’t bother me that way.”
“I’m sorry, I’m a bit confused,” I sighed as I laid my hands on the counter.
“I’ve felt that for a while. Confusion about Anna.”
“Anna? She would follow you into Hell and back.”
“Yeah, and that’s another problem.”
Tony took a step back and looked at the wall for a moment before he turned back to me.
“You ever thought someone was not right for you but the person you think is right has no idea how you feel?”
“I can’t say I have. So, you’re saying that you’ve found a new girl and you’re going to dump Anna?”
“That does sound a bit harsh, doesn’t it?”
“A little,” I replied with a shrug.
Tony picked the bag up with one hand and placed his other on one of mine.
“I’m sorry, I only wanted to see more of you and it was easier to do that while pretending I’m this big guy, but I’m not. I can’t play that part anymore. I don’t want to.”
“Are you saying that you…like, like me?”
“If I felt I understood the meaning I’d say love you. For the past two years.”
“And you’re afraid of what people would say?”
“People, parents, you. Please tell me if I have to go bury my head in the sand at Chism Park.”
“No, I mean, it’s a little cold for that, seeing that it’s November.”
He lifted his hand, but I placed mine on top of it. I was taking the risk. The angel on my right thought he was telling the truth and that he looked cute. The devil on my left thought he was leading me on but hot damn he had those eyes.
“Are you busy later on?”
“No, I’m open, after we close, I mean, it may be a little late.”
“We could hang out at small coffee bar I know about.”
I let go of his hand and he grabbed a pen, then flipped over his receipt and wrote down an address and a phone number. “Just give me a call, if you want to meet me there. If you don’t want to, I’ll understand.”
I took the receipt and placed it in my pocket. “I’ll call you. Again, it may be kind of late.”
“Thank you, and thanks form the spaghetti.” He then reached his upper body across the counter and kissed me on the lips.
I wanted that to last forever but the phone rang and it snapped me out of my lust-laden thoughts.
I picked up of the phone as Tony waved and walked out of the shop.