Page 24 of A Dish Best Served Hot

Lola laughed. “What a glowing review.”

He didn’t know what else to say. He couldn’t say he liked it, but it wasn’t horrible. It was okay—edible.

“You don’t have to finish it. I’ll eat that and you can get something else.”

He really couldn’t though. He was already spending the little bit of money he had to pay for their trip. He couldn’t splurge on extra food for himself. But he didn’t want Lola to know that. She’d try to pay for herself and he knew that she had even less money than he did. “This is fine.” He took another bite of the hot dog and shoved some fries in his mouth at the same time.

She eyed him skeptically. “If you’re sure.”

He nodded and finished off the hot dog in two more bites. “When we’re done we should go get our tickets for the Ferris wheel.”

Lola froze for a second before finishing the bite in her mouth. She took a long drink from her straw. “I’m not going on the Ferris wheel.”

“Why not?” Saint asked.

“I don’t trust that rickety death trap.”

“Lola, it was made in 1995. It’s barely ten years old.”

“If humans were supposed to be that high in the air, we’d have wings.” She took another drink of her soda as if unconcerned, but he could tell she was just pretending.

“You told me you want to travel the world?”

“Your point?”

“If you don’t like heights, how are you going to get on a plane?”

“Why do I need to get on a plane?”

“Uh. To get to other continents.”

“I’m sure there are still passenger ships that cross the oceans.”

Saint had to laugh. Lola needed to be a lawyer, because she had an argument for everything. “Now I see why your teachers are always kicking you out of class.”

“Hey,” she scolded. “Most of my teachers actually like me. It’s only my history and English teachers who kick me out and that’s because I challenge their white-washed, Westernized, and misogynist curriculum. They’d rather maintain control of the class than be actual educators or engage in truthful discussions. But that’s America for you—”

Saint cut her off before she could really get going. “Okay. We won’t go on the Ferris wheel. Let’s go on the carousel instead.”

“Okay.” Lola hopped up and collected their trash.

“I want to ride the zebra,” Lola told him.

“I’ll take the horse next to it.”

“Okay. What’s the plan if one of these kids gets to it first?”

“Wait until the next ride?”

“Nah, we take ’em out.”

Saint paused but then he saw the sparkle in her eye. “You want us to take out a bunch of kids?”

“Of course, look at them. They look like a bunch of little punks. Especially that one at the front hiding behind his mommy’s leg.”

“You mean the toddler in the overalls and those soft shoes babies wear when they first learn to walk?”

“Yeah. Him. He’s the worst of the bunch. You can tell. It’s always the quiet ones.”

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