Jake didn’t want children; he especially didn’t want them today.

"Yo. Dude. Calm down."

Alex was doing cartwheels in the living room (he’d pushed the sofa against the wall first) and had just fallen on his butt. "Can’t. Too much energy."

"Are you on something?" Jake asked hesitantly as he grabbed his jacket from the hall closet. He looked around nervously as if the mere mention of drugs would cause the police to burst in through the door and ransack the house.

"Life," Alex remarked, grinning annoyingly.

"Very funny," said Jake dryly, searching his pockets for his keys. "Shit."

Alex jumped up from the floor, "What?"

"I can’t find my keys," said Jake, holding back a yawn that was so large that his eyes began to water.

Alex looked affronted, “Dude, don’t cry about it for God’s sake."

"I’m not crying, idiot. I’m covering up my yawns so you don’t hit me for not being excited."

"You’re not excited?" Alex asked, astonished.

"I am...I’m just tired. I‘ve been working twenty four hour days."

Alex shook his head, "Fine. Whatever."

Jake went into the living room and pulled his couch into his regular spot, then he checked the crevices of his favorite chair hoping that maybe his keys had fallen through the cracks. Jake’s hand came up jingling excessively.

"Yes. Alright, let’s get moving," said Alex impatiently as he jumped up and down with excess excited energy.

Jake nodded and followed his friend out the door.

Alex slid into the driver’s seat while Jake pushed himself into the passenger side of Alex’s beat up old VW Beetle (in a rusty yellowish color). "Okay," said Alex buckling up his seat belt, "Could you at least, for me, pretend that you’re as excited as I am?"

"I am," persisted Jake using his best acting skills.

"Whatever. Just...you know...don’t look so...bored."

Jake rolled his eyes, "You say I always look bored."

"You do. Maybe just pinch your cheeks a bit to get them some color.“ Absently, Alex continued, “I think it’s because you’re smarter than me. Therefore you’re always bored around me because you can’t get an intelligent conversation going."

"That’s ridiculous, Alex."

"I don’t think so," he replied in a sing song voice as he pulled his clunker onto the street.

Jake sighed and then yawned rather loudly, "Okay. Um...could we swing by Dunkin Donuts?"

"You’re going to bring coffee to a concert? What are you? My father?" Alex cringed at the thought and made a gagging noise.

Jake laughed loudly, "Nah, man, I just need some caffeine."

"So drink soda like the rest of the delinquents," argued Alex, swerving in and out of lanes.

"I will if you use your directional signal," Jake joked, rapping on the dashboard.

“Shut up,” retorted Alex with levity. “What about beer? Isn’t there caffeine in beer?”

“I don’t know,” replied Jake tiredly, “So?"

"Yeah, we can swing by as long as you don’t get mobbed by millions of honeys wanting to get in your pants. It takes way too long to sort them all out. Which one wants her stomach autographed, who wants a blo--"

"Yo! Dude. I never get mobbed, okay?" Laughed Jake.

"You do," insisted Alex, smiling, "You did that one time."

"One time," repeated Jake, "that’s it."

Alex laughed, "It’ll be more. Especially since you’ve gotten to get with that fine girl from Friends."

"Jennifer Aniston," replied Jake dismissively.

"Right. And why didn’t I get to go to the set to meet her, huh?" Alex glanced mockingly at Jake.

"Remember? You were on vacation. I was in, like, Toronto or some Canadian place like that. And if I recall the telephone conversation, you said you weren‘t setting foot there because, and I quote, you ‘fucking hate that fucking place.’ Or something like that."

"Oh right. Canada. I do hate that fucking place. Nearly got run over when I went there on that school trip. Plus, I don’t speak French. But it doesn’t matter because I was in Europe with my Rich Uncle, Thorton at his chalet on the Swiss Alps. Wonderful skiing…on the Swiss Alps. And nice hot chocolate. It’s Swiss chocolate they use, I think.”

Jake laughed, "Rich Uncle Thorton. I thought you went to Memphis to visit your bumpkin family? And I’m pretty sure I recollect a tractor pull and pie-eating contest."

Alex grinned, "Potato, patato."

On a ‘right turn on red’ red light, Alex swerved into the parking lot of a small Dunkin Donuts which was (unsurprisingly) not busy, since it was 6:30 in the evening. Jake jumped out and ran inside, making sure that he went as fast as his tired body would take him. Which actually wasn’t that fast; an older gentleman in a wheelchair probably could have traveled faster...but no matter.

He pushed through the glass doorway and was greeted grudgingly by a girl behind the counter. "What can I get you?" She asked in a bored, deadpan voice.

Jake looked her over for a second, admiring her eye makeup because it was so black and thick that he wondered how her small, spindly neck held her much larger than normal head up. He shook his thoughts away, "A large hazelnut coffee with cream and sugar please."

The girl nodded curtly and went to make his coffee. Jake pulled his wallet from his jeans’ pocket and unfolded a few ones. He drummed his fingers on the tabletop, waiting.

"I‘m back, Jade," said a cheerful voice from way back. Soon after, a petite girl with curled brown hair and, Jake was pleased to see, light lavender eye shadow, popped up in front of him with a large smile on her pink lips. "Hey there."

"You’re Southern," he mused, smiling.

Her brown eyes sparkled with his statement, "Mmmm, yes." She smiled, "Are you being helped?" Her head ticked toward Jade, who was moving like cold molasses.

"Erm, yes, thanks." Jake smiled at her and she smiled broadly back. She reminded him of someone, but he didn’t know who.

"What’d ya order, puddin’?" She asked, getting ready to ring up his purchase on the cash register.

"Large hazelnut coffee with cream and sugar," answered Jake kindly.

"Okie-dokie," was the girl’s perky reply. She typed in whatever the heck she typed in, "Two dollars even, there cutie-pie."

Jake handed over his cash and as he did, his smile faltered, sometimes perkiness can go over the top; this was one of those times.

"Here you go," muttered Jade, pushing some black hair out of her face and showcasing some very long black nails. Jake mulled over the two of them for a second. A girl sort of like him, only much darker…and a girl who was so perky that she’d make Britney Spears throw up all over her school girl uniform.

"Have a good day," chirped the brunette happily.

Jake’s eyes flicked to her name tag, "Thanks, Mary-Sue. You too." He smiled at her and then at Jade before turning and heading out the door.

Jake climbed back into Alex’s car and carefully lifted the lid of his coffee. He took a quick sip, "OW! HOT! HOT!" But he could already feel the caffeine running through his body, waking him up.

Alex chuckled loudly as he pulled out of the parking lot and once he was on straight road, Jake set his coffee in the cup holder.

Suddenly, Jake snapped his fingers, "Hannah! She reminded me of Hannah! That’s who! Well, at least until she became so grotesquely sweet that I nearly poured my coffee on her." Jake shuddered at the thought, "She called me cutie-pie."

"Oh, man, that must have sucked. Having some babe calling you cutie-pie." Alex rolled his eyes.

"But, wow," continued Jake, ignoring his friend’s comments, "I haven’t thought of Hannah in a long time. That’s so weird."

"Do do, do do, do do," Alex sang. (The Twilight Zone theme)

Jake laughed, but couldn’t shake the weird feeling hovering above him.