Wow. I’d forgotten about this one. I’ve touched it up a little (very little), but originally wrote it during the fall semester of 2006, for Prof. Osborn’s fiction workshop.
It makes me miss my days at Russ’… just a little bit.
*
There is a Rhythm to it. The hum of the overhead fluorescent lights, the sizzle of the burger fat, the clang of dishes and silverware. Buzz, hum, sizzle-sizzle clang! There is no escaping the noise of this place. Sometimes I want to clap my hands over my ears and scream louder than everything around me to regain some sense of control. But the constant and familiar Rhythm sort of keeps me grounded, so I don’t.