The Mall

The boys and I all agree on a place called Japa's Bar and Grill. According to Mateo, not only do they serve cheap drinks; but, they also serve some of the best mac and cheese that he's ever eaten. There's nothing like a place Mateo suggests. Man's eaten in so many different places that he's probably single-handedly keeping up the local economy. Ain't that right big boy? I say, grabbing M's belly and wiggling it. Dan chuckles as Mateo rolls his eyes, he chimes in for a jab himself, If Mateo stops eating so much then maybe the kids in Africa could finally get a piece of the pie! Dan barks, laughing obnoxiously loud. But.. But! He probably ate the entire pie alrea- Dan doesn't get to finish his sentence before Mateo slaps him on the back of his neck. Shut up, Retch. He jeers with a snicker. Dan seals his lips after feeling the weight of his friend's hand on his nape, he rubs the red spot it leaves behind. Chubster. He mutters under his breath.

Dan coined the nickname Retch around the same time we all met. In the first week that we started hanging out, we got invited to a party hosted by a girl named Nala; around the end of it, we found Dan covered in vomit in the poor girl's closet. We were already good friends so we helped him clean up his mess, even though we were pretty much as far gone as he was. We never ended up letting him live it down. Nala was furious back then, and even months later still has a bit of a grudge against Dan, probably because the closet still has the smell of his puke lingering inside of it. Nala's thrown some more parties since then and we still receive invites luckily; but, each time we're reminded to watch over Dan like he's a toddler in case he does anything like that again. He's cut down on his drinking since then, he's clearly mortified at the thought of something similar plaguing him after sobering up.

It's an early Tuesday afternoon so the mall itself isn't packed; especially because it's mostly students living around here, most of whom are still on campus. Besides a couple of groups sitting about, there aren't too many people in the bar either. The interior design of the restaurant is pretty chill, it's a casual space that sits on a rooftop section of the mall. It seems the area is set up for university students, there are plenty of bean bags along the wooden outdoor flooring as well as linen shades draped overhead, next to the bags are sockets installed in the floor for phone and laptop chargers. The indoor and outdoor section is connected but they've managed to place the walls in a way that the indoor music doesn't disrupt the quiet vibe outside. Everything indoors is either lined or made with wood. There are some televisions placed in each corner of the room that are playing different kinds of sports programs, besides one of them which looks to be playing Cartoon Network, probably for any kids who come in.

We sit down and start scanning the menu for any sides we might want to order, it isn't long before a waiter comes over to take our order. Our waiter is a golden-haired woman who looks about the same age as us, probably a student working part-time. She sports a classic uniform which does a pretty good job of extenuating her body; black pants, a black shirt, and a black cap. Her hair's tied in a ponytail with two strands streaming down the frontal sides of her face. I finish up some final observations before getting my visual excursion interrupted by the waiter taking the audience. Hey Fellas, what would we like today? She says with an enthusiastic smile. It's nice to see a hospitality worker who isn't miserable, most people I know who work in these jobs always seem to be complaining; although, maybe she's just good at hiding her anger.