True Panic

No one should never be forced to order from Burger King without rehearsing their order at least ten times.

Dennis shivered from the blast of cold air, the library door swinging shut. 

The cold wind seemed to tease him, laughing at his cheeks that had turned bright red after stepping outside. The temperature wasn't particularly low, a mild 60 degrees that wouldn't bother any other Seattleite. But to his scrawny frame: skin, bone, and nonexistent muscles, Dennis felt like someone had just thrown him into a blast chiller.

He shifted, repositioning the books in his arms, and started down the sidewalk. Cars zoomed by in blurs of gray as families rushed to get back home. Gloomy clouds were reflected in small puddles on the road, only distorted when they were broken apart by screeching tires.

Dennis stopped abruptly to stare at the landscape, making the old lady behind him stumble. She shot him a dirty look, sniffed indignantly, and pulled the hood of her jacket tighter over her head.

He had stepped into a palace where he would need to robotically introduce himself. request a heart's desire, and pay the price. He would need to go for what he wanted, what he needed, in order to survive this day. 

Yes, ordering from Burger King was tough, but Dennis would get through it.

Before he went inside, he carefully checked to see how many people were in line.

There was a middle aged man, a teenager, and a young couple in their twenties. Four people should give me enough time to rehearse, he decided, and gingerly pushed open the door.

Dennis already knew what he was going to order. He always had a Whopper with Chicken Fries, something easy to say so he didn't have to talk too much.

If I say hello when I order, does that make me seem weird? He panicked as the man thanked the server and left the restaurant. He quickly ran his lines through his head. Hi, may I have a Whopper with chicken fries? Please?

Should he say please? And was ‘’hi’ too informal?

The teenager started ordering. Thank god she had a million requirements for her coffee, it gave Dennis more time to think.

May I have a Whopper? May I please have a Whopper?

His hands felt cold, wondering how serious one was supposed to be.

Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by the couple in front of him arguing.

The man hadn't brought any money and wanted the girl to pay. The girl was telling him off, saying that men should always pay on dates. He mumbled something about 'what happened to woman independence', leaving the girl fuming.

She pushed him away and turned on her heel.

No no no, don't leave!

And the door swung shut.

Her date stared after her, a little smugly for his verbal victory. Then, he got out of line and left too.

Dennis started sweating, I haven't rehearsed my order!

Trying to calm himself down, he repeated the order in his head ten more times. May I please have a Whopper and chicken fries. May I please have a Whopper and chicken fries. May I please have a-

“Hello sir, how may I help you today?” The lady at the counter beamed a fake smile at him

“WHOPPER.” He blurted, before cringing away and hiding his face in his hoodie.

She flinched, “Uh, sorry, we actually only have chicken sandwiches left. Do you want o-”

“N-no,” Dennis stammered, before realizing he interrupted her, “I'm- allergic to meat.”

Internally, he screamed. It was like his brain was given a recipe for one embarrassed teenager- and the first step was to preheat the face to 350 degrees.

They stared at each other in an awkward silence. The server's smile was wavering, her eyes boring into him. She was sending him a clear message, Dude, let me do my job.

Dennis quickly pointed to the door. “I'm going to go,” he said quickly, face completely static.

“Okay, have a nice day?” She called after him.

By it was too late. He ran out of the restaurant as fast as he could.

Author's Note

The prompt was: "Throw a socially anxious character into a public speaking situation." I tried to differ from a stereotypical 'in front of the school' moment, what do you think?

Reviews

[Carol Cashes]

This. Is. Hilarious! Preheating the face?! Yelling out Whopper like someone who suffers from Tourette's?! Comic Gold. I think I love Dennis. Give him more speaking parts, please. Signed, A Fan of Dennis