11 p.m.
Tater clocked out as fast as she could. Lately, her days just seemed to be getting worse. First getting broken up with, and now listening to Jerry try and create new potatoes for the state fair. Tater spent her shifts sign spinning as usual, but recently, she also began keeping an eye out for a certain someone.... Frite. Tater didn't know what it was about her, but she had become so fixated on seeing her again she dropped her sign while spinning...TWICE! Her brain was so foggy and all she wanted was to go home, put on her pjs, and sleep as long as she could before her next shift. Jerry began to clock out as well, taking off his apron.
"Goodnight Tater- and don't forget to keep thinking of new potato ideas! I'm still thinking about the pasta potato, or maybe even the funnel cake potato...or-" Jerry was cut off by Tater.
"I know Jerry, I know- I'll uh- dream up some new potatoes for ya, ok? Night." Tater trailed off as she walked through the back door, clearly not feeling up to anymore brainstorming.
Jerry got the hint and silently waved at Tater as she walked out the door. Tater switched on her phone flashlight and began clicking her keys trying to find her car, a car far too old to be used everyday. She finally heard that faint beeping and saw the dim glow of her headlights flashing. As she got into the driver's seat she let out a long relieved sigh. "Just a five minute drive and ill be able to fucking rest.." She said as she placed her key into the ignition.
Silence. The lights on her dashboard blinked, but the engine did not start. Not a problem- Tater thought to herself, her car never started on the first go. She turned her key again, and again, and again, and with each try her expression grew more upset. "FUCK-" Tater slammed her head on the steering wheel. Her car battery had given out once again. Tater did her best not to cry out of pure exhaustion but she couldn't help but shed a few tears. She needed a night to herself more than anything right now. Sometimes it felt like the whole world was against her, and no matter what, nothing would go right.
Tater wiped her tears, and got out of her car, opening up the hood of her car with a dejected look. The car battery was old as shit, and covered in battery acid. "That's- probably not good...." Tater muttered as she examining the battery. Suddenly, she heard footsteps. Tater immediately grabbed her keys, struggling to find her pepper spray. In searching for her keys, Tater's car hood came down with a deafening slam. She jumped at the loud noise, dropping her keys to cover her ears. As the sound echoed all throughout her body she felt tears begin to surface once again.
"Hey- Tater was it? " said a somewhat familiar voice.
Tater glanced up, still holding her hands to her ears- oh god. It was Frite.
Frite's hair was down, and much longer than Tater had guessed. She wore a tank top with a orange cardigan on, and black ripped jeans with combat boots. Tater just stared at her for a good second, taking in what she looked like under that potato costume.
"Uh huh- and you're- um- Frite- right? " Tater wiped her face and removed her hands from her ears. "You're not gonna mug me- are you? I don't have anything on me but a few quarters and a hair tie-" Tater said, half joking, but also trying her best not to get mugged for the 4th time that month.
Frite chuckled, "I wasn't planning on it, no." She smiled and stepped closer, seeing Tater's tear stained cheeks. "Are you- alright Tater? " Frite asked, worry all over her face.
Tater gave a small smile and shrugged. "It's just my car. Battery is dead again... I'll probably just walk home. I've done it before and it only took me like- an hour or two." Tater said as she gathered up her keys from the ground.
Frite looked at her like she was crazy. Surely this girl wasn't going to hike back to her house at 11 p.m. all alone... right? She realized Tater was dead serious when she began to walk towards the road. "wait wait-" Frite grabbed Tater's arm, gently but also firm enough that it shocked Tater. "You can't just walk back alone this late at night- you could get kidnapped! Are you insane? "
Tater was frozen, feeling Frite's grip on her arm made it feel as if time had stopped all around them. "I don't think so- I can make it I swear. I do this at least twice a month." Tater said sheepishly, avoiding eye contact with Frite.
Frite did not let go. "No- I- can't let you do that Tater that's so unsafe. And if you disappear, Jerry will blame Potato Palcace." Frite chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. Tater was not picking up on this, and looked back at her with a blank stare. "Sorry- too dark? How about... oh! why don't I drive you home? " Frite asked as she finally let go of Tater's arm.
Tater's face flushed at the thought of a car ride with Frite. What would she even say? Would Frite think she was lame? Her mind was swimming with various scenarios. "I- you don't have to do that Frite- Peter's probably wondering where you're at. I'll just sleep in my car I really don't mind-"
"Are you kidding me? He only cares about when I clock in. I could stay out all night and he wouldn't blink an eye. Don't worry about him. Cmon, I'm right over here." Frite pointed to a shiny, silver looking vehicle. It was robably at least 10 years newer than Tater's piece of junk.
Tater made her way into the passengers seat, as Frite dusted off her dashboard and scrambled to make sure her vehicle was halfway decent. Tater sat in the passengers seat with a disassociated look on her face, feeling her mind race. What are we gonna talk about? Should I ask her to turn on the radio? What if she hates the kind of music I like? what if-
"Helloooo? Tater? Earth to Tater? " Frite was snapping her fingers and looking at Tater with furrowed brows.
"SORRY!- sorry.... uh- I like your car... yours is futuristic compared to my old piece of junk." Tater said with a small laugh.
"Thanks. It used to be Peter's before he bought a crazy souped up Tesla or some shit like that. Fucking men..." Frite said shaking her head. Tater nodded in agreement, thinking of the douche bag that was her ex. "You just had a break up right- how- are you doing ok? " Frite asked as she started upon the vehicle.
Tater felt her blood boil at the thought of barney. "Oh I'm doing fucking fantastic... didn't even like him anyway. It was like he- he had no concept of having a girlfriend and how to treat her." Tater said as she slumped in her seat with a huff. "Like-like- would it kill him to talk to me instead of sitting on fucking call of duty for 12 hours a day? " Tater realized she was raising her voice and her eyes widened in embarrassment. "Sorry- but yeah. He sucks... All we did was just watch tv and occasionally make out upon his request..." Tater said staring at the floorboards.
Frite frowned "At least he was attracted to you. I'm beginning to think Peter never even wanted me romantically." Frite chuckled, again trying to lighten the mood.
"I don't think he was- I mean- I don't think anyone's ever been 'attracted' to me- more just- like 'Hey you're a girl and I'm a boy lets kiss', ya know? " Tater said with a dejected smile making its way across her face. Frite's smile quickly dropped.
"Are you joking? Well hey- those guys are missing out. I can clearly see you're very pretty. Any guy who can't see that isn't worth your time." Frite said as she began to pull onto the main road.
A silence like no other overtook the car. Tater's leg began to nervously bounce and her cheeks flushed with red. Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod-
"um- did I say something?...." Frite said sheepishly as her eyes tried to focus on the road, as well as Tater's body language.
"Nonono oh my god no- you're fine you didn't do anything I just uh..." Tater felt embarrassed even thinking the words she was about to say. "I'm- I'm not used to being called pretty.. ya just caught me off guard I guess..." Tater faced the car window as she said this, a pained look on her face.
Frite felt as if her heart melted in that moment. I can't believe that piece of shit didn't tell her she was pretty- Frite grew angrier by the second when she thought about how Tater has been treated. "What kind of fucking boyfriend doesn't tell his girlfriend she is pretty? That's like basic fucking dating rules- I mean- God. What a fucking dick-" Frite's voice was beginning to grow in volume but she stopped herself. "I'm sorry- it just- you deserve better, Tater." Frite said, looking at Tater with a kind smile.
"Thanks.... and uh- Peter is stupid if he wasn't attracted to you. I mean- he must be blind or something-" Tater muttered under her breath, doing her best to return the compliment. Frite leaned her head closer, not hearing what Tater just said.
"Sorry what was that? my AC is so fucking loud I can't hear shit-" Frite said as she turned down the air conditioner.
"I said- Peter is stupid if he can't see you're beautiful!" Tater blurted out at full volume, her expression dropping upon hearing herself. Frite's eyes went wide, a smile forming on her lips. She let out a small chuckle, which made Tater panic. "Shit I- sorry that was- so fucking weird-I-" Tater felt her breath become shaky. Yet another awkward comment, nice one Tater. Her mind began to spiral, Frite probably thinks I'm so lame.
"No Tater it's ok- you're adorable." Frite said as she lightly patted Tater's thigh, watching for her reaction. Frite chose her words wisely, because oddly enough, she was beginning to enjoy watching Tater become flustered in the passenger seat of her car.
Adorable-? adorable... Tater didn't even have time to process the compliment before she felt Frite's hand touch her thigh. She waited for her to let go, but her hand remained there, steady. Is this something friends normally do? Is she flirting with me? How could someone like her flirt with me? This has to be a joke or something- Tater's inner thoughts became self deprecating once again, as she sat and stared out the window, in a trance.
Frite removed her hand, fearing she had made her uncomfortable. "Shit- sorry- did I?-", Frite words were cut off when she felt a smaller hand grab and pull hers back to its former position. Nothing was said, but somehow Frite understood. She let her hand rest on Tater's thigh, even gently stroking it with her thumb. She felt her relax, as if this was something she had needed. She glanced over at Tater and found she was now staring ahead at the road, with a smile on her lips, and a light blush in her cheeks. "Feeling carsick? " Frite joked, looking at her with a smug grin.
Tater grinned back, "mm-mm.." she mumbled, shaking her head. "I feel just fine." Tater timidly placed her hand on top of Frite's, hoping and praying Frite wouldn't pull away. She then almost gasped when she felt Frite's hand interlock with hers, gently and without hesitation. They drove like this for at least 5 minutes. No words, just simply taking each other in. Both of them observing with little glances back and forth, hoping that they wouldn't be caught. Finally, Tater saw that they were nearing her residence, and a part of her wished Frite would turn the wrong way, just to make this moment last a little longer.
"I'm glad we met Tater- or- hey.... what's your real name? " Frite asked as they pulled into Tater's apartment's parking lot, gently letting go of her hand to park the vehicle.
Tater chuckled as she gathered herself, opening the car door and smiling at Frite, "Tatum. My name is Tatum...." She said, getting out of the car. "Frite, thank you.. I- this was- really fun actually.." Tater said, once again hoping her words didn't come across as awkward.
Frite smiled in agreement, "I had a nice time too. Hey, maybe your car could uh- 'break down' more often? " Frite said, hoping Tater would catch her drift.
"I think that could be arranged- um- how about- my car could be broken uh- next Monday?-" Tater said as she vigorously checked her overflowing hypothetical calendar.
"Monday it is. See you then... Tatum." Frite said, putting a particular emphasis on Tater's real name.
Tater grinned, feeling her face flush she quickly slammed the car door shut, immediately mouthing "SORRY!!-" as she watched Frite chuckle. Frite gave her a small wave before pulling out onto the road.
Monday... God, Tater couldn't wait for Monday.