Sharon woke up with a start. She had fallen asleep in her car again. She wiped the sticky drool from her chin. Her neck hurt. She tried to roll it out. Sharon’s neck always hurt after she took naps in her car, a 2001 Saab something or other that used to be her mom’s. It had gotten dark out in the time that Sharon had been sleeping. She tried to remember why she had gone to sleep at all. Maybe the therapy she had just come from had been especially draining. Sharon tried to promise herself that she would never nap in her car again but she knew she couldn’t keep that promise. She felt like shit. She also felt thirsty. Sharon realized she was probably more thirsty than she had ever been in her entire life. She remembered that there was a Wendy’s Drive Thru about a mile away. Sharon decided to go there.

Sharon sat in the drive thru line. It was about 6:30PM in Culver City which meant that every drive thru line in a five mile radius was long and slow. Sharon couldn’t believe how thirsty she was. She was dizzy with it. When was the last time she drank water? Yesterday? Sharon absolutely could not remember. Sharon felt panicked. What was wrong with her? Why didn’t she drink water? Was she going to die young? The line moved up. Sharon could finally see the menu. Sharon wondered if she should get chicken nuggets. She really liked Wendy’s chicken nuggets. They were kind of spicy, she thought, which was exciting to her. Sharon really liked spicy foods.

Finally, Sharon pulled up to the speaker. “Hello welcome to Wendy’s.” the speaker said. Sharon inhaled sharply. She was so thirsty.

“Hi. I’m Sharon.” Sharon said.

The speaker was quiet for a moment.

“…Hi Sharon. What would you like to order?”

Sharon’s mind went blank. What did she want to order? Where was she? Sharon felt like she didn’t know anything anymore.

“Sharon?” The speaker called out.

Suddenly, everything came flooding back. Sharon remembered she was at Wendy’s. Why had she introduced herself? Why had she forgotten where she was? God, she was so thirsty.

“Sorry. Um…can I have a bottled water?”

“One bottled water.”

“Yea. And um, a strawberry lemonade?” Sharon was very thirsty.

“One strawberry lemonade.”

“A small Diet Coke?” Sharon was very thirsty.

“One small Diet Coke.”

“And um…a four piece chicken nugget.”

“Four piece chicken nugget.”

“Yea. Um…that’s everything.”

The speaker told her how much this would all cost, $5.63, and told her to pay at the first window. Sharon pulled forward. She bit her nails nervously. She rubbed her eyes and realized she had crusty stuff in the corners of them, left over from her car nap. Sharon tried stretching her neck again. She really didn’t feel very good.

Finally, Sharon paid her $5.63 with her Bank of America debit card and pulled up to the second window where her drinks and chicken nuggets were waiting for her.

“Thirsty, huh?” The woman handing Sharon her loot said with a friendly laugh.

“What?” Sharon didn’t get the joke.

“I just…so many drinks and it’s just you in the car…I was joking. Sorry.” The woman smiled awkwardly and looked away. Sharon felt bad for missing the woman’s joke and upsetting her. Sharon laughed awkwardly.

“Haha. Yea. I am thirsty. Sorry, I’m just so cloudy today.” Sharon smiled but the smile felt weird. The woman looked away. Sharon drove out of the drive thru.

Sharon parked her car on a nearby street and opened the bottled water. She drank quickly, sucking the cool Dasani water down her dry throat. Sharon didn’t breathe, she just drank. The bottle crumpled under the force of Sharon’s sucking. Sharon finished the last drops and removed the bottle from her mouth, inhaling with a gasp. Sharon groaned.

“Uhhhhh”

She felt so much better. But she was still thirsty. Sharon grabbed the strawberry lemonade. She drank a big swig but couldn’t drink more than that, the drink was so sweet. Sharon was shocked at how sweet it was but thought that she should’ve known it would be. Sharon’s mouth was suddenly sticky and coated in the taste of sour sugar. Sharon wished she had another water. She drank from the Diet Coke. The flavors did not mesh well. Sharon sighed. She put her 2001 Saab into drive and began her forty-five minute drive home to Los Feliz.