The Pilot

The dogs were fighting. The tension that we had created had spilled over to them. Phrases like, "Get off of me," and "Just stay away from me were repeated throughout the night. It even made it to the point that we were questioning who we were. Hate never made its way out of anyones mouth, but we knew that it was there. I hated her for not believing in us, and she hated me for not giving up. The hate was only temporary, but it existed. It was there. After what seemed like countless hours and dogfights I finally gave in, I couldn't bring myself to do it anymore. I handed the controller to Beth's boyfriend so he and Beth's daughter could defeat Koopa, and in turn, the game.

I crossed my arms bitterly and hoped they would lose. And when Mario and Toad continued to fall into the lava, just as they had done with me, satisfaction replaced the bitterness. Did I realize it was petty to feel that way about a video game I was playing with a nine year old? Of course. At that moment however, I chose to be bitter rather than sensible.

When the game had finally been conquered, without the help of me or the nine year old, Beth and I set out for donuts at Krispy Kreme. This desire developed through watching The Real World: DC's episode about a girl's battle with an eating disorder. Once the donut transaction had been placed I was surprised to discover that our journey was not over. Beth felt nachos from Taco Bell would perfectly compliment her raspberry filled donut.

While waiting in line behind the other cars craving Grade D beef, I decided I couldn't hold out any longer and had to eat some of my donut. However, at the moment the donut advanced towards my mouth, the line moved and we made our way to the first window. The look the cashier gave us was both bewilderment and pity. Her expression made it clear that she was thinking 'Damn, aren't donuts enough for you?'

Later that evening I went to the restroom and when I returned, Beth was cleaning up her living room that we had trashed through all the Wii playing and food binging. It was at this moment that she confessed to something that had clearly been weighing on her heavily. She told me that not only had she taken part in the 'Taco Bell Win $1000 Survey,' she had also been denied a second entry into the sweepstakes because she had maxed out the number of times Taco Bell allows someone to enter in a six month period. With that in mind, our night ended and I walked over to the door and grabbed it by the edge to pull it open, because the doorknow had fallen off, and walked to my car and headed home.