The Night at Westside Mall

"I can't believe this. My mom just got me a shot glass from the mall. I'm twenty-one, for crying out loud."

"Well, I guess she doesn't know you're over-21 or whatever it is. I mean, if you're over 18, you're over 21. That's how math works," Andy said.

"Yeah, I was already over when I was 18. It's not like I'm in college anymore. You'd think she'd know by now. She even made me a birthday cake last week. It had a picture of me as a kid on it. Now I don't know what to do with that thing. I can't eat it. I don't want to throw it away. I'll have to take it back to my parents' house."

"It's a good thing you're going home for the holidays, then," Andy said. "Maybe you can save the cake for Thanksgiving or something."

"Ugh, no way. Thanksgiving and Christmas are like two weeks after my birthday. I want to spend it with my friends, and my family has always been so annoying. I can't wait until they come to visit me in New York, though. That's when I'll get to see them. Speaking of which, you still haven't visited yet, have you?"

Andy took a long sip of his drink. "No. I've got some other stuff I need to take care of first. You know, school stuff."

"Oh, right. You've only got one more semester. I remember when we first met. You were scared shitless about meeting your first friend in real life. Man, we've come a long way since then."

"We sure have. And I'll be happy to see your face again soon. But I've got to go to the bathroom. Can you go pay our tab? They've got a line around the corner."

Andy ran to the back of the bar and into the bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror and sighed. He splashed some water on his face, dried it, and looked back up at himself. His hair was getting shaggier and shaggier every day. He couldn't wait until he could shave it off. There were two things he was looking forward to most in the upcoming months: shaving his head, and taking a nice, long nap. The latter would be done every day, but only once a year.

He walked back to the bar and saw Scott chatting with their waitress.

"Excuse me," Andy said. "Did we pay our bill?"

"Yes," the waitress said. "The guy with the red hair paid it for you."

"Huh? What guy?"

"The guy who was sitting here with you. That's him over there." She pointed to a tall, muscular man in a suit.

"What the hell? Why did he pay our bill?"

"I don't know. He said you didn't have any cash on you. You should go thank him."

Andy walked to the man and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, you paid our tab."

"Yeah, I know. You didn't have any money."

"We never run out of money. We're college students. We always have money."

"I just thought you could use some money. You know, to buy presents and stuff during the holidays."

"Thanks, I guess. I just don't really know what to say."

"Say you'll visit me in New York sometime. You can stay at my place and everything."

"You're joking, right?"

"No, I'm serious. I have an extra room, and you can stay with me for as long as you want. I just don't want to be alone this Christmas."

"I...I...I..." Andy stuttered.

"You don't have to answer now. Just think about it. I'll be going home tomorrow. I'll be alone in that big house out in Long Island. It'd be nice to have someone to talk to."

Andy stood there for a few seconds and stared at the floor. He looked back up at the man and smiled.

"I'll think about it."