Patty’s Charcoal Drive-in By: Barbara Cooker Jillian Clark AP Lit 7 09-10 FIRST JOB bouncing pony red lipstick tail White bowling shirt tight black shorts I present each as if it were a overflowing tray banquet 16 this job ’s as temporary as the summer sun college -bound It’s the BOUNDARIES of my B O U N D A R I E S BOUNDARIES LIFE BOUNDARIES B O U N D A R I E S After the first few nights… work goes easily. The lure of grease drifts through the THICK NIGHT AIR And it’s always summer Patty’s Charcoal Drive-in at Carloads of blonde and tan girls up tee next to with s l i c k hair. boys inpull black shirts RED CONVERTIBLES, Everyone knows what they want. I hope for tips. flung carelessly as the s tars. Each night repeats itself. Each night repeats itself. Each night repeats itself. Towards 10 P.M., traffic dwindles. The dark pours down, sticky as Coke. light but the from the kitchen gleams like a beacon. A breeze comes up, chasing papers in the far corners of the darkened lot, as if suddenly a cold wind had started to blow straight at me from the future- ( I re a d t h a t i n a D o r i s L e s s i n g b o o k ) but right now, purse fat with tips, the sitting like a cheeseburger on a flat black grill, this is enough. Patty’s Charcoal Drive-in By: Barbara Cooker Jillian Clark AP Lit 7 09-10