Top Banana -

4/12/08
There is but one microwave in the hospital cafeteria. It's about 30 years old and sounds as though it’s preparing for liftoff. I was heading there to heat up my PF Chang leftovers. Hurray, I think to myself, no one else is using it! But as I walk up, a house- keeping guy is pulling leftovers from his hospital cooler bag.

"You can go first," he says "this will take five minutes to heat up."

"Oh no, go ahead. You were here first." Mine would take the same amount of time anyway. I placed my Pyrex container on the table and ran off to grab a fork.

When I returned with my fork, the man's food was still nuking but he had taken off. I smiled at Bianca who was sitting at a nearby table, then stirred my veggies and brown rice.

"Hey Sarah, where'd you get your cooler bag?" Bianca leans back casually in her chair and motions to the cooler bag in front of me. I proudly glance at my bag and pick it up.
"OH! They were giving these away to all the employees last year."
"I like it! I want one!" She wines.
I swung the bag’s strap back and forth on my finger, tantalizing her.
"I'll trade you your purple hoodie for my bag…” I said in a singsong voice.
“Hahahahahaha!”
"I'm serious."
You see; I've secretly coveted her eggplant purple hoodie since I laid eyes on it. She’s wearing it right now, so it would be real easy to trade.

I unzip my bag to see a shiny yellow banana inside. What’s this?
Gosh, I don't remember packing a banana. When did I do that? I’m starving, so I unpeel the banana and take a bite. It's good. This is the sweetest banana I've tasted in my whole life, hands down. My mouth is watering; my eyes are closing in sheer delight. Suddenly the house- keeping guy walks up and promptly takes my lunch bag over to his seat. My eyes widen and I freeze.

Oh crap. That wasn't my lunch bag. Come to think of it, I didn't even bring my lunch bag today! Oh NO! This isn't my banana! With a full mouth I turn to him and yell, "I ate your banana!" Oh shoot, Oh shoot! I made a beeline for the fruit bowl and tried to find the prettiest banana there was, but they paled in comparison to his. "Here, I'm so sorry". I shamefully hand him a green inferior banana. He’s gaping at me with his mouth wide open. Is he furious, or confused? I attempt to explain myself. "I thought it was mine! I have a lunch bag just like this. It's Bianca's fault for making me think it was mine!” I rambled on for about another minute then stuffed the rest of the banana in my mouth.

Bianca, laughing hysterically in her chair is now tantalizing me with her unattainable purple hoodie.