The!rest!of!the!walk!to!my!grandparents’!town!is!a!blur!to!me!now.!I!walked!for,!what!seemed! like!hours!with!little!to!look!at!but!endless!fields;!they!lined!either!side!of!the!road!with!little!variety.!The! occasional!field!would!have!a!tractor!or!large!sprinklers!in!it.!It!helped!break!up!the!monotony.!I!chewed! each!piece!of!gum!in!the!pack!for!my!breakfast.!It!didn’t!fill!my!stomach,!but!it!eased!my!cravings!a!bit.! My!mind!continually!wandered!as!I!thought!about!my!parents!and!friends.!My!spirit!lifted!as!I!passed! the!large,!green!sign!informing!drivers!of!the!distance!to!town.!I!remembered!seeing!this!sign!every!time! we!went!to!visit!my!grandparents.!The!drive!was!only!a!little!longer!after!that!sign.!I!knew!the!walk! would!be!much!longer.!My!rain!boots!were!to!thank!for!that;!how!I!wished!I!had!a!decent!pair!of!running! shoes!right!then.! As!I!started!to!enter!the!edge!of!town,!I!quickly!remembered!the!burger!place!that!we!would! often!stop!at.!It!was!one!of!the!first!businesses!we!would!pass!by!when!driving!to!my!grandparents’.!The! store!had!great!burgers!and!amazing!shakes.!My!mouth!began!to!fill!with!saliva!as!I!thought!about!the! food.!I!noticed!that!my!pace!had!sped!up!a!bit!as!well.!I!guess!my!feet!wanted!some!food!just!as!much!as! my!stomach!did.!The!rest!of!the!way!to!the!burger!joint!was!set!at!a!brisk!jog.!The!thought!of! mouthwatering!food!was!all!the!motivation!I!needed.!In!the!distance,!through!the!rain,!I!finally!caught!a! glimpse!of!the!building.!I!excitedly!jumped!in!the!air!and!ran!towards!it!at!a!full!run.! The!burger!joint!was!on!the!right!side!of!the!road!with!a!large!parking!lot!in!front!of!it.!There! were!a!few!homes!across!the!street!and!around!the!area.!I!always!thought!it!was!weird!how!they!built! this!place!away!from!the!center!of!town.!My!mom!told!me!that!they!built!it!there!so!people!would!stop! to!eat!before!making!it!to!the!other!places!in!town.!Whatever!the!reason,!I!was!there!and!I!was!happy!to! be.!My!mind!brought!my!excitement!in!check!as!I!realized!once!again!that!I!needed!to!be!careful!before! just!running!into!the!store!and!ordering!a!burger.!I!stopped!at!the!corner!of!the!parking!lot!and!scanned! the!area.!Surprisingly!no!cars!were!around,!except!for!the!occasional!one!parked!in!the!driveway!of!a! nearby!house,!which!were!scarce.! I!slowly!walked!toward!the!burger!joint’s!front!door!while!constantly!looking!around.!No!one! was!in!sight.!I!made!it!to!the!front!door!and!put!my!face!against!the!glass!with!my!hands!cupped!around! my!eyes.!Inside!was!empty.!That!was!the!first!time!I!had!seen!the!place!empty!during!the!afternoon.!I! opened!the!door!and!jumped!when!a!small!bell!went!off!at!the!door.!I!think!the!bell!was!to!let!workers! know!that!a!customer!had!arrived.!All!the!bell!did!was!scare!the!crap!out!of!me.!I!waited!to!see!the! bright!inviting!face!of!one!of!the!workers!that!usually!greeted!me!and!my!parents.!No!one!came!that! time;!the!place!seemed!to!be!deserted.!!! I!made!my!way!past!the!various!booths!and!tables!towards!the!counter.!Some!of!the!tables!still! had!trays!of!food!on!them;!like!people!had!left!in!a!hurry.!I!was!as!quiet!as!possible,!though!tip!toeing!in! wet!rubber!boots!was!difficult.!I!couldn’t!hear!any!sounds,!and!I!couldn’t!detect!any!movement.!I! approached!the!counter!and!could!see!into!the!kitchen;!it!was!dark!and!empty.!Satisfied!that!the!place! was!empty,!I!began!my!search!for!food.!I!made!my!way!around!the!counter!and!into!the!kitchen.!I! realized!I!would!not!be!able!to!enjoy!the!burger!I!so!desperately!craved!unless!I!cooked!it!myself,!which! probably!wasn’t!going!to!happen.! The!kitchen!was!a!mess.!It!looked!as!if!the!workers!had!left!on!a!break!during!the!day!and!never! returned.!Various!food!items!were!left!out!on!the!counter!still.!On!the!grill!in!the!back!were!some! burgers!that!were!dark!and!charred.!The!grease!on!the!grill!had!turned!solid!around!the!charred!burgers.! I!started!to!guess!that!everyone!must!have!abandoned!the!place!yesterday!when!whatever!news!had! reached!them.!They!must!have!reacted!like!the!teachers!at!my!school!and!just!left!to!go!home.!Cut! tomatoes!and!lettuce!were!waiting!on!the!counter!to!be!used!for!hamburgers.!I!helped!myself!to!the! food.!The!vegetables!were!starting!to!wilt!from!being!left!out,!but!I!wasn’t!picky!at!this!point.!I!didn’t! dare!touch!any!of!the!meat!that!had!been!sitting!out!though.! In!the!back!I!was!able!to!find!the!walk!in!freezer.!It!was!still!pretty!cold!inside.!The!shelves!were! lined!with!numerous!boxes!full!of!food.!The!light!in!the!freezer!didn’t!work,!so!I!had!to!pull!boxes!out!of!
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Chelsea Adams 3/29/12 6:56 PM Comment: Are!the!houses!scarce!or!the!cars! scarce?!Which!is!ambiguous!here.!
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