THE MOMENT
"Well... damn...," Anthony was equal parts crushed and relieved when he saw the large, ancient, two-story red brick building. It was a Chinese restaurant with a neon red sign that read: Donna Chang's. The bricks looked faded and worn and some of the windows were cracked. If he didn't know better, he could have walked by assuming it was always there; but, it wasn't there the day before.
If the world had not changed overnight, over six months ago, he might have been more concerned about a building appearing overnight. A meteor impact gifted everyone in the world some sort of superpower. Some took longer to discover theirs. Half a year later, Anthony was the only person he knew that had yet to discover what he could do.
It didn't start to bother him until his friends began joking that he might not have gotten a power. The jokes got more obnoxious over a couple of months; and, his superpowered friends spent less time with him. Then, the day came that he did not have any friends. The growing loneliness led to some desperate choices.
Corporations were the most affected; people didn't need them anymore. The first month was the most terrifying as lawlessness ran rampant. But, hero groups were quick to form, and over time people found a new normal. But, money was no longer the driving force it once was. Greed lost its hold once people could work things out for themselves, and everyone being a Super made that easier.
One corporation had gone out of business and simply left an entire warehouse abandoned, complete with radioactive toxic waste. Errant radiation was no longer a concern; it didn't affect most Supers and those that it did would be healed by others. Anthony started his day with a plan to bathe in toxic waste; anything to get his superpower. But, all he found was a Chinese restaurant that was open at 7:00 a.m.
He had literally nothing else planned for the day because he had no idea how the radiation might affect him. He assumed death was likely, but hoped for the best. Either way, he had a whole day to fill now and decided to start with a good meal.
"I wonder if they do breakfast...," he crossed the street to the restaurant. He reached the door and pulled to open it, but it didn't budge. Anthony was ready to give up until he saw a teenage girl walk by the door. She had a pair of afro puffs, one on each side of her head, and she was startled when he knocked on the wood and glass door. She came to the door and yelled through it.
"Yeah?" she asked. Anthony was surprised by her lack of courtesy and just pointed at the 'Open' sign glowing in the window. She smacked her forehead with her palm and Anthony instantly got the gist; it was on accidentally.
"Sorry, I forgot to turn it off," she said. But, she unlocked the door and opened it for him as she apologized. "Come in and find a seat. I'll get your order after I turn the sign off,' she smiled.
"You're not open?" Anthony asked. He didn't move forward. "I don't want to be any trouble, it's okay. I'll just grab something somewhere else."
"Nope," she surprised him by reaching through the door and pulling him into the restaurant by his arm. "Ms. Chang's rules. If I forget to switch the sign, I have to deal with it."
"Oh..okay..," Anthony looked around the red and gold themed restaurant. The seating area wasn't as large as he expected for a building that size. There were only about a dozen tables and booths at the front, but he noticed narrow halls leading to the back. He saw a swinging door that he assumed led to the kitchen; but, the porthole window was dark. He chose a small, two-person table in a dark corner of the restaurant; but, they were all dark corners. Half the lights were off. They were obviously closed and Anthony did not enjoy feeling like he was imposing.
"Hi, I'm Britt," she pointed at the golden nametag on her red uniform when she came back from the door. "Did you already have an idea of what you wanted, or would you like a menu?"
"The kitchen's closed, I don't want you to go through any trouble for me..," Anthony shook his head. To his surprise, Britt shook her head with a broad smile.
"I'm telling you it's no trouble at all," she said. "The kitchen's not closed, it's just not here right now. I was closing down this location and forgot to turn the sign off," she giggled. "I'm not going to shove food down your throat, but trust me; just order like a normal restaurant."
"Normal???" Anthony had been a mess of emotions and he still hadn't dealt with his derailed plans. He didn't want to admit he was going to be powerless for the rest of his life; he was going to be 'normal'. Truly normal. Not the kind of normal where buildings pop up overnight. He didn't want to take his anger out on a teenager that didn't look out of high school yet; but, he came close. "YOU don't know what normal is!" he managed to calm his voice, then shook his head and stood up.
"I'm sorry, you're being so nice. I'm working through some things, I'll leave..." he hung his head and focused on the floor.
"Why?" Britt asked. Her voice sounded as upbeat as it did before he yelled at her. He looked up and found her looking at him. Her head was tilted and she had a trace of concern on her face. "You can't work through them while you eat?" she asked. "It's on the house, by the way. Because, it was my mistake; and, don't worry. It doesn't come out of my check or anything like that, Ms. Chang is the best." Anthony had been so distraught, that he totally forgot he didn't bring his wallet until she mentioned money. He was grateful for it. He'd left his wallet at home not wanting it to get ruined by toxic sludge. The fact that the meal was free helped him decide to sit down again.