“My leftover pizza!”

Joey stood frozen mid-bite at the kitchen counter. It was as if he thought standing still would make his roommate forget him. Better yet, he thought it might make him invisible. But Joey knew that Ralph saw him, the now empty pizza box that he was using as a plate, and, of course, the last piece of pizza dangling from his mouth. He met Ralph’s gaze, even though he did not want to. He took the pizza slice from his mouth and offered it to his friend. It was no worse for wear, except that it had teeth marks in it.

“Uh. You can have the last piece.”

“You took a bite out of it!”

Joey stammered, “Well… I… Uh… No. Technically, the bite is still there. There are teeth marks though.” He smiled. Or at least he tried to.

“You knew I was saving that for lunch. And it was half a pizza!”

Joey hung his head. He looked at Ralph’s feet, and shuffled his own. “Yeah. I know. I’m sorry.” He looked up. And smiled. “But I can make it up to you. C’mon. We can go get pizza now.”

“Right. Lunch hour rush. Our favorite pizza place. I’m driving. And probably paying too.”

Joey smiled. “Perfect. I’ll get my coat.”

“I was being sarcastic.”

“And…”

Ralph sighed. “I’ll get my coat.”

“Don’t forget your keys. And you wallet.”

Joey ate the last slice of pizza on the way out the door.