A Piece of Pie & A Girl — Benjamin Harris Mini Story

Zariel Pate
Dec 9, 2025
6 min read

written by Zariel Pate

“Hun, I’m leaving your chicken soup in the pot, covered on the stove. Eat it when you get out,” Mom said as she cracked open the bathroom door.

She was talking about the chicken soup she made for me after I told her I didn’t “feel” well that morning.

“Thank you,” I said.

“Also, I called off the speech therapy with Mrs. Clyde. You guys are going to move it to Friday. Hopefully, you feel better by then.”

“Alright,” I said. I silently cheered with my fist.

Once Mom left the house for work, I got out of the tub and got dressed. There was no point staying in the tub if I didn’t actually have a fever.

Later on, I walked to the kitchen. I could smell the soup. I looked in the pot on the stove. “I’ll pass,” I said.

I went back to my room and grabbed some money, $20. I grabbed my phone off the charger and put it in my pocket, along with my house keys. I had no idea where I was going once I left the house. Maybe I just wanted to get out and see what I would run into in this new town we had just moved to a few weeks ago.

Within five minutes of leaving the house, I was on fire. The sun penetrated my eyeballs, and my skin felt like it was being roasted like a S’more. It was only 10:30 a.m., and the town was already being set ablaze.

I walked down the sidewalk on the small hill my neighborhood sat on until I reached the main street.

Walking the sidewalk, I could see a supermarket in the distance, a gas station, and a diner. Cars passed me on the street. I was starting to rethink my small exploration because the heat was getting to me.

As I got closer to the diner I figured I would go inside to catch some cool air and get something to eat. Even though I skipped Mom’s chicken soup, I was still hungry.

I entered the door and two bells jingled from the top of it. I saw the girl I had seen the last time I was there. I didn’t know her name yet. Her curly hair was in a ponytail with a yellow scrunchie. She was dressed in a waitress uniform and serving someone a plate of pancakes.

“Welcome!” she said.

I nervously waved, quickly turned around, and walked to the first booth I saw. I looked through the laminated menu on the table and read over the breakfast list.

“Pancakes, waffles, or French toast with two sides of bacon and eggs,” I read. Everything ranged from $8–$12. I had just enough money for a meal.

I decided I was going to get the turkey sandwich with extra onions and a slice of blueberry pie.

The girl walked over to my table with a small notepad. “Are you ready to order?” she asked.

I looked into her beautiful hazel eyes and quickly looked back at the menu.

“Yeah… um…” I forced my eyes to read over the words french fries and pancakes.

“I’ll take a turkey sandwich and a slice of blueberry pie, please,” I told her, trying to say it without my lisp.

“I’m sorry. We’re all out of pie,” she said.

“Really? Well… I’ll just take — ” I said, but she interrupted.

“I’m just kidding! We have tons of blueberry pie in the back. I’ll go get you a slice.”

“Thanks,” I laughed.

“Would you like it with whipped cream on top?”

“I’ll take it.”

“Good choice. I’ll be right back,” she said happily.

I read her name tag before she left, Marley. Marley fit her well.

Mrs. Susan, the owner of the diner, was cleaning counters around the bar area. She waved at me, and I waved back. The place was nice and well-kept. It smelled like cheeseburgers and fries with a hint of cinnamon in the air.

I heard a text come through on my phone. It was from my cousin James. He sent me a picture of a poster about Space Tiers.

“It is confirmed that Space Tiers will be having a conference as of January! Meet the author John Rudy! Get Tickets today!” Then he typed below it, “Do you believe this?”

“What?” I read my phone. I didn’t believe it. I called him, and he picked up.

“Someone posted that at school, didn’t they?” I said, referring to the old school back in California we went to together.

“I’m in class right now,” James whispered.

“Why did you pick up then?”

“Okay, I’m in the janitor’s closet hiding.”

“I knew I should have beat those guys up when I had the chance,” I said, letting out a frustrated sigh.

“You and I both know we wouldn’t have stood a chance against jocks,” he said.

My lisp, plus James always getting questions right in class, didn’t make the attention on us any better.

“We can’t miss the Space Tiers conference this time,” I said.

“We won’t. I already bought our tickets.”

“Sweet! But now we just have to ask our parents.”

“Right, I forgot about that part.”

I saw Marley walking toward my table with my food. “I gotta go.”

“Me too. I think the janitor is trying to unlock the door. Bye,” James said and hung up the phone.

“Here you go,” Marley said, setting the plates on the table.

“Thank you,” I said.

“Yeah,” she said. The two of us made eye contact and there was awkward silence. “Enjoy.” Then she dashed to the kitchen.

Nothing prepared me for how good that blueberry pie was going to be again, especially with whipped cream. It smelled great and all, but the taste was something from another planet. After the first bite, I put my fork down and took in the flavor. It was warm and rich. In no time, the pie was gone. It was better than a glazed donut with bacon and onions. I’ll tell you about that later.

“Would you like anything else? Another slice of pie?” Marley caught me on the last bite.

$5.99 for a piece of pie? I thought. I only had $3 left.

“I don’t have enough for another one. Maybe next time,” I told her.

“Are you sure? I’ll put it on the house!”

“Really?”

She nodded excitedly. She clearly knew that pie was something special.

When she came back, she carried two slices of pie with her this time.

“Do you mind if I sit with you?” she asked.

“Not at all,” I said. She sat across from me in the booth, sitting one plate infront of me and the other infront of her.

“I’m on my lunch break, so I figured I’d sit with the new guy in town.”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Yeah it is. Here in Desertville, Arizona, we know everyone who lives here. For instance, Mr. Graham.” She pointed to an elderly man at the bar. “He lives a few blocks away and comes here every morning for French toast and coffee. Mrs. Amelia,” she pointed to a lady at a nearby table, “…has five children. Two are my age, but they’re homeschooled for some reason. Where are you from?” she took a bite of her pie.

“California.”

“Really? I bet you go to the beach all the time, amusement parks and stuff. I kinda wish I lived there.”

“California is not what you think. Trust me. It’s expensive. And we couldn’t go to the beach that often because we didn’t live close to it.”

“Hm.”

“Second time’s the charm,” I said, referring to the pie.

She giggled. “I know. That’s why I asked if you wanted another slice. My grandma has the best blueberry pie recipe in town!”

“Mrs. Susan is your grandmother?”

“Yup.”

“I met her a few weeks ago when my parents and I came. She’s really nice.”

“Thanks. She and my grandfather were the owners, but he died a few months ago.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. My grandpa is resting in heaven. I have much worse things to worry about these days,” she said with a shaky voice.

“Why are you here working and not at school?”

“I take off school sometimes to help my grandmother. But mainly I work Saturdays. My sister Naomi works here often too. What about you? Why aren’t you at school?”

“I told my parents I was not feeling well and they let me skip school.”

“You seem pretty fine to me,” she squinted her eyes toward me. “But anyways, I forgot to get your name?”

“It’s Benjamin but you can call me Ben.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Marley Williams. I’ve seen you at school, I think we have English together, right?”

“Yeah, with Mrs. Nina.”

“We should hang out sometimes. You seem pretty cool.”

“We should.”

“Marley, we have customers,” Mrs. Susan said from behind the counter.

“Coming, Grandma.” Marley grabbed our empty plates. “I’ll see you at school then. Nice meeting you.”

“You too,” I said.