Last night, a couple of hungry teenagers shot up the McDonald's on Gage Boulevard. Somebody died, and a couple more people were injured. It was terrible. The McDonald's is temporarily shut down. People are scheduling candlelit vigils and memorial services. I only have pretty good memories of Topeka, but the old men on the news say stuff like this is happening more and more often. Dad's sad about it. I am, too, I guess. Is it crazy that I still want to take you there? I'd take you wherever. I'd take you to that McDonald's the second it opens back up. We could share some chicken nuggets and talk about work under shitty, flickering lights. My grandma grew up in Topeka. I think with you, it wouldn't be such a bad time. I bet the chicken nuggets would taste like heaven. I bet the lights wouldn't even give us a headache.
Zach Alan Michael’s work has appeared in HAD, Scaffold Literary Magazine, Bruiser Magazine, BULL, Michigan City Review of Books, and The Bulb Region.