"ZGOODLF"
In the bank parking lot, I pulled in behind a splashy little sports car—a bright yellow one with a leather interior. Not a scratch, not a dent. Inside, not a single French fry lay on the carpeted floor; no sticky soda stains were present. The lacquered wooden dashboard shone like a mirror, boasting a large display of dials and gauges. "ZGOODLF" sang the vanity plates. I began to remember when I was blessed with my very own car—for the first time ever! No one was allowed to eat in there—no soda, no juice, no water. No French fries, no chicken nuggets, no ice cream, or candy. The car was to remain new—forever. That was nearly ten years ago.
"Forever" disappeared one day at Taco Bell's drive-through. Abbey ordered a combo meal, three crunchy tacos and a drink of choice—she picked pink lemonade, thirty-two ounces worth. When the Taco Bell worker handed me Abbey's drink through the small, sliding glass window, my triceps, biceps, and carpal tunnels nearly collapsed beneath the pressure. Trying to find a place in the front seat for the gigantic cup was quite impossible. I passed it over to Abbey. The beads of condensation from the cold liquid inside made the plastic cup slippery and I watched, in slow motion it seemed, as thirty-two ounces of sugary pink lemonade slipped between our two hands. We froze, while a lake of lemonade slowly soaked into the carpet of my new car. Then we laughed while we cleaned up the spill with handful-after-handful of Taco Bell napkins.
While soaking up the spill, we found M&Ms in my car, and French fries. M&Ms are supposed to melt just in your mouth; but that’s not true. The M&Ms under the driver’s seat of my car left behind a melted rainbow of color on the carpet—red, orange, brown, and blue. We spilled them one day while driving home from the grocery store. We also discovered, while soaking up the spill, that nothing can destroy a French fry - not blistering heat, not pink lemonade. French fries are indestructable and can lurk harmlessly for years between the seats and underneath them!
ZGOODLF. “Great vanity plates,” I thought to myself while remembering happy times in my not-so-new vehicle. “But really, they belong on my car,” I decided. Along with the pink lemonade, M&Ms, and French fries.
