The All Nighter

Delores from The Feathered Nest has issued a new Wednesday's Words challenge.
This week's words are Donut, Flannel, Frayed, Inching, Virtuous, Cartoons.
How fortunate that they fit right into an experience from my college days . . .

Debbie sat back and stretched. “I need some donuts!” she said.

I rubbed a hand over my tired eyes and stared at her.

Debbie was known for her unusual cravings. A terrible need to find ‘the good lollipops’ when both of us were supposed to be sitting in Biology class.  A craving that only ‘the chili dogs that they sell at College Mall’ could fill during Sunday services. Some of ‘Mom’s pickles’ when half a continent stood between us and them.

I was used to following her when she hatched these schemes.

They were nothing, if not entertaining . . .

“Where do you propose to find donuts at 4 AM on a Friday morning?” I asked in my most practical voice. I flipped a page of my textbook and tried to return to my former level of concentration.

“Tom's!” Debbie chirped cheerfully. She snapped her book shut and stood up.

“The pizza place?” I frowned. “They have donuts?”

“Good ones,” Debbie said knowledgeably.

“Deb, I’ve got exactly four more hours before my exam,” I said, trying to sound virtuous. “I’m not going for donuts!”

“Oh come on. You’ll be able to concentrate better!”

Sighing, I dropped a ruler on my page to hold my place. Then looked at her. “Are you going to change?”

Debbie rolled up one sagging flannel pant leg. “Nope,” she said. “I’ll just put on a coat.”

I sighed again and pulled on my floor length dressing gown, frowning at the frayed hem. Then I looked at my roommate. She was busily rolling up the other wrinkled pant leg. I shrugged. No one was going to be looking at me.

I moved toward the door. “Ready?”

She nodded and brushed quickly past, reaching for her car keys. “Let’s roll!” she said.

A couple of minutes later, we were parked in front of Tom’s.
There was only one other car in the lot.

A police cruiser.

I walked up to the door and paused. The TV inside was tuned to the all night cartoon channel. Through the glass, I saw Yogi Bear make off with someone’s picnic basket.

I pushed open the door. Two policemen, obviously enjoying a late night meal looked up at me. I smiled at them and turned to Debbie. “So what do you want?” I asked.

But Debbie stood frozen at the door, staring at the two men. One flannel pant leg had come untucked. It hung halfway between the hem of her coat and her ankle.

One of the policemen smiled encouragingly and beckoned to her.

She shook her head and started inching back toward the door.

“Debbie, what are you doing?” I asked, following her.

“I’ve just decided that I really don’t need a snack,” she said. She looked at me. “And neither do you. C'mon, we've got studying to do!"
Have you ever heard that 'insanity rules after midnight'?
It's true.