Franchising And Lemonade

Having broken the cardinal rule of never arriving on campus between 12 and 1, I spend the forty-five minutes I'd carefully put between myself and my appointment circling and circling looking for a legal visitor spot.  During one of those swings I ran into the Fake Boyfriend, who was on campus for a friend's defense.  He didn't hear me yell, so I honked the horn and he turned around with an annoyed expression ("who the f. is the asshole honking me?"), but then he greeted me with his usual "sistah!," which, since he's white, is  particularly endearing.  Almost made up for my having to park illegally twice, braving a $35 dollar ticket each way, first for a meeting that turned out to be unnecessary and last ten minutes, and then to check on the articles I was assigned less than a week before my exams.  At some point while I was trying to get a spot in order to get something to eat, which was supposed to have happened in the 45 minute window I left myself on arrival, I realized there are plenty of Subways off-campus. 

I almost always eat at Subway when I commute, because it's the cheapest vegetarian fare available.  Never thought I'd get a sandwich for less than a gallon of gas.  This particular store is tiny, chaotic, and not steeped in the values of customer service (employees milling around, nobody asking me if I wanted my sandwich toasted until it was too late for me to volunteer the info), but my sub cost 70 cents less than on-campus.  70 cents!  That's nearly a dollar!  I knew in some part of my brain that franchises can set their own prices, and that those connected with schools gouge a bit, but I'd never been confronted with it before.  Ebullient with my savings, I crossed the street to the natural foods store and made my own meal with chips and a drink, promptly wasting my surplus ;)   

The chips were Kettle's New York Cheddar variety, and I must say that Kettle brand has not been making me happy since my discovery of the Dirty's revolution.  They taste heavy and burnt, and the prevailing flavor of these was parmesan, a cheese I don't like.  The drink, however, was an Adina Le'Mon Amour (I know, that doesn't make sense in French, even as a pun), a lavender lemonade, and it was great.   The Provencal know all about simple robust flavors, lavender being one, and although it's always counterintuitive to be tasting something you are used to experiencing through smell, the herb blended nicely with the tart lemonade to make a smooth package.  Highly recommended.