Am I Puertorican?

Mc Donald's
San Patricio Plaza
5:00 PM
Wednesday 10, 2006

Joel watches the value menu from a safe distance. After a minute, the guy in the registers says: "buenas tardes". And Joel nods as to make reference that he has not made a choice yet. There was no one at the register. The guy is now speaking to a girl co-worker. Joel slowly approaches the counter and overhears something she says about the guy's eyes; Joel dismisses this and says "hola". "Hola", they say. And that's when he notices the guy has the clearest of gray eyes. Which was probably what the girl was praising of him.

Joel orders.
"4.39", the guy says.

Joel waits, absentmindedly for his food. He is watching (without really seeing) the kitchen, he is thinking of random stuff. He is probably dreaming of getting the job as a designer, to which he just had an interview for. He is carrying an art tube with some works rolled inside. When the guy at the register says something:

"Are you studying architecture?"
"No. These are just some graphic works, xylographies".
"Ok", the guy says.

A pause. Joel starts dreaming again of working in the awesome graphic design office on the sixth floor the newest building in the area (so new, that it hasn't been completly built yet). When the guy says:

"Are you Puertorican?"
"Yes, I am", Joel says.
"It's just that you have a different accent".
Joel then smiles as he goes on another trip: It has not been the first time someone had asked Joel if he is Puertorican. When he was in Orlando some people didn't believe him until he spoke Spanish. And when he was working as a waiter in Plaza las Américas, lots of people would ask the same thing, even his boss asked him. Apparently Joel has a south-american accent, or maybe a north-american accent, people can't really point it out (except of course "Joel, are you Argentinian?"). Finally Joel, laughs.
"It's true", the guy says.
"People are always saying that", Joel says humbly, as his food is delivered, and he takes off.


So, am I really Puertorican? Or am I an addopted child from the edges of the Amazon river. The world may never know. See you next time for another episode of the... Twilight Zone. Tuninuuu.