Last Day on Earth

On her last day on Earth, Amber Phillips fell in love.

It had started out like any other day, really. Well, except for the fact that it was December 20th, 2012. The Mayans had been right; Earth was coming to an end. Various astronomers, physicists and Mayanists had been humbled by the approaching planet Nibiru, and it's eminent collision with Earth. After many debates, relentless arguing, and ideas bouncing back and forth on how to save Earth, the answer was clear; Earth was going to end on December 21st, 2012.
So Amber decided to start her last day on Earth by treating herself to breakfast.
After all, what else could she do? She only had a rough 24 hours left until the planet would be destroyed in a cataclysmic collison with another planet. There were the typical mobs of the fearful, who had been running around screeching and wailing about the injustice of it all. There were the groups of people who had suspected the end was near--end of the wrold enthusiasts-- and had spent months hoarding food and toiletries, and were holed up in thier houses, apartments, rooms, and basements, waiting for the inevitable. Finally, there was a small group of people,a minority, who simply decided to make the most of thier day. Amber was one of these people. She simply didn't see any reason to mope when she could spend her last day enjoying herself.
That is how she ended up on the morning train into the heart of Boston, traveling on the Green Line to North Station. Casually, Amber looked around at her fellow train-mates. As she supsected, there were very few passengers on the train with her, unlike her previous trips to North Station. With the exception of the conductor, there were only five other passengers on the train. Amber smiled at a girl, who looked to only be a few years younger than herself, sitting across the aisle from her. The girl smiled back pleasantly.
"Where are you going?" the girl asked, pulling hot pink earbuds out of her ears.
"North Station," Amber replied, amused at how much friendlier people seemed to be now that humanity itself was about to be eradicated. "I'm taking myself out for breakfast. Where are you headed?"
The girl shrugged. "My parents place in Arlington. They're having a big, End-Of-The-World bash at their place. They went all out for this thing; food, decorations, music, the works."
"Sounds like it's going to be a blast. I hope you have a good time." Amber said cheerfully.
The girl laughed. "Oh, I plan to. My parents went out and bought almost the whole liquor store! I plan on spending my last day totally wasted!"
Amber grinned but made no comment. She saw no reason to spend her last day on Earth in a drunken stupor. Why waste your last day? Still, she exchange friendly chitchat with the girl for the rest of her trip.
She waved goodbye to the girl when she headed off into the Arlington station, and sat back to enjoy the rest of the ride. When the train stopped, she turned to give the last two passengers a friendly wave, which they reciprocated, and hopped off to walk the last few blocks to Rusty's Grille.
She walked down the strangely empty sidewalks, past all the dark Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, McDonalds and Burger Kings. Amber knew there would be no one at those popular, coporate owned places. She was going to a family-owned restaurant a couple of blocks down. She had known the owner for a few years, but had rarely had the time to take the train all the way across the city. Today, of all days, she was going to enjoy a homemade, hot breakfast made by Mr. Russell.
Mr. Russell lived with his wife above his own restaurant and, as he had told Amber only last week, did not care if the world ended or not.
"If the world ends, it ends," he said in his thick Bostonian accent. "I for one plan on spending the day doing what I love. I don't want to be like those nutjobs, running around crying about the sky falling. I want to die the way I lived-making breakfast, lunch, and dinner for whoever wants it. Why should I waste my time in solitary confinement when I can spend it with people who want a good meal and human interaction? I tell you, this may be the end, but it is the best ending any of us are going to get."
Amber smiled to herself as she remembered his words, and hurried on towards the restaurant. It may have been the end of Earth,but it was still a New England December, and it was cold out.
The ringing of the bell made Mr. Russell look up from the omelet he was flipping. His big, jovial face brightened into a warm smile.
"Amber! You came!" he said loudly, over the crackling of the bacon.
Grinning, Amber took off her coat and laid it in one ofthe empty booths. "Of course I came. I told myself I would have to have one of your special made breakfasts, and I meant it!"
Amber took a look around the restaurant, breathing in the smell of eggs, bacon, and hashbrown as she took inventory of who braved the last day of Earth for breakfast at Rusty's.
It was almost as empty as the train ride. Mrs. Russell was over at the other end of the room, her buxom figure leaning over a table as she wiped an already-clean table so it shone. Two elderly gentlemen sat a few feet away from her, sipping coffee and talking boisterously about how much better Earth seemed now that the Yankees would never get to play again. A man and woman--either girlfriend and boyfriend or husband and wife, Amber could not tell--sat in a booth close to the window, looking deep into each other's eyes, food untouched. On the opposite side of the room sat a family of four, casually eating bacon and eggs as if it were a normal outing to Boston. Finally, at the bar sat a tall man about Amber's age, playing with the sugar packets and waiting patiently for what was obviously his omelet on the griddle.
Amber decided to sit next to him, in front of Mr. Russell, who was putting the final touches on the omelet.
"Quite a crowd you got here, Mr. R. I'm impressed. Even the train wasn't this crowded." she felt her mouth water as she watched Mr. Russell stir up the hasbrowns.
Mr. Russell looked up and said cheerfully, "Oh, this isn't much. On a normal day, you would not even be able to see my barstools. But I'd rather have this small crew rather than my normal group. This crowd came in on the last day of Earth, just for my breakfasts. Those men over there?" he pointed his spatula towards the gentlemen in the corner, "Karl and Mike come in every day for coffee and eggs, always talk about sports. They're my regular guys. They came in today simply because that's what they do every day. Those two newlyweds over there are new--in every sense of the word," he winked lustily at Amber, "They're on thier way to the Public Garden, so they can spend thier last day making kissy faces at one another. That family, the Joneses, are going to the Aquarium. I guess there is some sort of special event where all the kids can swim in the tanks and everyone gets in for free, since it is the last day of Earth and all. And this guy--"
"Is going to spend his last day on Earth drinking coffee and taking his own tour of Boston." said the man cheerfully, and turned to Amber. He was good-looking, with dark hair that fell into his choclate brown eyes and a plump, honest face. "I've never been to this city before, and I wanted to experience it before it is gone for good. I've actually been traveling all over the United States, touring each city, kind of as a final farewell. I grew up in cow country, and hardly even saw a tall building until I went to Hartford, which isn't that big a city, so I don't know if it even counts."