Jim's Ham-Egg Sandwich | Teen Ink

Jim's Ham-Egg Sandwich

December 20, 2023
By andrewjwkim06 BRONZE, Wallingford, Connecticut
andrewjwkim06 BRONZE, Wallingford, Connecticut
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

The Bread:

(JIM)
Ring Ring Ring, 

Everything about my day is annoying.

G E F G E F G A B

The familiar notes of my alarm which I used to love so much claw out my ears and everything around me reminds me of what happened yesterday. 

I know I deserved the spot more…

G E F G

Okay, okay! I understand I have to wake up! A simple slam shuts off the cacophony of buzzing and ringing; 7:41 AM, time to head to school. A frozen ham egg sandwich lands barely on the glass plate as it spins, showing a blinking timer ticking down. 

Click, click, click.

Study, study, study. I poured so much effort into this election, and I still got replaced by this “import.” He probably doesn’t even put in that much effort; he’s just born to be well-performing at school.

The now-unfrozen sandwich is with me as I leap into my car and pull up the navigation. Well, I guess I’ll have to confront this kid about it; I need that class president spot to be where it’s supposed to be: here with me.

The Ham(the meat):

(ASIAN KID)
mmmmmmmmm….

Just five more minutes……Nah, I can already tell it’s 6:00 AM, time to start a great new day. That election that happened yesterday? The age-old joke of Asians being tryhard? Yeah, it isn’t really a joke; it is pretty true… I know a lot of people expected that guy Jim to get the position, but I guess I just put in more work. And the way his face turned a delicious pink color almost made my mouth salivate with glory. Serves that entitled, disrespectful piece of ham right.

Fweet Phweeeee~🎵

Crack, glug, glug, 

Wisk, wisk

Sizzle, Sizzle…

Ah, perfect; the brown glazed ends of the pristine golden blob, just crisp enough to be glistening with bits of burnt oil still clinging on to the ends of the gyeran mari. This dish has always been my favorite among my mom’s signatures. It’s soft enough to simply glide down my throat as I munch on it, but also crispy enough on certain ends that it’s got the occasional pizazz. 

The Egg(the scramble):
Brrr brrr…. It’s 12:30, time for Lunch! The gyeran mari is ready to jump out of the top pocket of my backpack… Oh, that table looks nice, pretty clean for a table in this cafeteria… Lucky me!

(JIM)
Haaaa, another annoying day at this manhole of a school. At least it’s time for lunch…Oh that kid, that little…What is he even eating? Some oriental dish…

(ASIAN KID)
Oh, him…I don’t even understand his anger at this point, he could’ve literally put just a little bit more effort into his life, and the position would have been his. I’ve heard he blames it on “where I come from,”… but I’ve lived in the States all my life… I have no idea what he’s on about.

(JIM)
Oh, I can’t take this! Look at him taunting me with that disgusting-looking oriental crap. Hey, if I had slanted eyes, I would’ve won by a landslide. It sucks to be White these days. Why doesn’t he just go back to his people - the land of the overachieving know-it-alls? They should really deport people like him; they’re taking away all the true citizens’ places!!

(ASIAN KID)
Mm! Delicious… Wait, why is he coming this way? Why is his hand fisted like that? Is he gonna punch me? For his own lack of effort? I can’t believe this! “Jim, what’s up?”

(JIM)
What’s up? “Relax, man, just coming to say hi to the new class president!”

(ASIAN KID)
Nah, he’s definitely going to hit me. Maybe if I just keep on eating, he won’t do it. Avoid eye contact. I mean, who would hit someone while they’re eating? That’s like directly against the Korean proverb, “You shouldn’t even mess with a dog while they’re eating.” Just focus on my lovely gyeran mari…

(JIM)
Oh he won’t even look at me while I’m talking! I swear if he was just this normal American guy there was no way I wouldn’t have been the new president. If only he was a bit less “different,” if he was the kind of kid to have some good old scrambled eggs and ham instead of whatever monstrosity he’s eating right now. I really should teach him a lesson.

(JIM punches the gyeranmari)
SRUCNH, punch, scrunchhh….

(JIM)
“Enjoy your sandwich, you oriental freak.” 

(ASIAN KID)
The disgusting brute scrambled my gyeran mari and plopped a loaf of white bread on top… 

The Bread(plain white bread):

(JIM)
6:00 AM G E F G E F G A B

6:09 AM G E F G E F G A B

6:50 AM G E F G E F G A B

7:30 AM G E F G E F G A B

Yeah, I’m up, I’m up. 

CronCH. Ugh, the sandwich is still frozen. Ham and scrambled popsicle, yum…

……

(ASIAN KID)
6:00 AM I’m awake. My day is beginning, I guess….

6:25 AM I should probably prepare some lunch…A plain frozen ham-egg sandwich…

6:28 AM The DING of the microwave is now routine, and so is the non-uniformly heated sandwich…

 

*gyeranmari: Korean staple omelet



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