Strawberries, Slushes, and no Second Chances. This is NOT a sponsored post
FYI, the picture is AI-generated; we weren’t taking pictures like that back then.
Monday through Friday, during my senior year of high school, you could find me parked at Sonic.
That might sound like standard teenage behavior — hanging out at a fast-food joint, splitting snacks, dodging responsibility — but for me, it was more than that. It was a reset. A ritual. A crash course in disappointment, loyalty, and $1.99 therapy in a Styrofoam cup.
See, every year before that, I was a benchwarmer on the football team. Three years straight. I was passionate, committed, and deeply dedicated to watching the game unfold from the sidelines. But senior year? That was supposed to be my season. I finally got named a starter. I made it through Camp Pendleton Football Camp. We’d even started two-a-days.
And then it all fell apart.
First, our defensive line coach got canned for drinking with players’ parents — a scandal that didn’t exactly boost team morale. Then, one of my friends thought it’d be hilarious to start a rumor that I told a different rumor… that the coach was sleeping with a goat. (Yep. You read that right.)
Even though I didn’t say it, didn’t hear it, and didn’t even laugh when I finally heard about it, my coach decided I was the final straw in a summer full of headaches. I got cut.
Just like that, my high school football career was over — right when it was supposed to start. But here’s the part I’ll never forget: two of my best friends quit the team in solidarity. That move, as dumb and beautiful as it was, meant everything to me.
We traded in cleats for carhops and spent our afternoons under Sonic’s neon glow. Strawberry slushes with extra strawberries. Tater tots like tiny deep-fried hugs. Flirting with girls unsuccessfully and talking about everything but football.
Which is why when I saw Sonic bringing back their Lemonberry and Watermelon Slushes, something in me lit up like a jukebox on a summer night.
These flavors haven’t been on the menu since 2019 and 2020, respectively — basically a lifetime ago. And starting May 27, they’re back. The Watermelon Slush is all juicy nostalgia, sweet and simple. The Lemonberry Slush is the one that really takes me back — real strawberries, lemon, and pure serotonin on ice.
But they didn’t stop there. Sonic also dropped a new snack: Cheesy Garlic Pepperoni Bites — mozzarella, provolone, pepperoni, and pizza sauce, fried golden and ready to fill the emotional void your ex left behind. Available in 3, 5, or 7 pieces starting at $2.99, they’re basically garlic knots with a gym membership.
Oh, and starting May 19, half-price shakes after 5 p.m. — any size, any flavor, every day. No app games. No gimmicks. Just a cold shake for less than what you’d pay for bottled water at the airport.
So yeah, this new Sonic lineup is more than a summer promo. It’s a little love letter to the misfits, the almost-athletes, and the heartbroken teens who turned drive-thrus into group therapy.
Because sometimes, life kicks you off the team…
But Sonic always keeps a seat open.
Do you like cars? Here’s an article I wrote about American car manufacturers. > https://mouthpiecephx.com/automobile-all-the-stats-facts-and-data-youll-ever-need-to-know/
