Seth's Place

Eight: In Good Company

11:51 pm

We toss our bags into a shopping cart at the entrance of Walmart. I glance down at my phone and check the time. We have exactly nine minutes until the store closes. I take a deep breath, and shove my phone back into my pocket.

"It's a race." Seth is talking to me, but he doesn't take his eyes off of the center aisle. "We grab the stuff and whoever makes it to the express checkout line first wins. Got it?"

I'm determined to win this race. The added fact that we only have nine minutes to race, get our items and pay for them makes it so much more exciting. I glance down the aisle and spot my first item on one of the signs. "You know, I just said the first thing that came to my mind," I add, thinking back to the conversation we had at the park.

"I'll admit, it was random. But if it was the first thing, then it must have been important." He tightens his grip on the cart and we both line up beside a display of nachos.

"On your marks," I breathe.

"Get set," he quickly voices after me.

"Go!"

We both sprint in opposite directions. While running to an aisle that will most likely have what I need in it, I ignore the looks from some of the employees that no doubt want to go home, and have no time for idiots like us. I'm about to turn the corner when I spot what I need on the bottom shelf; sharpies.

I grab a pack and jog through more aisles. In the stationary aisle, I find a Disney stencil kit for Halloween, and pick that up too. Now for my final item. Dashing for the candle aisle, I fight the urge to sneeze. I scan over the different sizes twice, before groaning in frustration. Where are they?

Locating an employee a couple meters away, I run towards them as fast as I can. The lady's eyes widen when she sees me approaching.

"Hey," I gasp, completely out of breath. Wow, maybe I should go out running more.

"Can I help you?" She looks hesitant, and I almost feel bad for freaking her out. Then I look at the clock above us.

11:55 - Yeah, no time to feel bad.

"Can you help me find tea candles? I can't find them and I need to win this competition thingy-" I continue to babble, and the lady looks like she wants to be anywhere but here.

"You can find them in the soap and bathroom aisle," she hurries out before quickly moving out of the way.

I yell a thanks and run full speed towards the other end of the store. I do a little victory dance when I find them in the right spot, and book it towards the checkout line. Looking up, I see Seth walking towards it from the other side of the store. When he notices me his pace picks up and a grin stretches across his face.

I run faster, if that's possible, but Seth makes it into the line a second before I do. I peer over his shoulder into his cart to make sure he got all of the supplies. "Two pumpkins? I thought we were only getting one?"

Seth shrugs his shoulders. "Yeah, I thought about it. Then I said to myself, why buy one pumpkin when you can buy two? Two is always better than one." I find myself nodding in agreement. After that we stand in brief silence. Seth pays for all of the things in the carts, and I leave to put the empty one away. When I return, Seth is waiting against the wall near the exit.

An employee walks towards us with a tired look on their face, and I glance down at the set of jingling keys in their hand. We take that as our cue to leave.

Once outside I am hit with the chilly night air. It's much later now, almost midnight and the world around us is eerily calm. The parking lot is now empty, and the trees rustle in the wind. I've always loved this time of night. It's quiet enough that there are no distractions. There are no people, and it gives me time to think.