Tagged

Star wars references and the cost of living

The ride to the small mom and pop shop was somewhat uneventful, and by uneventful I mean we screamed lyrics we didn't know and somewhere along the way we started hitting each other. It was weird. It seemed like for a second we forgot about the small black spot in the back of our brain, we were back to ourselves. I booked it into the shop, not only because I was hungry, but I was the only one who didn't have a jacket when the rain hit. Inside was tinted yellow, everything from the floor, to the shelves, and ceiling. A few people scattered around but other then that it felt empty. Maybe it wasn't just the lack of people, maybe it was the lack of personality? The place seemed to be like any run down little stores you see on sad teenage movies. Yes it smelled like bleach and tobacco, and yes the floors were sticky and unswept.

Mallory grabbed a cart, while the rest of us followed her around looking bug eyed and bearing a strong resemblance to lost puppies. This was her side of town, she runs the show. I swear this girl was the master of " fake it till you make it" she walked with confidence and a blank face, when normally she be walking with her head in between her legs, theoretically of course. We walked around for what felt like hours, picking and choosing what we wanted to waste our money on.

I ventured off, craving the familiar feeling of loneliness. The shelves were stacked high with off brand cleaning supplies and cat food, an odd combination if you ask me. I continued to question the mental state of whoever laid out the store while my subconscious decided where I walked. By the time I determined they had to be as screwed up as I felt, I came to the dairy aisle. Cold air blew from every direction, adding the smell of rotten milk to the already toxic air. Maybe that was it, they weren't mentally unstable, they were slowly losing their mind due to the air. I stopped walking, realising how stupid of an idea that was, I might be wrong but rotten milk and tobacco aren't normally used in poisons, bleach now that's another story. Forcing myself off the topic, I stared at the milk cartons, they were covered in announcements, like how they used to be in what seems to be the 50's. Out of date Missing people, cars for sale and other seemingly meaningless news littered the front. I laughed. Parker and I used to talk about that era what seemed like all the time, but in reality was probably only two or three times. Weather it be the music, the art, or the societal norms, we were fascinated. He told me once that if he were the sole creator of the world, he would take that era and our generation and combine them, he said something about today's creativity and freedom in self expression and their simplicity and general morals would make us practically unstoppable. I didn't understand it then, and I probably still don't understand what he meant now, but nonetheless the thought made me smile.
Suddenly I was greeted by the Imperial March, which was being sung by none other than Edwyn who was valiantly riding in a shopping cart which was being pushed by Mallory.
Jana sulked no less than seven steps behind them, head in her hands mumbling something, which I assume was something along the lines of " I'm friends with idiots" or " why do I hang out with you guys".
Aside from Edwyn the cart was full of junk. Chips, cookies, sodas, and candy crowded the dark haired boy, and his smile couldn't have gotten any bigger without rearranging his bone structure.
" Rori, I am..." I was expecting him to say father considering the cereal box he held proudly in the air. Edwyns obsession with Star Wars wasn't healthy, he could tell you every character's back story, the composer for every song and the exact release date of every movie.
" Hungry."
Giggles erupted from Malory, and Jana rolled her dark brown eyes. Once again I smiled. That's one thing I could say about my friends, they were weird, mostly unsocialized geeks but they were mine and they would do almost anything in the world to make me somewhat happy.
We all slowly made our way towards the checkout line. Jana and I had taken control of the cart, both us pushing with all our might. Mallory and Edwyn pouted in the basket, in an act of protest. After carefully calculating the cost of everything, we came to the realization that the price of living is high, to high for our unemployed living of our parents forty seven dollar budget that we scrounged up from or nearly empty pockets and the deep dark depths of the van , so despite his protest the cereal was the first to go.
The cashier looked at us like we each had eight heads and killed puppies for a living. Needles to say to say she got us out of there fast, and she didn't seem care we were six dollars and thirteen cents short on cash.