“Paisley, we’re leaving now. Bye!” I wave to Paisley and walk further up the aisle with Amy by my side.
“she’s not coming” Amy whispers to me and I stop walking yet again. We’re making quite a scene in the middle of Asda right now. Everyone going past is stopping to have a good look at us and its hardly surprising when Paisley has just spent a good half hour screaming the place down. she’s stopped now but she’s refusing to leave the sweet aisle. She had been skimming her eyes over everything neatly lined up for some time before sitting on the dirty floor with her full attention on the bar of Cadburys chocolate between both her hands. She’s examining both sides like this is the first time she has ever seen a bar of chocolate. Everything I say to her flies over her head. I don’t know if she’s in her own little world so she can’t hear me or if she’s just choosing not to.
Amy goes towards her and crouches down on the ground. She’s took her hands in her own and she’s saying something to her. I can’t hear what she’s saying but whatever it is isn’t working. Paisley’s eyes are still fixed on the item in her hands. Its no wonder she wants everything she can see. All the treats are in bright colourful packaging. Its eye candy for toddlers… quite literally. There I am again making excuses. “I give up” Amy sighs coming back over to me. I think now she’s staying with me and she’s been around Paisley 24/7 she’s just realising just how difficult she can be. She’s a nightmare to take out in public and since I’m now in the public eye every tantrum she has is ten times bigger than it would normally be because I know I’m going to be reading about it in some magazine or on some pointless blog.
“Is this what you want?” I ask Paisley and she shakes her head.
“I want this” She twists her body around to point at an overly large box of Jelly beans sitting pride of place in the middle of the shelf. Of course she wants the biggest and most expensive thing there is.
“Quickly put them in the trolley then, We need to get home soon so we can speak to your Mam” I tell her and with a smile on her face she grabs them and skips over to throw them on top of the mountain of food. Of course she’s smiling she getting her own way, I should have just got them to start with. It would have saved all this commotion and embarrassment. Once they’re in the trolley she’s running up the aisle as fast as she can. She has such a funny little run. Being her nosey self she turns her head to look at me as she hears me speak to Amy and she runs straight the back of a man. He nearly falls forward and Paisley slowly backs away from him.
“I’m so sorry” Amy runs to grab Paisley’s hand and as the young man turns around Amy’s face drops. Her eyes wider and her mouth opens slightly. She just stands there comically; she’s staring at this randomer and he’s staring right back with a smile growing on his face. Maybe this ‘randomer’ isn’t so random after all.
“Amy, fancy seeing you here” He licks his lip and Amy stutters. She’s became very aware of my presence. She keeps looking at me and then looks away again. she’s looking more and more shifty as the seconds pass.
“Oh you two know each other?” I ask and Amy quickly shakes her head.
“No”
I frown at her and the boy does the same. “He knows your name, Amy” I state and she laughs awkwardly. She rubs her head and moves the trolley with her hand. Paisley is climbing on the front, she’s almost tipping it over as she tries her best to climb into it, it’s the perfect excuse for Amy to try and remove us from the situation.
“We better go before Paisley starts again”
“Amy … I’ll call you tonight?” The unknown teenager reaches for her arm, I watch them in wonder. He’s tall… not too tall but he’s taller than Amy. He looks around the same age too and his brown hair has been styled to perfection. It has a neat little flick at the front and his hands are tucked into the pockets of his black hoodie. He has a rough look to him but he’s not chav-like if that makes any sense at all. He seems like a decent boy and I have a strong feeling he’s far more than just a stranger we bumped into at the super market.
