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"Fucking shit!" Zadia cursed closing her eyes. "How the fuck did I forget to take my insulin?!" Her fist slammed hard against her head as she tried to compose herself. It was a really bad habit she developed in middle school. She sighed, remembering what her doctor had told her as a child, about taking her insulin.
Since she has type 1 diabetes, it's hard for her body to produce insulin. With too little insulin, her body can no longer move glucose from the blood into the cells, which causes high blood glucose levels. If the glucose level is high enough, excess glucose spills into the urine. Which would be bad, because, then her body would go into shock.
She needed something sweet to keep her body functioning, just until she got home. Nothing too sweet, just something bearable.
Finally done with scolding herself, Zadia used the back of her hand to wipe the sweat off her face. Her eyes danced around her surroundings until they finally stopped, landing on a small bodega across the street. Without sparing another second, she quickly made her way to the store. "Welcome." An Indian man greeted as she walked into the store, the door chiming made her presence known. "Can I help you with something?" He asked, looking at her up and down accusingly.
Of course, he was looking at her like that, half the Indians in this part of town gave all the black folks the same look. "Where's the candy aisle?" Zadia muttered, looking him in the eyes. She kinda liked looking people in the eyes, because to her, it told her all she needed to know about a person. It was strange, she knew that but it was the truth. And as her eyes bore into the Indian man dark brown ones, she already knew three things about him. One, he's responsible, because people with dark eyes always tend to be. Two, he was sleepy and three, he feared that she would rob him, which was why he was looking at her so coldly.
The man looked down, glancing at his watch before staring back at her. His cold gaze never left. "Over there, the second aisle." He said, motioning with his head. Zadia took a few steps and tried to keep her balance right. Once she got to the correct aisle, she searched for a candy that would boost her energy. "You find what you were looking for?" The store clerk asked, tapping his fingers on the counter. "I've got to go on break."
Zadia looked at the man sideways. "Nope." She said, popping out the p. She purposely took more time than needed to grab a pack of nerds. Walking over to the counter, she laid the candy down and pulled a dollar out from her back pocket. She handed it towards the man and he shook his head.
"Two dollars." He said, now glaring at her. "Two dollars." He repeated again.
Zadia could feel her sweat building up in her body. She hated it. "The sign says, one dollar sir." She explained, giving him the same look. "I'm not paying you extra, for no damn candy."
He shrugged. "Well then, I'm sure you can leave." He pointed towards the door. "Goodbye."
Zadia bit down on her lips, feeling her anger rising. "Fine." She said in defeat, before going back into her pocket to grab another dollar bill. She slammed it down on the counter and the man quickly took it, just as she grabbed the box of nerds.
