Glowsticks

I got dressed and ready for a new day. It was the weekend, and I didn't know what to do. Sad, pathetic, call it as you may. There's not much to do in Rosetown anyway.

I looked at myself in the mirror. A floral dress and gold sandals were all I had on. And it was a good choice, considering the heat covering this small town. It was almost funny how hot it could be for a town that was in the middle of nowhere. 'Let's see. I still have to buy some grocery. I've got nothing left to eat.' I thought giggling at the small apple sitting majestically in the middle of the table. I picked it up, grabbed a small braided purse and went out.

"Yum, this apple's actually good. Wow." I said and waved at the people passing by. By people, I mean two or three. You could never get lonely here though. Everybody knew everybody's business and secrets could never stay hidden here. It was annoying, but as I said, it kept the honesty going.

I walked in the heat for a while before reaching my target: a small shop in the outskirts of town. It was a long walk, but I couldn't afford a car. Far too expensive and it couldn't do me any good. Of course, there were the lucky girls whose parents could afford small Beetles or some other kind of small, cute car. However, I was stuck. That's the price for living alone. I entered the small shop, and I let out a breath. It was just as heated as everywhere else.

"Hello, Andie. How are you?" The small woman asked in front of me. She was short, but chubby. And not in a mean way. In a way only Dallas' characters could. Short, sweet, funny but her mouth sometimes ran without her knowing.

"Hi, Betty. Good, good, thank you. You?" I asked as I put random items in a small bag. Sweets, cornflakes, milk, butter, honey, almost everything that consisted of my favorite foods. Immature? Yes. Timeless? No.

"Pete wrote me a letter, yesterday. He said he loves college! Can you imagine, Andie? My son! My own son is away for college! I'm so proud of him, Andie. You can't even imagine! He said he missed the heat and seeing you here everyday." She rambled on and on and I blushed slightly. I used to have a small, hm, how can I call it, passion, I guess for Pete. His sweet smile and face. He was nothing extraordinary. Black mop of hair, curls falling into his face and hazel eyes. Always the shy one.

"Oh, I'm rambling again, aren't I? I'm sorry. I'll let you do your shopping in silence." Betty blushed but I shook my head.

"No, it's nice to here about Pete. Glad he likes college. He always talked about how he didn't need it." Betty laughed and nodded her head.

"You don't even know how many times I've talked to that boy. Glad he got his head out of his butt." Betty said in a motherly tone. The woman absolutely glowed. It made me yearn to know how a simple thing could make someone so happy.

"Well, it's all your fault then."

Betty laughed and I did too. I took my things to the counter and payed for them. I waited a bit, looked around again and bid my farewell to Betty.

"I'm so proud to be his mother!" Betty screamed and danced around. I immediately stiffened up and Betty backed away a little bit.

"I'm- I'm sorry, Andie. I didn't mean to-" Betty said, tripping on her own words. I smiled a tight smile.

"Don't worry, Betty. See ya later." I said and went back onto the heated road.

"Bye, Andie." I heard her mumble eventually. In a sad tone. The corners of my mouth went down.

'I should've known better.'