The Cult of Beige
I
The New York wind blew rain through the small cracks of the bus' window. It was cold, but Shay just pulled her long coat around her, deep in thought, always in a fantasy world. There wasn't one person who met her who didn't find something a little off about how she viewed things.
And Shay didn't feel she belonged.
It was her senior year in high school, and although she was top of the class, she wanted nothing to do with being Valedictorian, or going to a fancy University, or getting a scholarship. She didn't want to be congratulated and she didn't want her mom to be proud. She just wanted to curl up alone for once and read a good book. That's all she wanted. To read.
For the past few weeks, she had gotten countless emails from a small, downtown bookstore. Through many talks with the boss, Landon, she was tied in to The Red Leaf. And when Landon accepted her as a "valued customer", he sent her a map and told her to come down before the end of the week.
This was even proving to be difficult. Shay was never alone. Her mother was always pestering her about trying on the latest new fashion, or asking her to meet this important man or that college professor who worked for some desperate school who was desperate for intelligent students to call their own. But for the first time in weeks, she was home alone, and she took the opportunity to ride down to The Red Leaf and meet the people who would take her in and be her real family who accepted Shay for who she was.
The bus stopped in front of the dark shop, skeletons hung in the windows over old books with elegant covers. It was better than the pictures. Shay thought, getting off the bus, and smiling at what she was about to do.
And Shay didn't feel she belonged.
It was her senior year in high school, and although she was top of the class, she wanted nothing to do with being Valedictorian, or going to a fancy University, or getting a scholarship. She didn't want to be congratulated and she didn't want her mom to be proud. She just wanted to curl up alone for once and read a good book. That's all she wanted. To read.
For the past few weeks, she had gotten countless emails from a small, downtown bookstore. Through many talks with the boss, Landon, she was tied in to The Red Leaf. And when Landon accepted her as a "valued customer", he sent her a map and told her to come down before the end of the week.
This was even proving to be difficult. Shay was never alone. Her mother was always pestering her about trying on the latest new fashion, or asking her to meet this important man or that college professor who worked for some desperate school who was desperate for intelligent students to call their own. But for the first time in weeks, she was home alone, and she took the opportunity to ride down to The Red Leaf and meet the people who would take her in and be her real family who accepted Shay for who she was.
The bus stopped in front of the dark shop, skeletons hung in the windows over old books with elegant covers. It was better than the pictures. Shay thought, getting off the bus, and smiling at what she was about to do.
♠ ♠ ♠
If you're going to take the time to read it, you could at least take the time to comment it. They're greatly appreciated.