Paper Bags and Plastic Hearts

“So how’s work?” My friend Lacey asked, kicking a rock off the sidewalk. We were leaving the school grounds and making our way to her house as her mother had invited me over to eat. Today was an early day for us, so at least I had some time to kill before going to work.

I shrugged. “Same old.”

“Really? Nothing exciting happened?”

I threw her a funny look. “And when does anything exciting ever happen at Dash-Mart?”

Lacey laughed. “True.”

I combed my fingers through my low ponytail. “Well, one thing happened. It’s not exciting or anything, but it’s different.”

“Do tell.”

“There’s this new kid. He’s probably our age or maybe older, I dunno.” I shrugged.

Lacey grinned. “He’s cute, isn’t he?”

“How could you possibly know that?” I quirked a brow.

“Well, you wouldn’t mention this guy if he wasn’t cute.”

I scoffed. “Are you calling me superficial?”

“No, I’m only assuming he’s cute. Am I right?” She grinned wider.

“Well….”

“Knew it!” She shook her head, laughing.

I playfully shoved her sideways.

“So what’s he like?” She asked curiously.

“Well, he’s tall. And skinny. He wears all black and his hair’s black, too. He’s got blue eyes and snakebites.”

“Whoa. I’m picturing someone really hot.”

“You picture correct.” I laughed. “But he’s like, real quiet. He keeps to himself, y’know?”

“Which makes this kid all the more intriguing!” She laughed. “Have you talked to him?”

“Yeah. I had to show him around and stuff.”

“Lucky you.”

I shook my head. “Lace, you already have the hots for this guy and you’ve never even seen him.”

“That’s because I trust your taste, Farrah. From what you’ve described, this kid sounds absolutely gorgeous. I mean, black hair and blue eyes? Is there any better combo than that? I don’t think so.” She grinned goofily.

I chuckled. “You should come by Dash-Mart sometime.”

“Oh, trust me. I will.” She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at me.

“Perv,” I joked.

“Moi?” She laughed. “Oh, please. Do I look like a perv to you?”

“No, actually, you look like a quiet nerd. And you know what they say: it’s always the quiet ones.”

“Dude, don’t offend!” She whined, giving me a shove.

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, bite me, Weber.”

“And I’m the perv.” She shook her head in mock disapproval. “So how’s your mom? I haven’t seen her in a while.”

“Oh, that’s because she’s been parading around in ridiculously short dresses and going to karaoke bars with Archie,” I replied bitterly, kicking another rock out of my way.

“Archie? Like Archie Comics?” She snorted in laughter.

This caused me to do the same. “Yep. Archie. He’s big, buff and stupid. Exactly mom’s type.”

“So she broke up with that cop?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow, that didn’t last long, did it?” She chuckled.

“And when does any of my mothers relationships last long? I bet my left arm that Archie won’t last two weeks.”

Lacey laughed. “You don’t like any of your mom’s boyfriends, do you?”

“Nope,” I answered, popping my mouth at the ‘p’.

“So this Archie guy doesn’t even stand a chance, does he?” She joked.

“Are you kidding me? The guy keeps calling me Sarah, for crying out loud!”

She laughed.

“He’s ridiculous, Lacey. I swear he’s like the human version of Johnny Bravo, minus the big poufy blond hair.”

“Wow. I feel so sorry for your mom,” she said, still laughing. Lacey always found my comments so amusing.

“You shouldn’t feel sorry for my mom, Lace. You should feel sorry for me. I’m the one that has to see this guy practically every day.” I cried fakely.

“I’m so sorry, Fare.” She chuckled, swinging an arm over my shoulders and resting her head on mine. “That’s the price you pay for having a hot single mom.”

__________________________________________________________

“That’ll be $15,90,” I spoke monotonously, popping the cash register open.

The elderly man with white hair and aviator glasses reached out his hand to give me the money and I handed him the plastic bag full of instant soup mixes.

“Thanks, little lady,” he said with a smile that showed a few missing teeth.

I smiled back. “You’re welcome, sir.”

He nodded his head before turning around and leaving Dash-Mart. After I shut the register, I looked back and saw Andy at his customerless cash register picking at his nails while chewing bubblegum.

I might’ve been staring a bit longer than I’d imagined because the sound of someone clearing their throat from behind me made me snap out of my little idiotic daze. I quickly turned around and was face to face with Mrs. DeLuca.

“Hey, hun,” she said cheerfully.

My nostrils automatically closed once the God awful smell of her breath came in contact with them. “Oh hey, Mrs. DeLuca.”

“Were you checking our new guy out?” She asked, pulling out a pack of Marlboro from her vest’s pocket and taking a cigarette.

“What? Uh, no,” I answered quickly with a nervous laugh attached.

She lit up her cancer stick and took a drag before smirking at me. “He’s a babe, isn’t he?”

I made a face. “Uh……”

“He looks like one of them kids from those rock bands that make all the lil girls wet their panties.”

Once again, I let out a nervous laugh. This woman had quite the mouth.

“Did you hit on him yet?” She suddenly asked.

“N-No.”

“How come? He looks about your age and may I say, you two look adorable together.”

“Mrs. DeLuca, that’s crazy,” I said, shaking my head.

“Honey, what’s crazy is that you don’t talk to him. I mean, if I were, say, thirty something years younger, I’d be tapping his brains out.”

My eyes widened briefly. “Tapping?”

“Yeah, isn’t that what the kids are calling it these days?” She took another drag. “Or is it banging?”

I coughed awkwardly. “I, uh, don’t know.”

Jeez.

“Oh, well, who cares? They all imply sexual intercourse.” She waved her hand.

I took a deep breath, not answering.

“Loosen up, hun. Be smart and go chat with the boy.” She puffed the cancerous smoke in my face. “If you don’t, I will.”

I made a face.

“Go,” she urged, giving me a light push.

I sighed and glanced back at Andy, who now had his back towards me. It wouldn’t hurt to try and talk to this guy, would it? Oh well, it’s worth a shot. I straightened my vest and walked slowly over to him with Mrs. DeLuca watching. I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear and stopped. “Hey.”

Andy turned around with an expressionless face. “Hi.”

I smiled awkwardly. “How’s it going?”

He shrugged. “Fine.”

“Oh, that’s nice.”

He nodded, running his fingers through his hair before folding his arms over his chest.

Wow. This is going wonderful. I royally suck.

“So, uh….Andy, huh? Short for Andrew?” I asked stupidly.

He furrowed his brows. “Andrea.”

“Really?”

“No.” He smirked.

“Oh. Sarcasm. That’s great,” I muttered, shifting my weight to my right leg.

He continued smirking and we stayed quiet for maybe fifteen seconds.

“Well, this has been sufficiently awkward,” I said with a nervous chuckle. “I best be getting back to my post.”

He just nodded, staring at me.

“Cheers,” I muttered, before spinning around and heading back to my spot.

Cheers? Cheers?! Oh sweet lord. Striking up small talks with boys, especially cute ones, wasn’t my strong point. At all. Just take that last pathetic excuse for a conversation as a valid example.

I sighed, fixing my ponytail. Mrs. DeLuca came waltzing back to me.

“How’d it go, hun?”

“It went great,” I lied. “He’s quite the talker.”

She chuckled. “Didn’t get much out of him, did you, toots?”

I shook my head. “I may have made a fool of myself, I don’t know.”

She gave me a sympathetic smile while placing an arm on my shoulder. “It’s alright. He’ll come out of his shell sooner or later. Just be sure to try to interact with him at all times. Otherwise, before you know it, some whore will just steal him away from ya and you won’t have any chance left.”

I gave her a funny look. “It seems like you say that out of experience.”

She shrugged, taking a drag. “I’ve had my off days.”

I nodded in understanding, pretending to know what that meant. Sometimes, Mrs. DeLuca didn’t make much sense.

To me, anyways.