Paper Bags and Plastic Hearts

Break time came by pretty quick. I was holding a bag of Doritos in my hand while making my way outside the break area. As I got there, I noticed Andy sitting by himself with his face hid behind a magazine as usual. I bit my lip, wondering if I should sit with him. I glanced over at Mrs. DeLuca’s table where I saw her waving her arms wildly and motioning towards Andy.

I sighed, giving her a crooked smile. I looked at Andy once more before taking my time in making my way towards his table. His head snapped up in acknowledgment of my sudden presence. “Hey,” I greeted, just as awkwardly as before.

“Hey.”

“Mind if I sit?”

He smirked. “No.”

I returned the smirk and sat myself down across from him. He looked back down at his magazine. I opened my bag of Doritos and took one out, nibbling on it while watching Andy discreetly. He was an interesting kid. I still wondered what he was doing working as a cashier in one of the town’s crappiest supermarkets.

“You don’t eat?” I asked curiously.

His eyes left the magazine to hold contact with mine. “In general, yes.”

I arched a brow. Man this kid is weird. And a smartass, too.

“You want some?” I offered, pushing my Doritos toward him.

“No thanks,” he answered, looking back down at his magazine.

I nibbled on another Dorito. “You’re a man of very few words, aren’t you?”

He shrugged. “I guess.”

“Is there a reason for that?” I questioned.

“Not really,” he answered in a monotonous tone.

I nodded. “Sure you don’t want any?”

“Nope.”

“Kay.” I shrugged. “So, uh, what’s that magazine about?”

“Music,” he replied.

“Ah.” I nodded once again.

For some reason, he laughed under his breath. “You like music?”

“Of course. Who doesn’t?”

He smiled. Not smirked, smiled. “What’s your favorite kind?”

Oh, I see we’re making some progress.

“Rock, for sure,” I replied with a smile. “You?”

“Same.”

I took out another Dorito. “Can’t say I’m too fond of all this pop kids listen to these days.”

“It’s pure garbage, if you ask me,” he muttered.

“Tell me about it.” I rolled my eyes.

“You think so too?” He chuckled.

“Definitely. I mean, what is it with these new artists and their need for so much auto tune? It’s stupid.”

“I know. They sound like robots,” he said with a laugh.

“Exactly.” I laughed too. “It’s kinda sad that nearly everyone at my school listens to that crap.”

“Nearly?”

“Well, I exclude myself and my friend, of course.”

He laughed.

“So, Andy. What’s your story?” I asked, seeing as how I’d managed to get him talking.

“My story?”

“Yeah. Tell me about yourself.”

“You really wanna know?”

“I’m asking, aren’t I?”

He smiled crookedly, putting his magazine down. “Well, I’m Andy. I’m quiet and sarcastic and my favorite color is black.”

“Really? I did not know that!” I placed a hand on my cheek in mock surprise.

He laughed. “Uh, I graduated high school last year, I didn’t go to college and I’m working at Dash-Mart.”

“Why didn’t you go to college?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, I wanted to take a year off and do some serious thinking about what I wanted to do with my life.”

“And have you made up your mind yet?" I flexed my leg up against my chest.

He smirked. “Yeah. I decided I want to be a cashier for the rest of my natural existence.”

I shook my head. “That’s my dream.”

He laughed. I really liked the sound of his laugh.

“Well, I can’t wait to graduate and get the hell outta this town,” I said, toying with my bag of chips.

Andy furrowed his eyebrows, looking at me wonderingly. “How old are you?”

“Sixteen.” I sighed dramatically. “I still got a whole other year of highschool to endure, unfortunately.” I flicked a small piece of Dorito off the table. “How old are you?”

“Eighteen.”

“Ugh, I can’t wait to be eighteen.”

He laughed. “It’s not as exciting as you might think.”

“Are you kidding me? It’s gotta be a lot better than sixteen. I mean, you’re legally an adult! You can do whatever the hell you want. The world is your oyster.”

This made him laugh even more. “What?”

I snorted in laughter. “I don’t know. I’ve heard that expression before on an episode of Friends and I thought I used it right, but apparently not.”

“Oh.” He shook his head. “It’s not really like that. I mean, yeah, I guess I’m an adult but I don’t do anything crazy. I live with my mom.”

“Oh. Well, at least you can still do whatever you want.” I smiled.

“Yeah.” He did a hair flip. “Your turn.”

For some reason, the way he flipped his hair sort of made my heart skip a beat and I was in a sudden daze again.

“Farrah?” He said.

Snap out of it! I mentally slapped myself across the face. I sat up straight and blinked, staring at him. “Yeah?”

“You okay?” He chuckled a bit.

“Yeah, yeah. I just, uh, tend to space out every now and then.” I laughed nervously. “Blame my A.D.D.”

He made a funny face.

“So what were you saying?” I asked, feeling the blood rushing to my cheeks.

“I said it’s your turn,” He clarified.

“My turn?”

“What’s your story?"

"Oh." I smiled crookedly. “Okay. Uh. I’m Farrah. I’m pretty clumsy and I tend to say things without thinking. I hate my school, I’ve been working at this shitty market for over a month and I’m the most pessimistic person you’ll ever meet.”

“Nice.” Andy laughed.

“Oh, but what you don’t know is that I live a double life. Yeah, at night I dress up as a big spider and fight crime." I nodded.

He grinned. “Spidergirl?”

“Indeed. But not so loud. My enemies are everywhere,” I said lowly.

He chuckled, fixing the lime green vest. “They couldn’t have picked a worst color for uniforms, huh?”

“I know,” I agreed, looking down at mine. “It’s the color of Reagan’s vomit.”

“Who?” He asked, knitting his eyebrows together.

“That little girl from The Exorcist,” I replied.

“Oh,” he snorted in laughter. “You’re right.” He then looked at my nametag. “That’s unique. I bet you put a lot of effort into that brilliant piece of artwork.”

“Hey, as a matter of fact I did!” I said in mock hurtfulness. Then I laughed. “Shit, my three year old cousin can do a better job than this.”

“I’m guessing you’re right,” he teased.

“Stop making fun. You don’t want me to make fun of you, now do you?” I smirked.

He too smirked. “Make fun of what?”

“Well, your guyliner, for one,” I teased. “And your hair.”

He pouted as his hand automatically reached for his head. “What about my hair?”

I shrugged. “It’s funny.”

He laughed. “So I make one little joke about your creative nametag and you lash out on my hair and my eyeliner?”

“I’m not lashing out.” I laughed. “I actually do like your hair. And your eyeliner.”

He looked at me dubiously. “Seriously?”

“Yeah. It’s not often I get to see a guy parading around in make up.” I grinned.

“Okay, now you’re really making fun.” He shook his head. “Not cool.”

I chuckled.

“Hey, you two. Break time’s over. Let’s get inside and back to work. Chop chop!” Lenny called from the entrance way of the supermarket, clapping his hands.

“Wow, that was quick,” I muttered, folding the half full bag of Doritos.

“Yeah, time flies when you’re having such a rad conversation with your co-worker,” Andy said with a crooked smile, which instantly made me laugh.

Who knew this kid was so cool?

We both stood from our seats and began walking back towards the supermarket.

“I don’t even know how Lenny can be so optimistic. We barely have any busy days. I mean, face it. Dash-Mart ain’t no Wal-Mart,” I whispered to Andy, who snorted in laughter at my comment as we passed by a smiling Lenny.