Every Rose Has Its Thorn

It was Thursday. The sky was tinted gray and the air was dusted with humidity. It was only 76; it wasn’t hot, but the day did not have a welcoming personality.

She was staring out the passenger side window, her eyes wandering aimlessly. Thank God she hadn’t inherited her mother’s intolerance for looking out windows in moving vehicles. All the times she had heard the story of how her mother always had to sit behind the drivers’ seat on the school bus and how she couldn’t read in the car or gaze out the window just replayed itself in her head.

She had off Thursdays, so she and her friend Joelle decided to go to the poorly run pet store. She disproved of their service, lack of knowledge, and lack of respect for the animals. They weren’t the cleanest, nicest, or best choice to shop at, and that’s why she never bought anything from them, just stopped in occasionally to check on the level of the water in the bottles and lend attention to the miserable creatures that dwelled there. Last time she came it appeared to have been under new management, so she felt it was necessary to check in and see how things were going. She had boycotted the store completely a while back due to their poor care of the animals, but today she felt like swallowing her pride.

For the animals, she told herself. They deserved someone who cared, someone who respected them, someone who would get a job there who wanted to take care of them. Not a highschooler whose parents made them get a job to pay for their own expenses. Get a job at Burger King or something. Fuck up people's orders, not animal's lives.

When she used to frequent the store, she would help employees clean cages, answer questions for customers, and spend time with the animals. She might as well have worked there, but it wasn’t possible at the time. She had even thought about volunteering, just so she would have an excuse to be there and do what everyone else was supposed to but didn’t. But that was not possible for the same reason that she couldn’t work there.

It wasn’t because she was too young. It wasn’t because she didn’t want to work there. It wasn’t even because she didn’t like the people who worked there… her life was just too hectic and unpredictable. She was a mess. She knew she had had enough to take care of, and even that stuff she could have be doing better than she was. There are people who could load on commitments and pull it off. There are people who push themselves past their limit and finish everything they’re supposed to finish. She just wasn’t one of them.

She glanced down at the foot mat and became nauseous. One thing she didn’t know was where she inherited her claustrophobia. She directed her attention back out the window, taking a few deep breaths. They passed the shopping center where the Hoagie Shop was. There was a black Limo parked along the side of the parking lot, as it was too long to fit in a spot. “Nice job at parallel parking,” she commented sarcastically, speaking into the window.

The car came to a stop. She had been silent the whole ride. It’s not that her and Joelle didn’t have a good relationship, but she just felt drained today; like she needed her batteries charged. Animals tended to cheer her up. Truth is, she didn’t know what to say to Joelle with her new divorce and all… she had gotten married too young and it took a toll. What do you say to that?

She sat for a moment in a state of detachment. She wanted to get up, and her mind was telling her to move, but her body wouldn’t oblige. She sighed in defeat. What the hell, she thought. “It must be the weather," she murmured to herself.

Joelle stood waiting for her, as her attempt to get up was successful. She pushed down the button that locked all the doors. Slamming the door harder than she probably should, she continued her way to the store.

“God damn people…” she spat, bending over to pick up trash off the ground. She shook her head in disgust all the way to the front doors of the pet store. “Ugh, it smells like cigarettes over here,” she whined. It made her want to hurl; just the smell of them. She jammed the trash into the garbage can that stood just outside the doors. “Now was that so fucking hard?” she asked, her words covered in spite, like a strawberry dipped in chocolate.

She sighed heavy out of lingering annoyance. She had a strong disliking for the disregard of humanity. As she grasped the door handle and pulled, she breathed in the scent of… dog bones and fish. Ah, just as she remembered it.

She stepped inside and peered around, surveying everything. She resumed her walking, following her usual routine. She walked up the small set of stairs to the colony of huge Koi fish. They swarmed to the top like baby birds waiting to be fed. Their gaping mouths always made her giggle. She smiled compassionately at them. “I don’t have any food, guys.” She stroked a few on the head before bidding them goodbye.

Nichole winded her way around the aquariums they had set up for sale and trotted down another small flight of stairs. She walked anxiously over to the dogs and cats, knowing she shouldn't. Immediately looking at the top enclosures, where the cats were usually kept, she skimmed her eyes along the top. She couldn't see anything in the one enclosure that was marked with a sticker, but she assumed there was indeed a kitten inside. Nichole gave her attention to the fluffy Persian kitten that was laying pressed up against the glass in the next cage over. Taking notice of the price sticker in the corner, she narrowed her eyes to better make out what it said over the glare of all the lights. $799.00! she screamed in her head. Her eyes widened. Holy shit, man! What were they smoking?

“YO! DUDE!” someone yelled from somewhere in the store. She jumped at the havoc and perked her head up, scanning what she could see.

“Stupid people…” she said to no one in particular.

She walked past the feathery creatures. She was never a bird person. Plus, they were separated by glass. It’s not like she could have any real interaction with them anyway. Besides, they didn’t care. “Hand-fed or not, they could give two shits about humans,” she scoffed, smirking. Kind of reminded her of herself…

“Nikki! Come look at this!” called Joelle. It sounded like she was in the Tropical Fish Department. When Nichole finally found her friend, she stood, admiring the neon coral, the rather large Lion fish, and the Parrot fish. They had no fear.

“They’d probably swim right up to you and get in your face if they could,” she said, partly intrigued. Oh, to be adventurous like that… she thought. The fish eyed her and Joelle with suspicion, or whatever it was. She could never really tell with fish...

She jumped again at the offensive noise, which was now coming from right around the corner, in the reptile section. There was a laugh followed by “Oh my God! Look!”

How can people be so loud, she thought. She shifted her weight, leaning to see what it was. There was a group of boys huddled around a girl. “Ange!” Nichole exclaimed, nearly loosing her balance. She hurried over, finding a spot between the boys. Both the girls’ faces lit up.

“Oh my God! Where have you been?” Angela squealed.

“Ugh, busy. I lost all respect and tolerance for this place… I just stopped coming,” she answered honestly. Nichole entered the Feeder Quarry as if she worked there. She opened the top to the “holding chamber” as she called it, and scooped up a little 5 week old brown rat. She gently pet all the other rats in that chamber, cooing at them like a lunatic. She hooked the latch, then turned around and walked to Angela’s side, glancing down at Ange’s hands.

“It amazes me how they start off so small,” Nichole said in awe about the 2 inch lizard that lay motionlessly in her friend's small, olive colored hands. She saw two of the boys close together, whispering like school girls having a gossip fest.

“And… what is that?” one of the voices asked, a slighty cocky tone in his voice. She could tell he didn't really care.

“A baby bearded,” Nichole stated, her gaze still on the lizard before her. She sounded like a know-it-all. That’s because she was. A smug look came across her face and her view shot upward, meeting the owner of the voice.

“A bearded what?” asked the one with a head full of hair, who had his hand on his chin and looked baffled.

“Dragon, fool!” retorted the guy with shoulder length black hair. Sunglasses adorned the top of his head. He backhanded the question asker on the back of the head, making his hair bob furiously.

“Hey!” Nikki reprimanded. “Not necessary!” Wow. Did she really say that? She kicked herself mentally for always acting like a mother.

The supposed abuser gave her an amused and surprised look. Nichole held eye contact, regardless of her discomfort at her actions, until the other looked away.

“Whoa! Where’d that thing come from?” asked the one with glasses, startled.

Nichole looked around, slightly confused. The bearded had been out. What was he talking about? That’s when she noticed he was staring at her hands. She took a glimpse down.
“Ooh, this?” she giggled and scooped the rat up, holding him on display a little bit away from her body. She could tell this made the boy uncomfortable. She returned the rat close to her body, sheltering it with her hands. She slowly glided closer to the boy who had recently made the outburst. He backed up and she had to hold back a laugh. “It’s okay. He won’t bite. No reason to be scared,” she assured him. His demeanor remained.

She felt someone come up behind her, who later retired to the side of the lean, lanky boy. This one smiled, his lip ring highlighting his lips. He reached out his arm to pet the small animal, the letters tattooed on his knuckles on display. “They’re harmless, Mikes. Like they say, it’s more scared of you than you are of it.” He stroked the rat’s muzzle with his index finger.

“See,” he said, letting his arms rest at his sides and nodding toward his friend approvingly.
Nichole gazed in admiration.

The boys exchanged glances and soon the apprehensive one moved closer and outstretched his hand. He closed his eyes and pet the animal. Nikki beamed. She loved teaching people about rats. It wasn’t perfect, but it was something. One step at a time.

Angela stepped forward. “Should you be doing this?” she asked.

Nikki tilted her head in confusion. “Doing what?”

“Bonding with that rat,” Ange said concerned, pointing at the rodent in her hands.

“Well they all deserve to know what the slightest amount of love feels like before they die,” she replied indignantly. “And no one else does it." Ange sighed and returned the lizard back to its home.

“Was that your Limo outside the Hoagie Factory?” Nichole asked, turning toward the group of boys. She was still stroking the now sleeping rat in her arms.

She knew the answer. Small talk never hurts, right?

Besides, what could she have in common with any of them?