Retarded In Love

I wandered around the parking lot, unsure of where to go. After a while, I decided just to walk, but to tell someone I was leaving so they didn't get worried. I stopped and looked around, scanning the balconies. The sun was hot and bright, and the air was warm and welcoming. It was a beautiful day. I spotted Steve-O staring down at me, smoking a cigarette. I pretended not to see him and continued to search for someone else. Seconds passed, and I saw no one. Reluctantly, I walked over to stand below Steve-O.

"Tell my brother, or anyone else who wakes up, that I went for a walk." I yelled up at him.

"Where to?" He asked.

"I don't know." I answered.

"You'll get lost." He laughed.

"No, I won't. Just relay the message, damn. No one asked you for an opinion." I yelled.

He looked down at me, laughed, and dropped his cigarette. Before I realized what was happening, something hit my arm. It hurt like hell. I saw the cigarette butt still smoldering on the asphalt, and looked at my arm. A deformed oval of flesh stared back at me. I looked up, but he was gone. I stomped on the cigarette and started walking toward the main street, picking absentmindedly at my new wound.

+ + +

I walked around for what seemed like an eternity before I decided to stop into a little shop. As soon as I walked through the doors, the air conditioning confronted me. It felt nice on my warm skin. It took a little while for my eyes to adjust from the bright sunshine, but when they did I was happy with what I saw. A small obviously family-owned store that sold a little bit of everything. I wandered around for a bit, just looking through things. A rack of bathing suits caught my eye, because I was in California and I didn't have one. I meandered in that direction and started looking through them. I had found a couple I like when I heard a voice from behind me.

"Hey, welcome... Do you need any help with anything?" A girl not much taller than me with medium length brown layered hair asked me.

I smiled at her. "Uh... Not really. I'm just kinda looking."

"Well... Can I make a suggestion without sounding creepy?" She laughed.

I couldn't help but smile at her. "Possibly, go on."

"Ok. Well for you, I would go with the red suit. I think it works well with your skin tone and eye color." She said, pulling a bright red bathing suit from the rack.

"Ok then." I smiled. "I'll take it."

"Haha, cool. I'll ring you up over there, if you're finished."

I nodded and followed her to the counter at the front of the store. I paid for my new purchase and asked if there was anywhere I could change. She pointed me to a small changing room and I wandered back to it. After I had changed, I made my way to the main part of the store.

"Have I seen you somewhere before?" The girl asked me.

"I doubt it. I just got to town yesterday."

"Oh... Where are you from?"

"Pennsylvania."

"Wow, why are you here?"

"Well... I'm here with a few friends... My brother dragged me here."

She seemed to think for a few moments, then her dark brown eyes lit up. "Is your brother's name Bam by any chance?"

"Well... Yeah. How did you know?"

"Big Brother Mag! Ha, I knew I had seen you somewhere before." She flipped through a stack of magazines on the counter and tossed one at me. I looked through it, and sure enough, there I was, nose stalling alongside Bam.

I smiled up at her. "Ha, I didn't think anyone would pay attention to me. I never really did anything for the magazine."

"People do pay attention. Anyway, my name's Liz."

"Ellie." I extended my hand with a smile, and Liz took it firmly.

We chatted for a few minutes about skateboarding and what I was doing in California, then my phone rang.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Ell, it's Bam. Where are you at?"

"Honestly, I don't know."

"Well... Do you think you can find you way to somewhere?"

I looked at Liz who was watching me talk on the phone. "Here. Talk to Liz. Tell her where you're at and I can get there."

I passed the phone off to her and listened to their conversation. After a while, she hung up and handed the phone to me, then walked into the back room without saying a word. Soon, she returned with a tall, tan boy with shaggy blond hair and beaming blue eyes.

"This is Billy. He's going to take you where you need to go." She scribbled something down on a piece of paper. "This is my number. Call me some time if you want. We can hang before you leave."

I agreed and followed Billy out the back door to a small beat up car.