Rosie

Unemployment sucks ass. You’re constantly bored, no money is being made and in my case, I have a hard time accepting help from other people. I won’t let my parents give me money, and anytime a friend offers to lend me some I feel guilty and helpless. Really it’s just an issue with my pride; I want to be able to say ‘’hey mom, hey dad, I can make it on my own.’’ I’m so unbelievably stubborn that no matter what happens, I have to be able to do it myself, just to prove that I can do it.

Now, you’re probably thinking, ‘’well, at least she admits it, but why doesn't she do something about it?’’ It’s because I can’t. It’s how I’ve always been, it’s practically engraved in my DNA. If anything it just got worse as I grew older. Maybe it’s an OCD thing, I really never understood it though, and I knew I probably never would. And I was okay with that.

The only help I really accepted was when Dawn offered to let me be her roommate. She needed one anyway and I loved Dawn to pieces, so that all worked out nicely. We lived in a small, cramped apartment in Huntington Beach, Southern California. For us it was just perfect; nothing glamorous, just the way we liked it. Dawn and I had been friends ever since elementary school, when she stole my cookies from my lunchbox when I wasn’t looking and blamed it on this kid who drooled all the time. I then hit her forehead with a fruit cup, which she counteracted with a Yoohoo to my nose. I knew then that we were meant to be best friends.

Quite frankly she was also probably my only friend because I didn’t make friends easily. I lost touch with nearly everyone after high school, which didn’t bother me in the slightest. They were pompous assholes, every single one of them, and I was more than glad at the fact that I’d probably never see most of them again. Just because I didn’t go to college like they did didn’t mean I wasn’t happy doing…whatever it was that I was doing. Grocery shopping is cool I guess, and hanging out with Dawn when she’s not working is always nice.

Speaking of grocery shopping, have you ever had to argue with a random stranger over who should get the last box of White Cheddar Cheez-Its?

There I was, strolling through Pathmark with a grocery cart full of the shit that Dawn and I eat and heading to the isle that held my favorite snack, White Cheddar Cheez-Its. I approached said snack and reached up to grab the last box of it when a tall person appeared next to me and said quickly, ‘’Excuse me.’’

When he said that I assumed he wanted the regular Cheez-Its right next to the white cheddar ones, so I moved over. Only to realize too late that he’d grabbed the ones I was after.

‘’I was going to grab those!’’ I protested rather loudly, scaring the guy who’d snatched the true object of my desire. No one messes with my food.

He blinked in shock for a second before putting the box in his cart slowly. ‘’That’s too bad, I got them first,’’ he teased.

‘’I was reaching for them when you swooped out of fucking nowhere and took them,’’ I said, trying to keep my voice calm because people were staring. ‘’That’s my favorite snack.’’

‘’They’re my favorite snack too,’’ he whined, beginning to push the cart away. I grabbed the handle to stop him, taking the box out of his cart.

‘’These are mine, I was here first,’’ I insisted, trying to hold them away from him with difficulty because I was barely five feet tall and he must’ve been over six. Once he latched onto it we pretty much had a tug of war over the box, mangling it in the process.

‘’Give it!’’

‘’No! I saw it first!’’

‘’This is my medication! I need it!’’

‘’Obviously you need some different medication then!’’

‘’Look who’s fucking talking!’’

A few seconds later the box tore in half, the Cheez-Its going all over the isle. There was a moment of silence (perhaps I was mourning the fallen Cheez-Its?) which was over quickly, because now I was really mad.

‘’This is all your fault! Now neither of us have it!’’I yelled, my voice getting increasingly louder.

‘’My fault? You grabbed it out of my cart!’’ he said in exasperation.

‘’Because I saw the fucking box first, therefore I had dibs on it!’’

‘’You didn’t even call dibs!’’

‘’I called it with my eyes!’’

And with that last statement we were both being dragged out of Pathmark by security, our asses hitting the sidewalk before we even knew what was happening. I took deep breaths, rubbing my temples and trying to calm down. I hadn’t been having a good day.

Tall guy was looking at me cautiously, as though I were a ticking time bomb about to explode in his face again. He could’ve just left then and there but he didn’t, which I didn’t notice until a few minutes later. If he was in his right mind he would’ve left.

‘’You don’t have to sit here,’’ I mumbled into my knees, refusing to look at the stranger, ‘’I’m sure you don’t want to hear about the stressful day I’ve been having.’’

‘’I um…well I…here,’’ he said awkwardly, digging around in his pocket and pulling out a pack of Doublemint gum, handing it to me, ‘’I stole it but I don’t really want it.’’

I stared at the gum for a second, taking it slowly. ‘’Thanks, I think. You’re giving me gum after I flipped my shit over Cheez-Its?’’

He shrugged, leaning back on his hands. ‘’I probably would’ve forgotten I had it by the time I got home.’’

I just nodded, staring at the pack of gum and fiddling with the wrappings. Was this a truce offering?

‘’I-I’m sorry for behaving like a complete psychopath,’’ I muttered, ‘’I’m not normally like that. I’ve just been a bit on edge lately.’’

‘’Don’t worry about it,’’ he said, waving it off, ‘’everyone’s got some shit they’re going through. Just find a healthy way to deal with it and show that fucker who’s boss.’’ With this he saluted me, hopping off of the pavement and disappearing into the parking lot.

He was an odd character, I thought to myself. Then again, I wasn’t exactly normal either. The gum was good though, I didn’t really care that it was stolen.

I went home after stopping quickly at Wal-Mart and took the elevator to the 5th floor, searching my pockets for the key. Upon entering the apartment I noticed that Dawn wasn’t home yet, which disappointed me a bit. I couldn’t wait to tell her what happened at the grocery store, despite being rather ashamed of myself. Tall guy did seem nice after the incident and that made me feel really bad.

I put everything away and stuffed the new box of Cheez-Its in the very back of the cabinet as to not have to look at them. If you were wondering about my stressful day, Dawn had told me earlier that I really needed to find a job soon or else she’d need to find a new roommate. Her hours bartending at Johnny’s were getting cut down drastically and she was having a hard time paying for our rent. The deal was I could stay there as long as I found a job within two months of moving in. It had already been four months and I’d found squat.

I looked around the apartment for something to do. It was pretty clean so there went my first idea. Then I considered dying my hair some crazy color but that went down the drain too. I adored my choppy red hair far too much to change it. I ended up watching some reruns of Friends for a few hours, which always put me in a good mood. Chandler and Phoebe always made me laugh the hardest, Joey too in many instances. I always had to sing along with the theme song or else I’d feel as though I committed a crime against humanity.

After lounging on the couch for awhile like a mashed potato I looked at the time on the VCR, realizing that it was 8:30 and Dawn was still out. Whether she was still at work or not I didn’t know, but I was fairly sure she didn’t work the bar past 7 anymore. I tried calling her twice but her phone automatically went to voicemail. In need of a drink and bored to pieces, I slung my bag over my shoulder and locked up the apartment. Johnny’s Bar and Grill was my destination, obviously.

I’d been there quite a few times to hang out with Dawn when things were slow at work, but I’d never seen the place so crowded. Holy fuck, it was probably a fire hazard or something, but I didn’t really think about that too much. I was just trying to find my best friend and get a few drinks in my system.

I sipped at my Corona in a corner and scanned the room silently, looking for any sign of her. I’d asked the bartender if she was working and he said no, but he also said that she stayed to drink with a group of guys that went there pretty regularly. Storing this information in my short memory, I quickly realized that there were many groups of guys there and a lot of them were drinking with pretty girls.

‘’Fuck,’’ I mumbled, unable to even hear myself over the blasting music. I weaved my way through the room until I heard familiar laughing coming from a table nearby. Golden hair. Bingo.

‘’A-and then,’’ this buff guy with tattoos and a buzz cut laughed drunkenly, ‘’he landed face first in Brian’s puke!’’

The table erupted with laughter, a table of five guys about our age with tattoos and piercings, all of whom most likely were drunk. I tapped Dawn on the shoulder, wondering why she was involved in this gathering.

‘‘Oh hey, Rosie!’’ she grinned, scooting over in the booth to squeeze me in.
I was hesitant, very aware of the five faces staring at me curiously but I sat down anyway, drinking my beer awkwardly.

‘’Guys, this is my friend Rosie,’’ Dawn introduced semi-drunkenly, her words slightly slurred. There were general greetings from all around the table, one of them being ‘’I know you’’.

I looked to the person who said it to find myself face to face with a pair of bright blue eyes and messy black hair, a labret piercing just below his bottom lip.

‘’Tall guy?’’ I asked unsurely. I was really terrible with names. I held up the pack of gum to jog his memory.

‘’Short girl!’’ he exclaimed, his beer spilling a bit when he waved it around. That’s how he remembered me?

‘’You two know each other?’’ Dawn asked.

Tall guy and I exchanged looks.

‘’Sort of,’’ I shrugged, putting the gum away, ‘’it’s a story I’ll tell you later.’’

She nodded and went to conversing with the guy next to her, short with a black mohawk.

‘’So Rosie, are you single?’’ a guy in a fedora asked across from me, his muscley arms covered in tattoos and a cocky smirk on his face. I glared.

‘’Yes but I’m asexual,’’ I said smugly, crossing my arms. He just grumbled at this and went back to drinking.

I nudged Dawn to get her attention. ‘’You know I’m socially awkward,’’ I hissed through my teeth, ‘’why did you want me to stay?’’

She just shrugged, tucking a piece of golden hair behind her ear. ‘’I thought you wanted to.’’

I just stared at her. Did she not know me? ‘’I came here looking for you and a quick drink, I don’t even know these people.’’

Dawn shot me a quick glare, telling me with her eyes that I was being rude. ‘’They’re here a lot and they’re nice guys, can you be social for once?’’

‘’I’m sorry,’’ I mumbled, ‘’I guess I can stay for a bit.’’

So I talked to tall guy for a bit and found out his name was Jimmy. Jimmy and the four other guys we were sitting with were in a local band, Jimmy being their drummer. They’d already made an album, which he gave me for free.

The guy next to Jimmy had gotten up at some point and came back with a tray full of shots. I only took one after he insisted I take shots with them. He told me his name was Zacky.

The liquid burned as it went down my throat but it gave me the push to start being more social. I talked to the band’s lead singer, Matt, and found out they were already working on a new album.

‘’Avenged Sevenfold is going to make it big, mark my words,’’ he told me. To this we each took another shot.

‘’Dawn grabbed my junk,’’ mohawk dude yelled, trying to inch away from her, ‘’she wants me in her pants!’’

‘’Johnny, you asshole!’’ She hit him on the arm. ‘’I didn’t touch you!’’

I laughed hysterically at this. ‘’Johnny, are you drunk?’’ I asked in all seriousness. He nodded and took two shots at once.

‘’Okay good because so am I,’’ I said, giving him a high five, or at least trying to. We missed the first few times.

‘’Hey Ross,’’ Zacky slurred, leaning forward in his seat, ‘’know why Pocahontas is the best movie ever?’’

I just blinked and stared. I wasn’t that drunk.

‘’My name isn’t Ross, but go on,’’ I laughed.
'''Cause there’s, like, cute animals in it and shit,’’ he said, which caused everyone within earshot to burst out laughing, especially fedora guy, who was leaning on Zack, trying to breathe like a normal person.

‘’Brian get off of me, I don’t want your dick,’’he yelped, trying to get Brian off of him. Instead Brian takes off his hat and hits Zacky on the side of the head with it.

‘’Stop being special. Pocahontas and the animals in it are for fucking children. We are men,’’ he huffed, downing a beer.

‘’Yeah, well cute animals are the shit so I hope one shits in your cornflakes tomorrow morning,’’ Dawn piped up.

What was I getting myself into?

We stayed there until midnight, all of us completely and utterly wasted. I stumbled outside when we were all leaving and puked right on the sidewalk. Dawn helped me to my car.

‘’Ross threw up!’’ Jimmy announced, pointing at it.

‘’Shut it, ass face!’’ I yelled back, climbing into the driver’s seat slowly. Dawn watched me cautiously.

‘’Want me to drive us home? I could come back and get my car tomorrow.’’

I shook my head. ‘’I’ll be fine, just gimme a minute.’’ She nodded and stumbled off to find her own car.

‘’I’ll see you back home!’’ she yelled.

I sat in my car for a few minutes, leaving my door open to puke two more times. I rested my head on the steering wheel, wiping my mouth quickly when Jimmy approached, side-stepping the throw up.

‘’So Ross,’’ he began, rolling his eyes when I glared, ‘’okay, Rosie, you left the CD on the table,’’ he mumbled, handing it to me.

‘’Thanks,’’ I said quietly, putting it in my bag on the seat next to me.

‘’Okay well you’re probably gonna puke again in like two seconds so I’ll go now,’’ he slurred, looking up as his friends were calling him back over, ‘’I’ll see you around sometime.’’ And with that he waved quickly, stumbling back to his band.

He must’ve been psychic or something because the second he left I puked out the door again. Coughing and grumbling, I closed the door and drove out of the parking lot, craving my nice warm bed.

When I got home in one piece Dawn was already asleep. I was about to go to bed when I remembered the CD and opened it, watching as a slip of paper fell out. I picked it up and realized Jimmy had given me his number.

I stared at the paper for a minute, wondering why he did that before putting it on the refrigerator.

My head barely hit the pillow before I was out like a light, having a dream that I kept turning into Ross Gellar from Friends.