It's the beginning of the quarter. And that means the usual beginning-of-the-quarter rituals. Book buying. Book selling. Dressing up for the potential cute boys in your classes - and then realizing that they're far too young for you since you're graduating in two months while they're just out of puberty, and consequently changing back into your oh-so-comfortable sweats. And of course - that one huge grocery shopping trip.
See, I live in an apartment-style dorm, complete with its own kitchen for home-styled cooking. At the end of every quarter, we're required to clean out our refrigerators. Thus, at the beginning of every quarter, we're stuck with nothing to eat. So I, along with my two dinner-mates, will make one huge pilgrimage to the Jewel located 15 blocks away at the beginning of every quarter, and get as much food as we can handle.
The walk down isn't bad at all. We stop for dinner breaks, chance meetings with friends on the street, visits with friends who work at the required-for-every-town Gap and Starbucks. We eventually get to the grocery store, and then we go buck-wild.
Jewel brand sugar. Jewel brand orange juice. Jewel brand cake mix. Jewel brand meat. Jewel yogurt. If fruits and vegetables grew specifically on Jewel brand trees and vines, and were cheaper as a result, we'd buy the Jewel brand there too.
We check out - our bill usually higher than anticipated since all those 10 for $10 deals eventually add up, and then we load everything into our empty backpacks and make the long trek home.
See, my friends. We don't have the luxury of having a car.
But this quarter, our visit to the grocery store was different. Once we got there, one of my friends noticed a guy in the bread section.
"Look! Michelle! Your DM partner!"
DM - meaning Dance Marathon. As in, I held him for 30 hours to make sure he didn't fall asleep or stop dancing on me. Well, okay, there might be a slight role reversal, since I was actually the cranky one, and he was the overly energetic and enthusiastic one. But regardless. Once you do DM with someone, you're partners for life. You've sweat blood together - raising money, almost dying of frostbite going around to football tailgates in the dead of winter asking for spare change. And I have a burn scar from the hot cookie sheet he dropped on my knee - from our bake sale, of course. We owe each other. If he demanded my first-born child, I'd hand it over readily. Likewise, if I need someone to hide me from the CIA, he has an obligation to house me in his basement.
Granted, DM was two years ago. Which is why my guy friend and I immediately ducked into the next aisle over - the feminine care section. As we pretended to peruse the different treatments for various female ailments, we suddenly realized a very very VERY important fact.
My DM partner has a car.
If we'd been in a cartoon, lightbulbs would have lit up over our heads. We quickly ran around the grocery store, grabbing what we needed - and stalking my DM partner the whole time. Finally he got into line to pay. Nonchalantly, we sidled up behind him and started putting our stuff down.
"Whoa. Michelle?"
"...Oh! Wow! HI! I didn't know you were here!"
"Yeah. Grocery shopping."
"Us too."
"That's a lot of food you've got there."
"Yeah."
"How are you gonna get it all home?"
"Oh, we have to walk." At this point, I make the most pitiful (while still flirtatious) face I can manage at him - which I'm sure managed to come out looking just plain constipated.
"Ha ha ha ha. Oh wait! You're not joking? You're walking?! Are you kidding me?!"
"Nope." Dramatic pause. "Sooo...how are you getting all your groceries home?"
"I have a car."
"Oh how nice!" looking him in the eyes and willing him to say those magic words I'm dying to hear.
"Yeah." And at this point he finishes paying, turns to me, pauses, and then says:
"All right then, I'll see you around. Bye!" as he turns back around and drives off into the night.
...
He probably didn't have room in the car for the three of us. Or maybe he wasn't even headed home right away. Maybe it would be too out of his way. I mean, we do live a whole half block away from him. Better yet, maybe he was going to visit his girlfriend (doubtful in existence), and didn't want her to be jealous of the girl he offered a ride home to. I'm sure he had a reason.
But the walk home that night seemed even longer than usual.
3 years ago
