I'm sure I have an ugly scowl on my face now. Needless to say, after half an hour of going around getting stuff, I have new founded respect for mum who does the shopping. The labels here seem to confuse me more than if there were no labels at all.
For the past few minutes now, I've been trying to find ketchup in the aisles. Mayo, seasoning, but I can't find the ketchup. Just as I was about to give up and go home, I ran into one of the attendants who pointed out the right place to me.
"Okay, all done" I mutter, looking at the list, and with my luck, I bump into someone. "I'm so sorry," I say, bending down to grab both our stuff from the floor without even seeing the person's face. "You should watch where you're going," a feminine voice that sounds faintly similar says and I say sorry again.
She doesn't bother to join me in picking and this type of awkward situation is the bane of my existence. I stand up when I'm done to hand her her cans. A quick glance at her face has me wishing I didn't leave the house at all. I say sorry again and start to hurry away. "Wait, aren't you Miles?" she asks and I swear under my breath.
"Hi, Mina," I say with an attempt at a smile that I'm sure is more of a grimace and finally leave, ignoring her low calls to wait. Mina is Mrs. Raines's last daughter and just slightly younger than me, and she's probably the most evil of them all. I can remember her smirk as she threw the essay I worked on for three days into the shredder.
I'm loading the content of my basket on the cashier's counter when I hear the blasted voice again. "Hi Miles, you're shopping for your Mum?" I mumble something incoherent and wish the cashier would go faster in my mind.
The cashier keeps scanning my stuff while she natters away, something about school and frats. I don't really care. Thankfully, the cashier at my side finishes up and I grab the stuff after scanning my card. "Wait for me" I hear Mina cry but I ignore her, desperately hoping I find a taxi in time.
"Today's so not my day", I mutter after waiting a few minutes for a cab. A little while after, I finally get one, but then she's on her way out of the supermarket. I have no choice but to hold for her and we share the taxi. A few minutes into the ride, I come to a horrific realization, Mina Rains is trying to be friendly with me.
It's amusing as well as disgusting, considering the fact that just a few years back, she and her siblings were walking all over me. Maybe her mum and mine have something to do with this, but I have no interest in making friends, especially not any of the Rains.
I whip out my phone and make an apologetic face so she would just stop talking. So the rest of the ride consisted of her peeking at me from the corner of her eyes and me staring at my phone as if my life depends on it. After what seems like an eternity, we reach our building and I pay for the taxi. I don't know if she's expecting me to offer to carry her bags with that coquettish look but I hurry up and into our house.
"Whew!" I say and start to put the goods away when I hear the doorbell ring. I peer into the door camera and shut my eyes in frustration. I can feel a headache coming on.
For chrissakes, what does this girl want though? I open the door, and this time, I don't even pretend to smile "What?"
"I just wanted to ask if you wanted to go to a party tonight. Some friends are… " she says with an air of assurance.
"Oh, I have plans tonight" , I interrupt her abruptly, making her smile disappear. What's with her anyway? Do bullies lose memories of their evil attitude or they assume it's all wiped away at once.
"You do?" she asks dubiously.
"Yeah, I'm going out with friends", I say with more conviction. Now that I had started, I was on a roll. "We're having a party at my place in school, and I already promised Justin and Aimee I'll be there." I finish, some part of me insulted that she doubted that I have plans.
The mention of names seems to convince her and she backs off. "Okay, if you change your mind, just let me know," she says, making a gesture like a call to her ears. She's all the way across the building at their apartment when I let my amusement show. I don't even have her cell number, but that's totally a Mina thing, to assume I have her number, because the word revolves around her bitchy ass.
Right then, after the moment of triumph and humor, followed that feeling of despair, that I had to make up fictional plans with friends after all these years, that Mina Rains still had any control over my actions and she could push me to prove myself the wrong way.
Back in my room after all my chores, I look at my phone and realize I have a text from an unknown number. For a split second, I think it's Mina texting and she got my number somehow. I wouldn't put it past my mum, if she was over at their place, to give out my number.
But then the text reads
"Hey roomie, wanna get turnt tonight? 9 pm, our building. Some seniors downstairs are hosting it. Look forward to seeing ya"
It's just Justin and I realize how sad it is that I don't even have my roommate's number. Speak of the devil, I guess. I text mum to inform her and she replies in a split second, as expected telling me to "go have fun, but not too much fun". And as if that isn't over the top enough, she adds a winky emoji.
Spurred by my lie to Mina, mum's enthusiasm and an unexplainable guilt at being a bad roommate, I send back a quick text, then save his number.
Sure. See you tonight.
Spread my wings, I guess. Or my hidden paws.