Walmart boy
Start
Nick is tall and slim. Like probably almost six foot. With medium length, brown, wavy hair that was styled different almost every time I saw him. I could only imagine how soft it was, I’d probably never know. Today as I walked in the hallway at school I made eye contact with his dark brown eyes from the oncoming current. He nodded his head in acknowledgement to me and kindly smirked. Whenever he did that nod my heart skipped a beat, even though that’s what almost every guy does to their friends. I waved back to him because nodding would feel unnatural. He eventually turned back to his friend and I continued admiring him.
Nick isn’t a stranger to me though. He was one of my closest friends as kids. But after the incident that drew me away from him, were we nothing but aquaintances. I liked to contemplate what my life might be like if we had stayed friends. Part of me wants to make advances on our friendship now and start hanging out with him like the old days. However, my best friend also had a huge crush on him. I don’t want to ruin my only friendship by doing that. Plus, my social anxiety barely allows me to say hi to him let alone talk to him. For now, I am content with seeing him in the halls everyday.
In the checkout line with my mom at Walmart, I fiddle with the assortment of gum packages and decide with the Extra 35 pack. As the line is getting shorter, my mom looks at me with wide eyes and says, “I forgot the bread.” I nod with understanding but my breathing falters as she leaves. I go over the order I will place the items in my head and what I will say to the cashier and remembering the card PIN number. The last person ahead of me is beginning to leave and I turn around hoping to see my mom rushing back with groceries. But she isn’t. Yes I’ve been seventeen for a few months now, but I never get used to the feeling of being left at the register without all of the items.
I’ve loaded most of the items on the belt when I hear a modulated and silvery voice say, “Good afternoon miss, you find everything good?” Enchanted by the voice I look up to see a boy behind the counter, not much taller than me. He has a huge glistening smile, happy light brown eyes behind round Harry Potter glasses. Basically the epitome of my dream guy. At a loss for words I close my gaping mouth and decide to respond to whatever he said. “I’m fine thanks.” My voice cracks and I attempt to clear my throat. I catch his contagious smile and suddenly feel the butterflies previously in my stomach go away. I glance at his nametag but end up staring at his jawline. When he is finishing scanning my items I realize I didn’t answer his question correctly. “Um, actually,” he turns to me with such a kind eyes that he almost looks concerned when I start talking, “my mom is not back yet.” I purse my lips and bob my head all awkward. “She is getting bread.” He nods but we both kinda just stand there in silence rocking back and forth. I look at his name tag again, Joseph. “You go to Khakin.” He points to the lanyard around my neck and I jump, startled. “Uh, yeah. Do you?” I feel my voice shake towards the end of my sentence and wipe my hands against the sides of my pants since they start to feel clammy. “Nah.” He smiles again and leans forward on the counter with his arms forward and his head sideways, showing off his lean arm muscles and perfect side profile. I quickly look away when I start to feel my neck sweat and twirl my fingers. Suddenly I feel a hand against my back and i jump sideways. “Chill.” My mom chuckles, “sorry that took so long. I didn’t realize they remodeled.” She looks at the cashier with a questioning smile and hands him the bread. She might be smiling but this is the kind of thing that would annoy her. I look up at Joseph to see if he can tell. “I’m sorry about that.” he just smiles, but by the way he isn’t making eye contact, I can tell he doesn’t want to accidently upset her. I continue to watch the rest of the encounter in silence as my mom pays and we begin to leave. “Hey,” I turn to see Joseph, and he slighting waves a hand, “hope to see you again sometime.” I turn away after anxiously nodding and giving a cheesy smile. I don’t turn back.
