Not a Fan (Wilbur Soot)

Him

I don't have to be Aurora Jennings here, not anymore. I can be who I want. Finally.

She thought to herself, already feeling a bit of relief from her headache now that her mom's high pitched red voice wasn't ringing in her ears.

She laid back on the bench, staring up out the window. Watching the rain drops race as they slid down the window passed the time until her food arrived.

The food was as comforting as she remembered. If she closed her eyes she could nearly imagine her dorm around her, friends piled on the lofted beds and sitting on the floor.

"One! Two! Three! Four!"

Aurora winced as a loud, slightly out of tune, electric guitar started playing next door. The walls between her and the neighbor felt as thin as paper, barely muffling the music- if you could call it that. Even with her eyes closed, her vision clouded with a muddled mess of various colors.

"What the hell.." She grumbled to herself, putting the lid on her left over take out and placing it in the fridge.

She made her way to the door, entering the hallway. The noise only continued to grow with each step towards her neighbor's door. She laid three consecutive loud knocks on the door, pulling her sweater around her. Aurora wasn't one for confrontation, but interrupting her maladaptive daydreaming of better days definitely called for it.

The playing continued, not even hesitating from her knocks.

"Asshole." Aurora muttered, heading back to her room as her confidence in confronting them dwindled, replaced with an unexpected anger.

She walked inside, layering a black jean jacket over her white sweatshirt and grabbing her purse in a rush. She made it all the way to the lobby before realizing she forgot her umbrella, looking out to the sky, dark and looming, just like her mood.

"Fuck it." She said to herself, pulling her hood over her head and walking outside. The rain had lightened slightly, but not enough to prevent her from getting nearly soaked as she jogged to the first available taxi she saw. The ground looked like it was painted in a plum fog from the sounds of the rain.

"Can you take me to wherever the nearest grocery store is?" She asked, pulling down her hood as she slid across the back seat.

"You're going to want to invest in an umbrella if you're staying here for long." The taxi driver laughed at his own comment after noticing her accent, pulling the car out onto the open road. Just hours earlier, Aurora would've been happy to have a conversation with a stranger who seemed pleasant enough. Now, she just wanted to do her stupid grocery shopping because her mom was annoyingly correct. Aurora had never been out on the streets of Brighton at night alone, and she wasn't looking forward to the last slice of sunlight sinking below the water's horizon.

"You can probably just walk next time." The taxi driver said with a smile, despite Aurora ignoring his last joke, as he pulled up to the store that was only a few blocks over.

"Thanks." She answered below her breath, stepping back out into the rain after paying for the short ride. The store's lights seemed like they were trying to compensate for the lack of sunlight, illuminating all the way out onto the sidewalk through the rain.

The store was fairly quiet, not many people out shopping that evening, making this trip a not overstimulating experience. Aurora felt relaxed as she roamed each isle slowly, her anger melting away as she saw the familiar snacks and products. She looked down at her cart, barely containing any decent food, primarily just filled with whatever elicited a fond memory.

She made her way back through the same isles, now focusing on finding food she could use for meals and not just random junk food. An overhead announcement reminded shoppers the store would be closing soon, requesting they come from the front.