Mollie + Chester

Chapter Nineteen

Seth pushed the shopping trolley down the long aisles of food packets ready to be taken home. My fingers gripped on the end of the trolley, my feet slipping off the edge. Toby ran beside, tapping me on the shoulder every time he spotted something that could help us with making cookies for Mum's party later.
"Wait stop!" I yelled and Seth's shoes skidded on the linoleum and the trolley stopped, nearly flinging me off.
"What is it?" He asked, his eyebrows raising with worry. I giggled and pointed to the shelf.
"We can't go past the sprinkles," I said and he made a noise like 'phew'.
"I thought something was wrong, Doofus."
"It was," I replied positioning the sprinkles in the trolley along with the chocolate and lollies and other food that I was meant to eat very little of. "We absolutely need sprinkles!"
We continued, running down each of the aisles~making all the little old Tamwood ladies and perfect children stare. But nobody said anything, nobody told us to slow down or to act proper, they stared sympathetically at the imperfect family. Well, I didn't care, we were having fun.
Finally, after the trolley was practically full of sugary snacks Seth led us to the checkouts. There were two girls from town working (the ones who needed to work to live because their parents didn't just hand them things) and a machine where you could check out yourself.
"No way," Seth said when I smiled at him. "Those machines are stupid."
"But the lines are so long over there," I said pointing the mass of people waiting behind the checkouts.
And your Mum said to be back by ten, Toby wrote and showed to Seth who sighed. Seth followed our advice, fearing Mum more than the dreaded machines and began to scan items.
"Come on, you stupid machine!" Seth yelled at least five times which made me and Toby laugh at him every time.~
"It's not that hard," I said.
"Please place the item in the bagging area," the machine said in a monotone voice.
"It is!" Seth yelled.
Finally, he stepped back and let us scan the items and put them in bags and the machine did exactly what it was supposed to do.
As we ran through the car park, Toby stood on the end of the trolley and I ran ahead looking for Seth's blue car which was not hard to find since all the others were perfect and we piled in, turning up the heater high, trying to thaw out from the cold spring air outside. In the back seat Toby and I pulled open the packet of lollies that were shaped like teeth, lips and moustaches and took photos on Seth's phone.
"Come on, you can't have lollies without sharing with the driver," Seth said.
Me and Toby looked at each other and nodded, then poked our tongues out at my brother.
"Seriously guys, just hand me something. What about the green ones you don't like Mollie?"
"Toby likes the green ones!" I yelled holding another lolly moustache to my lip but the car bounced and it slipped, falling on the ground and getting lost under one of the seats.
"That's it!" Seth said pulling the car over to the side of the road. We laughed as he opened the door and reached in, tickling me under my arms and prying the bag from my closed grip.
"Hey, no fair!" I yelled chasing him out of the car. Seth shoved a handful of lollies into his mouth.
"Hm...hmuhm..." Seth mumbled although I couldn't understand what he was saying because of the mountain of colourful lollies in his mouth.
"Get him!" I mouthed to Toby and he understood because we both raced towards my brother trying to catch him as he ran across the nature strips and over the neighbours' driveways.
Toby was faster than me and almost as fast as Seth. He caught up with him and launched himself my brother grabbing onto his T-shirt and they both collapsed on the grass.
I ran after them and jumped on top of Seth, my knees getting damp from the wet grass. I grabbed hold of the almost empty packet of lollies and ate another one, feeling the red taste on my tongue.
I felt a drop of water on my nose and was about to accuse Seth of spitting on me when it began to rain, the footpath getting covered in dozens of tiny wet droplets immediately.
"We had better go now," Seth said pushing himself off the grass and moving towards the car.
"No," I whined eating more lollies from the bag. Toby had shoved his notebook into his pocket so it wouldn't get wet, but I could still tell what he would have written.
"Toby says no as well," I replied for him picking out another green moustache and handing it over.
"Come on Mollie, if we die of phenomena, Mum will kill us!"
I looked at Toby, then shrugged. "You are probably right," I told Seth who smiled as if I had just told him I had won the Nobel Prize.
We piled in the car again, this time the damp smell hung in the air and we finished off the lollies, again not giving Seth any. But he didn't really fight it anymore, he just kept smiling at me until I asked him why.
"What do you want?"
"I just like it when you laugh," he answered and I poked my tongue out.
"Ew, are you going to get all gooey and old lady-ish?" I asked.
"Old lady-ish?" He said laughing
"Yes. You are compensating me."
"Compensating? Do you mean complimenting?" Seth asked raising an eyebrow. I watched him in the mirror.
"Oh yeah, that. I'm only ten."
"Sometimes I forget," Seth answered. "You act so old because age is not defined by years, but by experience..."
"Okay, bored now," I said flicking Seth on the head. He rolled his eyes at me.
"Maybe you aren't that old after all..."
"Only sometimes," I answered.