A figure stood behind the bars of the school. It swayed side to side as the fence in front whirred back. "I wonder… which way should I go today?" he sighed to himself. The whole world was now his oyster.
He hopped on the nearby sidewalk while digging through his pockets. Pulling out a phone and a pair of earbuds, he slipped the buds into his ears and unlocked the phone with his face. He walked into the southern fog as he opened up a music app. Clicking into his playlist tab, he played some music as he dropped it back into a pocket.
He closed his eyes while he walked down the road. As he cut through the air, the wind rushed past his face. Cars honked at each other, but that wasn't his problem. The Karens cursed out neighbors for ridiculous reasons, but that had nothing to do with him. He zoned out every problem in the world to focus on himself and his walk.
Suddenly, the boy felt a sharp pain in his stomach, like nervous butterflies trying to chew their way out. His eyes randomly began to water as a tear streamed down his face. "S-Saulo..." the boy whispered to himself. The wind switched directions as it blew his hair into his face as if to hide the tears. His pacing slowed, nearly to a halt, taking baby steps forward. The world grew more silent than before. The boy faked a smile of happiness as he looked towards the sky. "This pain... why?" he said to the sky. His knees grew heavy, but he managed to stay standing. His vision dimmed and blurred. His heart pounded furiously as he failed to control his breathing. He threw his backpack down to the floor. He quickly zipped open the front pocket of a freezer bag. He threw his hand into it, pulling out a red and white peppermint. He pushed the candy out of the wrapper and into the air, landing on his tongue. His little panic attack began to settle as he calmed down. He finally dropped to the floor, his head landing on his bag. "What the hell?" he thought as he caught his breath.
He laid down for a while, his legs bent sideways to avoid being run over. "In... and out, In..." he gave himself simple commands to calm down. He closed his eyes in distress as he sat listening to a mix of cars driving past and his music. His stomach growled in hunger as the boy opened his eyes. "Since I'm on route, it wouldn't hurt to check out that new gas station everybody's been talking about." he convinced himself as he turned on his navigator. "At the next light, turn right." an Australian woman's accent spoke from the device. The boy looked down the road to nothing but fog, obscuring the faint yellow light. He pushed himself on his feet and threw his bag over his back.
Back on pace, the boy walked down the street towards the light. "Turn right." the navigator said as he reached the light. The boy felt unnerved as he went to turn. He spun around quickly in the fog behind him. "Who's there?" he yelled. Nothing but the wind responded to him, so he returned to walking. "In half a mile, turn left. Your destination will be on your left." she said, calculating the boy's right turn. He followed the sidewalk down the road, with the fog uncovering trees and houses. "At the next sign, turn left." the voice told him. The further the boy walked, the stronger the growls became. He began to hallucinate pillars from the fog. One had a pizza on top, and the other had a bowl of ramen. He walked closer to the pillars, which seemed just out of reach. He reached out his hand as the food began to disappear. His belly started to cramp as he looked toward the fog. There was nothing in view. The boy sighed as he groveled his way to the sign.
He had eventually reached the sign. "Turn left." the voice said as he held on to the stop sign to catch his breath. Once again, he felt an intense presence. The wind began to blow harder as the energy creeped closer. The boy was too scared to turn back, so he stood in silence. "Just... turn back... Show yourself!" his thoughts raced, yet his body froze. The winds subsided, and the aura vanished. He stuck his thumb between his index finger and clenched his fists. "Let's continue." he whimpered.
He trudged forward down the narrow road. His legs shook harder with each step. His eyes blurred as they grew accustomed to the fog. "How much longer?" he complained. His posture worsened as his eyes widened with curiosity. In rapid succession, he pulled his phone from his pocket and turned it on. From the top of the screen, he read 100 feet. His face brightened as he sped up to a brisk jog. Finally, he could make out a building from the fog. The boy began to run to the building as the store became clearer. "You have now reached your destination."
He rushed to the entrance of the store. The doors chimed as he was blinded by the array of food selections. His eyes landed on the built-in pizza parlor. He walked over to the counter to look at the prices. The cashier looked up from her phone and returned to the device. "How much is a box?" he asked. The cashier looked back up from her phone. Her ginger hair swayed as she fixed her posture. "Yeah, a cheese is $6.99, while a pepperoni is $8.99." she told him. "I'll take a cheese." he responded. She put the order in as the boy took his card from between his phone and its case. He swiped it, as the transaction was accepted. "It'll take about 15 minutes to finish." she said while returning to her phone. The boy grabbed his receipt and walked to the other side of the store.
He sauntered over to the refrigerators. He paused in front of the sodas, thinking of what to drink. He laid eyes on the liter of grape soda as he took it out of the fridge. Next, he moved towards the chip aisle. Each bag was either party-sized or mini. He looked at the array of flavored potatoes until he groaned and picked up a bag of cheddar and sour cream. He huddled towards the checkout. Between the choice of a cashier checkout or a self checkout, he moved to the self checkout without hesitation. He scanned the two items and picked up a pack of candy. He bought the items for $15 and grabbed his receipt. He bagged his items as he walked to the outside tables.
The boy placed the bag on a 2-seater table and sat down on the curb. He watched cars zoom by the store as he zoned out to his music. His stomach might've continued growling, but he didn't notice at the time. One car went by; it was a blue minivan. Two more went by at the same time. One car's engine was loud; what a bother. The more time ticked by, the further the boy got through his playlist. His eyes shifted to the leaves falling from nearby branches. It danced from left to right, spinning all the way down to the ground. Two dogs came from the nearby bushes. They hopped around and played with each other. After two songs, the dogs tired each other out as they hid under the stairs together. The boy smiled as he looked at their little noses from above. A tear formed from his right eye as he could only think of his best friend.
All of a sudden, the ominous wind returned. The boy could feel a presence in the bushes that the dogs had previously come from. Once again, he couldn't move an inch. He just stared at the bush. Only his hands were able to move as they shook aggressively. "Why can't I move? I want to get out of here!" his thoughts raced. His eyes clouded as illusions gave the aura form. Purple bolts pointed towards the bush. Immediately, the aura ceased.
The boy grabbed his bag and ran inside. He slammed the door behind him before the chimes ceased. He calmed himself down as he walked towards the parlor. The cashier was by the oven, removing the pie from the counter. She skillfully sliced the pizza into eight slices and slid it into a box. "Oh, you're here. Lucky that your pizza just finished." she said, handing him the box. "Thanks..." he said as she returned to her phone..
He moved to a seating area inside to avoid the mysterious aura. He sat down in a cushioned chair and opened the pizza box. The greasy slices of deliciousness had his eyes glistening. He carefully picked up a slice, tearing the slice's cheese from the whole thing. As he bit into the slice, his whole body felt rejuvenated, and he was filled with happiness. He gobbled down the slice and moved on to a second. Chimes jingled from the door as the boy looked over. A figure stood at the door, radiating the same aura that he had felt during his entire journey. He ducked his head down so the box hid his face. He nervously bit into the pizza when he could feel it above him. As he looked up, he saw it. "Hello there."
