black treacle - matt sturniolo

Chapter Thirteen, Clueless

Nick taught Matt about the finicky language of the French after Matt told him he was excited to hang out with Robyn.

A minor mispronunciation or poor conjugation could change the entire tone of the conversation. Like how 'un chien' means a dog, but the false feminine conjugation turns it into 'une chienne', which means a bitch.

Imagine how awkward being at the dog park would be as a non-native French speaker...

The one Matt learnt about was the difference between 'je suis excité' and 'je suis excitée'. This mistake was crucial because an extra letter turned the phrase from 'I am excited' to 'I am horny'.

This had only come up in their conversation because Nick joked that he could use either phrase if Robyn had asked Matt if he knew any other language.

Safe to say Nick got his ass beat before Matt left the house.

Matt was excited though. After cutting off their ties as Spider-Man and journalist, he was worried that they'd never speak again. Their friendship had only emerged after she had asked to borrow his camera to photograph the masked hero, and he won't lie, the journalism club had been his crutch when brainstorming small talk topics.

If he wanted to talk about interests, it transcribed into an article about a movie or a new video game. And who better to ask for ideas than his deskmate? But just sitting beside her and letting the clicking of the keyboard was enough for him too. And the last time Matt was alone with Robyn was at Times Square because of, you guessed it, Spider-Man.

So imagine his surprise when Robyn asked him to go shopping in the city. It wasn't brought up in the newsroom or a text. It occurred at his locker while he was grabbing his books and the heart attack she almost gave him was immediately forgiven after she asked him out.

Well, not ask him out like a date, but ask him to go out. Very different. Nick was dumbfounded when Matt explained the difference to him. He wasn't sure why his brother loved to put himself through this much suffering.

The triplets saw thrifting less as a fun shopping experience and more as a competitive sport. Instead of whatever joyous brother bonding montage you're imagining, every thrift session ended with a fight over who got to keep the garment. Sometimes it even happens inside the store.

Nick, despite quitting lacrosse and every other sport the three did together, was fueled with rage whenever they entered the stores and was the first to start swinging. Where was this energy on the field?

Their mom never understood why they fought because they always shared their clothes anyways. Matt decided that the thrifting ban Mary Lou imposed could be excused just this once.

Most importantly, New York was safe. Well, safe from the King and Queen of Spades at least. He took up extra safety precautions after their last attack to the point where he avoided every store that might sell cards.

Matt was extra weary when they walked past a magic shop and told Chris the bunnies in the hat spooked him out when he asked.

After meeting at the Subway and embarking on their harrowing journey into the city, Matt and Robyn started strategising their game plan to tackle the thrift and vintage stores.

His initial plans to tone down his aggression and drive were discarded after Robyn pulled out her list of clothing she wanted and started coming up with animal sounds to shout in case either of them needed help.

Matt made a mental note of the knee-high black leather heeled boots she wanted (bolded, underlined and highlighted on the list). Before Matt could tell her which section he'd be looking through first, Robyn had already sprinted to the shoe section, leaving him alone with their cart.

Matt rummaged through the railings, searching for clothes someone had hidden so they could buy them later. It was a bit of a gamble because his most successful finds were graphic hoodies and vintage Levi's, but the other time he found grandpa sweaters that smelled their age. Cheering mentally, he pulled out clothes hidden in the children's section and tossed them into their cart to sort them out.

He held up a fleece sweater and brought his fingers to his temple, debating whether he would actually wear it or wanted to buy it solely because it was a good deal. He could give it to Nick so he'd stop shivering even in Spring weather, or just shove it into Chris' closet. Maybe he could-

"Yikes, Matt... put that back."

He spun to face the voice and was greeted by Sadie and Bryan hand in hand.

"Hey, guys! What are you doing here? Out for an article?"

Sadie giggled at the boy, "It's Valentine's Day, we're on a date."

Valentine's Day? Bryan and Sadie were dating?? Before Matt could process that his friends were dating, Robyn ran towards them staring at the boots she had been searching for.

"Ignore the scratches, I had to rip this out of someone's hands but look at what I- Oh! Hi Sadie! Hi Bryan!"

"...Which I assume is the same reason you two are out together." Sadie eyed the couple and then looked back at Matt, "We'll leave you guys now." Sending a final wink, Sadie tugged on Bryan's arm and led them out of the store.

Robyn cocked her head in confusion, "What did you guys talk about?" she asked him.

"Nothing. Did you know they were dating?" He asked, taking the boots out of her hands and gently placing them into their cart because getting scratched was the most those boots had to suffer through.

One of the simplest pleasures in life is rest. Matt remembered how calm and at peace he was after coming home from practice and collapsing into the couch. That was how he felt once he finally sat down after their gruesome five-hour shopping trip. Robyn would've gone on longer if Matt hadn't collapsed under the weight of their bags.

They resided in a hole-in-the-wall restaurant and began sorting through their purchases. Robyn showcased her thrifted vinyl records, still in awe that she was able to find early pressing Queen records for a sum less than her apartment.

Other than that, she found a burgundy sweater and a black lace-trimmed skirt. Matt debated asking her if she stole those from an unsuspecting shopper but she needed deniability if it were true.

Her most prized possession was definitely the boots she had clawed out of a girl's hands. He wasn't sure why she wanted to be taller because they were almost the same height.

Nevertheless, Matt congratulated Robyn and kept an eye out for a mauled girl who might be seeking revenge. But after seeing her leave harm-free, he doubts she needs his help.

The trip was definitely successful because Matt had left with more purchases than he had expected. Not only finding graphic hoodies for himself and his brothers (because there was simply no energy left for him to defend his purchase from his thieving brothers), Matt managed to find a working vintage film camera.

After purchasing film and batteries alongside the device, the first few photos he took were a portrait of Robyn in front of the auburn Romanesque revival-styled buildings and a full body photo of them together using the self-timer function, with him tilting his head towards her as she held onto his arm.

It was a difficult decision but his favourite purchase was an old leather jacket with no tears in sight. No matter how hard he tried to deny it, it was definitely because Robyn had mentioned that they'd match if they wore it together.

A trick his dad taught him was to always check the pockets because sometimes he'd be lucky and find loose change or some remnants of the former owner. Searching through the pockets of the jacket and pulling what he hoped to be a folded ten-dollar bill, Matt stared at the fool's card in his hand.

Matt grabbed Robyn's hand and pulled her under the table as the first card shattered through the window.

"Stay low, I'm going to look for help." He slid on his backpack and squinted for a clear path to the back exit. There was a blindspot the cards weren't hitting so that was the route he was taking.

"Who are you gonna call?" Robyn whispered at him as he waited for the cards to slow down.

Matt tightened his grip on his bag, feeling the weight of his suit grow heavier.

"Someone in the neighbourhood."