stars ; j.s.

3

J A C O B

Luckily, I had snuck back into the house without getting caught last night. My grandparents were early risers like I remembered, and fortunately they let me sleep in. The morning was rather uneventful. Both of my grandparents had left for work at around 9, so I had their little house to myself.

I figured I should probably get some breakfast before I starve, so I strolled into the kitchen. All I found was a box of Wheaties cereal and a note on the counter that said:

Jacob,
I just remembered I forgot to pick up kid-friendly foods while I was at the store. If you don't like what we have in the house, you can walk to the grocery store on the corner. I'm sure you remember it from when we had you pick up milk for us in the mornings way back when. Stay out of trouble.
   Love,
Grandma

I groaned as I read it because I was feeling extremely lazy and had no intention of leaving the house today. Despite my desires to lay on the couch in my pajamas, I was not about to eat Wheaties for breakfast. So, I quickly got dressed in a pair of basketball shorts and a tank top because it was already hot outside. I grabbed my phone and left.

I took my phone out of my pocket to text Layla, a girl I had been talking to back home. I'm almost positive she only likes me because I'm famous, but it didn't bother me so much. People were giving me strange looks like the phone in my hand was something extraordinary. I ignored their stares and went to send the text anyway, only to realize there was absolutely no service. Not even one bar. And then I started to panic. No service meant no use of my phone for three whole months. How would I even survive?

Stressed and hungry, I made my way into the small grocery store. I browsed the aisles in search of one item and one item only. Pop Tarts.

I looked up and down the few aisles, but didn't seem to find them and became even more stressed.

"Can I help you find something?" A voice startled me.

I turned around to see a girl who looked quite familiar. She had long, dark hair that cascaded down the apron she was wearing to represent the store. Her blue eyes were what struck me the most.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" I asked, picking my brain to think of who she was.

She seemed confused. "I don't think so. Should I know you?"

Now I was the confused one. "I mean, you probably know of me. I'm Jacob Sartorius,"

"Who?"

"I'm famous. On the internet," I explained. How could she not know who I was? Everyone knew who I was.

"Oh, we don't really have internet here. Sorry," She grinned. "But I suppose if you don't need any help I should get back to-"

"You're a little young aren't you?" I asked. "To be working,"

She looked around and pointed at the man at the register at the front of the store. "My dad owns this store, so I help him out to get a little extra cash. But really I should be going...."

And suddenly it hit me. "Oh! I remember where I saw you. I ran into you lastni-"

She put her hand over my mouth as if to shush me. "I know," She whispered. "My dad doesn't know I snuck out,"

"Oh, I get it. My grandparents don't know I snuck out either."

She smiled at the comparison. "I'm glad I'm not the only one who's tied down by rules. But seriously, I need to go before I get in trouble. I'm sure I'll see you around. This town is pretty small after all,"

"Yeah. See ya," I waved at her. "Wait! Do you have Pop Tarts?" I yelled.

"What's a Pop Tart?" She asked, but turned away and went back to stocking shelves before I could answer.

This town will definitely take some getting used to.