AMACON 3 : OIKOS (MY ENTRIES)

DAY 18

OIKOS: Day 18

PROMPT: Maine, Alden and the horrible secret that the store clerk was hiding

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He banged his head at the shop's glass door when he tried to enter the store at a quick speed. Massaging his forehead, he entered the shop and quickly made his way towards the pharmacy area.

'Where is it?? Where is it??', he angrily mumbled under his breath as he scanned the rows upon rows of medicine

'May I help you, Mr. Alden?'

'Oh Lord' he mentally cursed himself for forgetting to put on the disguise before stepping out of his Jaguar. Why did he even think someone won't be able to recognize him just cause it s small town? Sheesh.

'Ah, yes I would really much like that', he turned towards the store assistant. 'I can't seem to find any Aspirin here', he motioned towards the shelves

'Oh sorry, it appears they weren't restocked. Please wait, I'll get them from the inventory', he apologized and quickly scurried towards the back of the shop

The shop was not crowded at this time of the night but there was a group of teenage girls busy getting some ice cream. He tried to make himself invisible but to no avail. He was caught

'ALDEN...'

'OH MY GOSH, ITS ALDEN RICHARDS!!!!!'

'I JUST DIED!!!'

'ALDEN RICHARDS IN OUR SMALL TOWN????'

'OMG!!!'

'Can I have a selfie please???!!!'

He couldn't blame anyone for blowing away his cover. He forced a smile on his face as he let them take countless photos with him. They didn't have anything to get his autograph so they made him sign their bags instead. They were ready to stay by his side the entire time if one of the girl's fathers hadn't come to shout at them for making him late.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

What's taking the guy so long? He thought to himself when suddenly his phone rang

'RICHARD FAULKERSON JUNIOR, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU???'

'I'm at the store, Maine'

"WHAT IS TAKING YOU SO LONG? I ASKED YOU TO GET ME A SIMPLE ASPRIN BUT YOU SEEMED TO HAVE ....'

'Maine.. Menggay..'

'DO YOU EVEN HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH PAIN AM I IN? OF COURSE YOU DON'T ! YOU ARE JUST A BOY WHO HAS DOES NOT HAVE TO GO...'

'NICOMAINE'

That shut her up alright. She is not used to him shouting at her

'The store didn't have them on their shelves. So the sales guy has gone to fetch from the inventory. I'm sorry it's taking so long, okay? Please be patient'

'But RJ, it hurts' her voice told him she was in tears.

It broke his heart. They had been busy shooting for their upcoming movie and it had taken them almost the entire night. With EB, a mall show and this, he was almost close to fainting. As soon as the crew had announced pack up, both had raced to his car, eager to go to their warm beds and sleep like the dead. It was only in the middle of the journey when Maine's dinosaur arrived and she began to squirm in her seat with the intense pain. They were still a long way from Bulaccan and he knew it wasn't going to get any better. Plus he can't see her in pain. He had to do something about it. So he had stopped at the nearest shop her could find to get her some pain killers. It was tucked away in a little corner and had he been not looking for it, he would have missed it for sure.

'I know, love... Don't worry I'll be back in a minute. You just try to make yourself comfortable and hug the Iron Man plushy.. I'm on my way'

'RJ, I might.... have pulled....out.... the stuffing of ...the plushy though... from squeezing it too hard', he heard her say in a small tone.

'It's okay, Maine... Nothing is important more than you.... Wait, he's here.. I'm ending the call okay?'

'Okay...' and the line goes dead

He moves towards the salesman

'Sorry, but apparently we are out of stock'

'WHAT THE...', he stopped himself before he unleashed his frustration. He's been standing there for good 10 minutes for nothing.

'Is there any other painkiller I could get? Motrin, Tylenol maybe?' he suggested hopefully

'I'm sorry sir, but those are not available in our store'

'What am I supposed to then??' he felt like pulling his hair out

'What seems to be the matter?', the store owner finally came around and the guy briefed him on the problem

'We have another medicine, imported actually. We received the supply just awhile ago. Would you like to buy that, Mr. Alden?"

'Yes, just get me anything', he became hopeful again

The store manager told something to the guy in a low voice. Alden noticed the guy looked hesitant but finally he went back to the inventory and got the box.

Alden thanked the Lord. He hurriedly paid at the cash counter and almost flew to his car, to his Menggay.

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' Mr. Faulkerson, we have dispatched teams to trace that particular supply of counterfeit medicine. We suspect that the owner already knew about the medicine and the toxic chemical it contained but still wanted to make a profit out of it. Of course, he couldn't sell the supply because we confiscated it as soon as you filed the report. Do not worry; we have men looking for him. We will not rest until the criminal has been found and punished for his crimes.'

'But what will be the use? It won't bring her back'

The officer did not know what to reply back

(PS. This was inspired by an actual life event. 100 people died from  being treated by counterfeit medicine)