Hester turned the corner and pushed the grubby glass door into the pharmacy which also served as a low price super market with milk, eggs, candy, lighters, magazines, the likes. The bell jingled as she walked in.
Why do all the doors in this town do that? Hester thought, stopping as she looked above herself, making the jingling stop with her eyes as soon as they made contact with the bell. She sighed, resuming.
She swiped a cart from the wall beside her and pushed it forward, the sound of the wheels squeaking echoing in her ears. Stop, she thought, and it did. She resumed her strolling, the only sound being the low hums of the speakers playing throughout the market and the rolling of her cart against the floors. She looked up at the aisle signs and stopped at aisle eight which read:
AISLE 8
— FEMININE PRODUCTS
— HYGIENE
— CONTRACEPTIVES
"Tampons..." she looked down at the list Star had given her that morning when she asked Hester to run to the supermarket for her. She wasn't sure where to find them, so she asked one of the employees. He was of a chubby figure, with dirty blond hair and thick black glasses. "Excuse me, sir, do you know which aisle they sell... tampons at?"
Behind him were who she assumed were other employees, one who was lanky and small with brunette hair, another chubby one with brown hair and plush cheeks, and lastly, the oldest looking one with a blond hair cut and a slim figure. He looked behind himself at the other employees and they all began to snicker and laugh, making snide comments that Hester couldn't decipher until he turned back around to face her.
"Ah, yes ma'am, they'll be right in aisle five."
He pointed to aisle five which Hester read from afar.
AISLE FIVE —
— CONDIMENTS
— KITCHEN MATERIALS
— IMPERISHABLES
She squinted,
"But that says—"
"Oh, no worries. We just did some construction work on the store, so not everything is where it's supposed to be. They're in there though, don't worry," the employee interjected.
"Hey, Teddy, cut it out," said the oldest one, tapping him on the shoulder and pursing his lips.
"Whaddoya mean? I'm just helping her out!" the employee, whose name was Teddy cried out.
"Teddy."
Teddy chuckled and shook his head,
"Alright, I'll admit, I don't really work here."
Hester frowned,
"I just wanna get tampons."
"Come on, I'll help you out," the oldest said.
He began to walk ahead of her in the correct direction, and when he noticed she wasn't following, he stopped and turned. He flashed her a reassuring smile as if to let her know she could trust him, and hesitantly, she followed behind him. He led her to the aisle where the tampons are and they were surrounded by different brands and types. She looked again at the list, and it read: TAMPAX LIGHT SCENTED.
"You... know which one?" he asked, pursing his lips and stuffing his hands in his back pockets.
She looked over at him and his face was burning a bright tomato red color. She could tell this was an area of discomfort for him. Although she had never had her period, she knew that it was a particularly feminine subject... she just didn't understand the fact that guys couldn't handle it.
"Um, yeah," she muttered, shaking her curls about as she quickly grasped a box that looked correct from off its shelf. He cleared his throat and stood there, biting his lip as his eyes scanned the overwhelming products around him. She sucked in a breath and then nodded. "Well, um... thanks."
He sort of snapped out of a trance and nodded abruptly,
"Oh yeah, no problem."
They departed and she checked out her items at the register. The employee, who wore green overalls and a name tag unlike the boy who tried to trick her, bagged her items for her.
"Have a nice day!" the employee chirped, giving Hester a great big smile.
Hester smiled(grimaced) back and turned away with her plastic bag in hand. Upon leaving, she happened upon the group of boys again, who were all conversing with each other in some kind of secret circle that Hester wasn't apart of. But the eldest boy who'd helped her peeked out from the circle and stopped her.
"Hey, never got your name," he chirped.
"Hester," she mumbled, looking down at the floor to avoid his striking blue eyes.
"I'm Chris. Chris Chambers," he said, offering her a meek smile. He turned around and pointed out the other guys. The one who'd tricked her, was Teddy, the chubby and short kid was Vern, and the lanky brunette was named Gordie.
"Oh... nice."
Chris nodded, and then Hester nodded, and then Chris spoke up again,
"You new here?"
She sighed. Everyone was asking her that. Derry, Maine was such a small place, it was no wonder everyone could tell she was new.
"Yeah. Just moved in about a week ago. Yellow house on Quimbly Road, at the end of the street."
"Hey, that's a new house. I live in the blue house across from the corner store. It's not far from here."
"That's nice," Hester looked down at the plastic bag she was holding, wanting to get rid of it. Her face flushed and she granted him a fleeting smile. "I should go."
She bounced away quickly without another word, leaving him to call after her,
"See you around?"
She gave him no response.
y'all this chapter was just so that you guys could meet the sbm gang,obviously not in detail. the next chapter regards hester & stanley's "date", but i didn't wanna add it in here and make it seem disorganized. how is this book so far???? is anyone actually reading it!!! lmk. love u
if you haven't read chapter 32 of white boys, go ahead and do that! and if you haven't started reading it at all, do that also! it's a river phoenix fanfic, and if you like SBM, you would love WB.
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demons don't snitch (it 2017) (stand by me)
Fanfic◇ secrets don't stay secret forever. some you have to take to your grave. besides, everyone's demons unleash someday, right? ◇ new girl hester emerson moves in to derry, maine. there, she makes the closest friends of her life and unintentionally in...
