The Hierarchy

Chapter 5: Peanut

"No, no, no, no, no," I say taking the bag of horrendous salt and vinegar chips out of Liam's hands and placing them back on the shelf where they belong. "We already had this argument last week."

"But they're salt and vinegar chips, Reece." he whines. "they may as well be my sole reason for living. You want me to sit through movies for a third time with no salt and vinegar to calm my nerves?"

I pretend to think for a moment. "That is exactly what I want you to do."

Movie night number one wasn't all that bad. We actually had a conversation other than getting at each other's throats. After that night he invited me to do the same thing next Friday. I agreed since I knew my life would be spent indoors and alone with my family. So again, we went to the store, retrived our snacks for the night and went back to his place. This would now be movie night number three. The now third week I have wasted away a Friday with Liam McCormick. The now third Friday I have made him put down those disgusting chips where they belong. Far, far, far away from me.

"The sacrifices I make for you can easily be categorized as extreme, Ms. Hunters." He tells me as I throw plain and BBQ chips into the cart as he pushes it as I ride on the side.

"Maybe extreme isn't a good use of words for it," I say thinking for a moment. "I do have to be honest that it' a cruel thing for me to ask. Maybe the words violent or severe?"

"That makes it sound more dramatic than it actually is." He nods his head in the direction of the peanut butter and then the Twizzlers. My absolute weakness. I jump off the side of the cart and I squeal a little and shuffle to get the addiction I have created. 

Mackenzie is the one who got me started on the whole thing. When she was five she accidentally dipped her Twizzlers into peanut butter. When she went to ask for a new pack, her mom said, and I quote, "No, you should have been more careful. Who told you that it would be smart to eat those in the same area anyways Mackenzie?" and that she had to eat them. So, she did. When we met in the third grade, at our first sleepover she made me try them. Amazing may I say and there formed a new addiction that we would share together as best friends.

Now, ex-best friends.

"Oh, how sweet. You know me well McCormick." I say retrieving the peanut butter and Twizzlers. I place them in the cart and jump back on the side.

"Well, it's only the most disgusting thing I have ever seen you do." He tells me. It bothers him a lot that I eat it. He thought I was literally insane and had to actually leave the room the first time. but it bothers me that he eats those horrid salt and vinegar devils.

"Try amazing. One of these days you're going t try it and I'm going to sit back and say I told you so." I look a the clear opening of the freezers of ice cream. "Should we do exotic flavors or be boring and go with the ever-loving vanilla?"

"Exotic and no, you will never have that concoction in my mouth. Ever." He insists scrunching his face up in disgust of my favorable snack.

I pick out two pint-sized Ben and Jerry's flavors. One is called If I Had 1,000,000 Flavors and the other is The Tonight Dough. I put those in the cart also. "You will."

He shakes his head. "Are we done?"

I look in the cart. "Yeah, we should be...oh no wait! Cream soda, you idiot. How could you forget?"

"Oh my bad." he holds up his hands in defense and says this in a snotty tone.

"Come on McCormick, I need my caffeine." I pull him in the direction of the drinks and put a two liter of soda in the cart.

"Now, imagine I this wasn't here. Horrible, right?"

"You're something else, Valentine."

The two of us, and by two of us I mean Liam, pay for our stuff and we go home.