Mr. Pride and I | jjk x llm

14

-Lisa-

I opened the glass door with a strong push while I kept my other hand buried deep in the pocket of my hoodie that was twice my size.

The cold gush of air from the air conditioner hit my face and I breathed it in, smelling the lemon scent the manager must've installed on the appliance. And despite being under the roof of a small mini mart that was open twenty-four hours, I kept my hood on and looked down, keeping a straight face as I proceeded to one of the shelves that held what I wanted.

Having to go in this place annoyed me as much as the reason why I needed to. I craved to eat ramen once I reached home alone since my mom had called me telling me she  would be working late, and, to no avail, there was none.

It made me feel really sad, knowing I had the chance to wear my hoodies, have no homework to work on to, the rain poured hard outside, and I could do whatever I want, except eat what I had been craving for. So, here I am. But luckily, this mini mart was close to my house, so close that I only walked it, still it annoyed me.

I looked at the flavors of ramen that sat on top of the shelf, some were in cups, and some, in their bag, of course. But I wasn't looking for the bag, I was looking for the cup—the easy cook one. They all looked delicious, however, I was looking for my favorite; shrimp flavor.

I mover a few to the side and others to show what their flavors are, until finally, I found what I had been desiring to eat since a while ago.

I held it tight and hurriedly walked toward the cashier, there's no time to waste when it came to eating, for me at least, but sometimes, there is too much time to waste, but people tend to waste it more in talking rather than eating.

I placed the cup on the counter, glancing up once to meet the eyes of the cashier, a girl that looked around thirty or thrity-five years old. Her lips that was stained a glossy red color was curved down to a frown, showing off the wrinkles that marked the side of her eyes and on her forehead. She looked tired and I felt sorry for her, she must've not gotten enought sleep. I guessed she was assigned in the night shift, together with a young boy that sat five tiles away from her, maybe incharge of the ice cream machine, but I didn't give much thought to it, though.

I tend to take closer looks to the people that surrounds me, which leads to me observing them deeply, something I know that wouldn't advantage me.

I waited for the sound of the scanner and looked at the small screen that showed me how much I needed to pay. I took out the exact amount of money I needed to pay from the pocket of my jeans and handed it to the cashier.

I grabbed the cup and went into the middle of the mini mart, where they displayed the hot dumplings, hotdogs, and other food that needed to be heated. It is also where you can find the free hot water.

I opened the cup half way through and took out the spices and the mini, foldable fork I was always excited about.

I filled the cup the desire amount I wanted and closed it once again, slowly making my way towards one of the empty seats in the mart.

Placing the cup on top of the wooden table first, I sat down slowly and stared blankly at the cup, steam coming out of the small hole I didn't close. I then took the packet of spices, shaking it so that the spices would go down and tore it carefully. I poured the packet, of course, not forgetting to open the cup, then mixed using the plastic fork it came with. I then closed it again.

About two minutes passed while I waited for the ramen to soften in the hot water. I finally opened it all through and stirred the noodles, like what I always do. I raised the fork, the steam still visible. After a few blows, I started eating.