CARTERSTROPHE

CHAPTER 5.

"A thousand miles of friendship begins with shopping together."

BEE

I  wake up as the bright rays of sunlight hits me in the face. Some birds were chirping noisily just outside my windows reminding me of spring lake. I roll to the right side of my bed and check the time on my alarm clock wondering why the sun came out so early. 9:15 am?

It's been a while since I woke up this late. I must have been exhausted after everything that happened yesterday. I lazily drag my self out of bed and slip my feet into my fluffy bunny slippers. Remaking my bed and patting my pillow to shape takes lesser time than yesterday which means I can spend more time in the bathroom.

opening my closet, I take out an oversized ash sweatshirt and a black pair of regular jeans then place them at the foot of my bed. I move to the bathroom to carry out my morning routine which involves flossing and brushing my teeth, 20 minutes bathe, and blow-drying my hair. I normally use a flat iron once or twice a week when I don't want to rock my natural waves, however today I am in haste so I let my curls go wild and tame them down with a scarf.

Changing from my towel into my jeans and sweatshirt, I reach for my Laura Mercier Ambre Vanillé fragrance on my dresser and spritz a little on my pulse points. My favorite fragrance is vanilla and it gives me a soothing feeling. It's my signature scent and it's refreshing.

I put my planner into my purse and slip on my sneakers. When I'm good to go, I lock my room and walk to the kitchen to see if I can find any sign that my roommate came home either last night or this morning. I'm slightly disappointed that everything is in the exact position I left it, but also thankful that I don't have extra cleaning to do.
I pull the controller switch and all the lights go off before leaving the house.

Outside looks different from what I saw yesterday. Colorful beddings and clothes were hanging from the lines and I notice the beautiful daisies that line the sidewalks which I failed to notice the previous day. I take out my phone and take a selfie to remind me of my first actual day as an independent college student.

A bright yellow cab stops in front of me before I wave and I get in. I tell him I need to go to a grocery store and he nods. He pulls to a stop in front of a huge supermarket minutes later and demands 16 dollars. I'm prepared to banter when he shows me a meter stuck to the dashboard. I reluctantly hand him some notes and make a mental note to save up for a car. If I was going to survive here, it would be best to get a car. My dad promised to send me some money for a car before I left for college but with pregnant Patricia in the picture, I had serious doubts about that promise.

I walk into the supermarket and ask one of the assistants for the section for beddings. She leads me to a different section of the supermarket where laundry and household articles are sold.  I have a lot on my list so I grab a shopping cart and start selecting curtains. there are several colors and patterns so I stick with a silver floral curtain and blue drapes. 

"Fuck". someone curses behind me.  I turn to see a girl crutched on the floor, the contents of her baskets had just spilled in all directions. A bottle of ketchup rolls towards me and I stop it with my feet. I pick it up and help her pick the rest of her items which were scattered around me. 

"Here," I say handing her the few things I had picked from the floor. She stands up straight but leaves her basket on the floor with the excess. The basket seemed to be too small for all the things she had selected from the counters.

"Thank you." She replies and pushes her hair back with her fingers. That's when I see them. The tattoos on her wrist and her nose and eyebrow piercings. Her hair was dyed a deep shade of red and was cut short in a bob. Aside from all the tattoos and piercings, she was beautiful.