The streets of New York never seemed as lonely as they did today. The constantly bustling streets, filled with suit-clad men and hopeful artists, seemed dead. Normandi walked aimlessly. She knew where she wanted to go but she didn’t feel it was the right time yet. She sat on the bench, waiting for the bus. In her hands were the golden flower earrings Aiden gave her for her 23rd birthday. Both of them couldn’t afford much but those earrings were the most valuable things she had ever owned. She had to fight the smile that came with the thought of the precious jewels. From a distance she could hear the squeaky breaks of the bus. She let out a long sigh.

The bus driver passes Broadway Street and in the corner is Cipriani’s, the pricey restaurant where Normandi and Aiden had their first date. They didn’t order anything; they just ate the complimentary breadsticks. The waiters caught on and they were kicked out after the fifth basket. Afterwards, they wandered the streets till three A.M. She remembered how they bought a snow globe at the thrift shop nearby. He ended up smashing it against the refrigerator. He had also managed to steal a bouquet from the flower store that night. She had thrown those away two days later. No matter how beautiful the presents, both of them managed to get rid of them; but not these earrings. She managed to keep them although she hadn’t seen Aiden in a year.

Normandi had remembered when she and Aiden had first met. She could not stand the sight of him because he had this arrogant and superior vibe to him and he was one of those kids that hated the government just because he listened to punk rock music. He hated her as well because of her constant gray cloud and those stupid burgundy boots she wore and the stupid lavender color she had in her hair. Neither of them could deny the amount of attraction between them. With every word he said, a violent rage would grow inside her but a cool rush of ice would paralyze her and make her admire the beauty in his voice. He would stare at her and become appalled because of how she always talked in an overly passionate way but was infatuated with the twinkle in her eyes that showed she loved what she was talking about. Aiden had bought her those gold earrings because he knew she wouldn’t like them. Aiden had never seen her wear jewelry, not once, but he bought them to irritate her. When she handed them to her, she smiled and looked at him deviously. Normandi knew him too well; she knew that Aiden bought them in the hopes of her selling them to buy him a better present. Normandi was too clever to give him that satisfaction.

“Hey, you getting off here?” A gruff voice calls to Normandi; it’s the bus driver. She nods and walks out the bus, and stares at the building in front of her. In large, red fluorescent lights is a sign that reads GEM PAWN BROKERS. The bell chimes at the entrance and a greasy looking man with a gold chain and a think Brooklyn accent greets her at the door. “Normandi! Haven’t seen you since you were about 14 years old. How you doin’?” Normandi lets a small smile creep unto her face. “I’m fine, Mr. McCall. I just came to pawn something.” She reaches into her left coat pocket and takes out the gold earrings. The man looks at them with desire. “My God, what did you have to do to get those?” A pang of guilt hit Normandi. “I’ll give you about $3,500 for those. How does that sound to you?” She looked at the earrings in her hand and did her best to hold back the tears. Aiden wouldn’t do something like that. It was unlike him to be nice and caring. She had remembered all the times that he showed anything but hatred for her. She knew he hadn’t been in love so much as drawn to her. She kept those earrings because they reminded her of something that Aiden never was, something that she wished he had been. Despite all his faults, she loved him. She wanted to have all the bad things about him back if she would be able to have the good things to. Normandi was abruptly brought back to reality “So what do you say?” Normandi wiped away the tear on her cheek. “Yeah, of course. I have to pay rent somehow.” The man let out a hearty laugh. “Alright, I’ll get your cash right now.” Normandi let out a sigh of relief. No more Aiden. Of course it hurt for a while like when you do a belly flop off the springboard and all the air gets knocked out. But Normandi could finally get him out of her life.