Second week on the job and it still wasn’t what I expected.  I looked down to see the time, as I heard a loud shopping car coming towards my register. I sighed with disappointment. As the odd-looking lady started putting her items down, I said hi to her and asked her how she was doing. “I’m doing great, how about yourself young lady?” she asked me. “I’m doing good too, a little tired,” I responded. She smiled politely. She had a bright pink sweater that caught my attention. Her whole outfit was pretty flashy, I thought to myself. I had never seen someone her age dressed so flashy before.        
            The more I looked at her, the more interesting it got. Hanging from her neck there was a rabbit’s tail, I only knew what it was because I had gone hunting with my dad before. She wore some loose pants with a cheetah print with some combat boots. Her look was so risky, I thought to myself. As I began to scan her items, it got even more odd. She had an ice cube tray, greeting card, a watch, a lamp, some keys and a washing machine. This was an odd bundle of items. What could she be up to? I had never seen her around here before, maybe she was new, and she was buying some things that she needed for her new house. I gave her her total and she looked a little surprised. It had added up to a total of $885.92, I asked if she wanted to buy insurance for the washing machine and she said she couldn’t afford that much. She took out $900 and handed it to me. She was hesitant about giving me the money, she almost looked worried, like that was all the money she had and now she had to figure out what to do for basic necessities. I asked her if everything was okay and she responded, “This is all I have and I have an empty tank of gas, but I’ll figure it out sweetie.” For such an odd woman, she really had a kind heart. I reached into my pocket and gave her $20. She insisted she was okay, that she would figure it out, but I insisted, and she finally gave in. She was making her way out of the store and I realized it was time for my break. I went and punched out and proceeded to follow the lady that I had just charged. Once I cached up to her I asked her if she had enough space in her SUV to take the things to her house. She said she washing machine didn’t fit and I offered to help her.
             We got another worker to help us put it in the truck and then I followed her to her home. She pulled up to a small little house, there was a broken tree in the front lawn, there was a broken lawn-mower, an old tire, and a few more odd things. We got inside and she offered me a cup of water. She left for a few moments and I looked around. She had pictures of dogs, cats, bunnies, birds, but none of her family. There was not one picture with humans, that was strange. Something didn’t feel right. My gut was telling me to leave. I grabbed my keys and made my way to the door. As soon as I grabbed the handle, she was back with my water. “Don’t leave,” she said. I told her I was in a hurry because I had to get back to my shift, but she insisted I at least try the water she got me. I took the glass from her and as I lifted it to my mouth, she pushed me and locked the door. I fell and hit my head pretty hard. I woke up in a completely different room, surrounded by pictures of me. This lady had been following me for months, I couldn’t believe it. These pictures were at least 4 months ago. I heard a loud knock on the door and then everything got quiet. Slowly the handle started moving and in came the lady with a bottle and a bib. She told me she was my mother and that she was going to relive everything that she missed with me when I was young. I screamed and fought her off, but she injected me, and I passed out.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
To the editor: My piece was inspired from my English class, every day we would go in there and over a few periods we would come up with a short story with new vocabulary. The topic of the short story I wrote was a lady coming into my job to buy six random items that we got from a random list generator. This was fun little way to express my feelings. Thank you for taking the time of day to read my piece.