My Record Store Romance

Feeling a Little Woozy There and Oh Not You Again

Chapter Three; Feeling a Little Woozy There and Oh Not You Again

Rewritten

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I glanced down at the watch that rested on my wrist, my heart picking up as I saw the time that glared back at me.

11:46

There was no doubt about it, I was going to be late for my job interview; which began at twelve. I cringed as I shoved my way through an abundance of a crowd, who were all shuffling to one place or another.

I guess I couldn't really help or prevent my time management issues, seeing that my city's population nearly reached about one million people. But, to my horrible misfortune, it seemed at least half of them flooded the streets of downtown, flowing through every corner and in and out of every store.

I was trying to squeeze past all of them as quickly and politely as possible, but after the thousandth "Excuse me!" I was still somehow managing to run, bump, or knock over every person I came in contact with.

As I continued to parade down the streets and avoid large clumps of people, my mind flashed back to this morning. The image of my mom, standing with her lipstick stained coffee mug and clutching her black briefcase came first, along with her saying, "There is no way you'll be able to miss it. Follow my directions, and surely you'll find it right away."

I rolled my eyes at the memory. My mom had forgotten to mention that it was nearing about 110 degrees and it was a forty minute walk all the way down there in the first place.

She also forgot to mention that it would be packed, though I guess I wasn't really expecting that one either. But really, I should've known, considering that other than a few museums and chain restaurants, downtown was my city's main tourist attraction.

I couldn't really understand why, but it was probably just because I'm not adventurous enough; as Millie had told me countless times.

I stumbled over a curb, cursing internally at the woman taking pictures who had bumped into me, and looked for a street sign, one that could point me in the right direction for the restaurant.

But as I looked around, all I could notice was how strange my downtown truly was. With twisting streets, honking cars, and a confusing mixture of skyscrapers and run down businesses, nothing ever really matched something else. Everything always fit together wrong, and the huge crowds of random people pulsing from every entrance or exit really wasn't all too helpful, even if you had lived here all your life.

As I turned down another corner, the heat really started to get to me. My clothes clung to my body as sweat pooled around my skin, and I found myself wiping at my forehead every minute or so. The only thing that made it worse was being pushed or tugged or brushed on by the steady wave of people who continued to pass me, making it less then comfortable to move around.

I continued to stomp down the sidewalk anyway, trying not to notice the feeling of my limbs resembling cooked noodles, and the lump in my throat that grew every time I swallowed.

Had I even taken a sip of water all day today?

I grumbled a quick "Sorry" to another passerby tourist, and rubbed my temples. I could feel a headache coming on from dehydration, and I knew if this went on any longer I was either going to pass out or get extremely frustrated when I came into my interview totally disoriented.

So, I looked around shakily, trying to find the nearest water source in the attempt to prevent anything like that from happening, especially since I was already late and really needed to get a move on.