VALERIE

Chapter 24: Almost... Almost!

Do you have any idea who’s G.V. Epperson?

I don’t know too. Valerie’s hiding something from us.

Any theory?

*******

  Copyright © zylgnagnaba 2013

I am standing along the counter inside of what seems to be a little store. Situated inside are racks with different classified products, all separated by aisles. The familiarity of the place makes me think that I have been here before, I just can’t figure out when and how.

The door chimes in when other costumers come in, and I instinctively lean to my side to see that there is a boy and a girl who just walked in. They are both in their coats and beanies as it’s about winter already. They are wearing schoolbags, so I reckon they are still in high school or something. I gently pull my eyes away from them to scan the store again when a realization hits me and I look at the kids once more. Along with the familiar place are also some familiar faces.

I follow them with my sight as they both ski to the aisle between chips and different treats, and the tan and lanky boy grabs a basket from the corner in the process. I don’t know why but my feet got the urge to follow them there as they both look around for anything to buy.

There’s nothing extraordinary about them. It’s just that they do not look related to each other, not either a couple or something, nor friends even.

The girl’s curly blonde hair falls perfectly down her back and bounces as she moves. She has this pale white skin that very much complements her plump pink lips and her long eyelashes. She’s really gorgeous. Her appearance is way even livelier than her off aura, I can feel it. I look at them for a little while and follow them as they proceed to another aisle. I don’t really know what I am doing, but I just feel attracted to them. And what’s more surprising is they can’t seem to mind me.

When we reach the aisle between detergent soaps and toiletries, the blonde girl stays behind and grabs a bottle of shower gel quietly.  She tip toes behind the boy who is busy getting some necessary things and puts them on the basket, she carefully and inconspicuously opens the zip of his bag and sneak in the shower gel inside. After she closes the bag, she cheerily turns around, slowly puts her index finger at the middle of her pair of lips, and mouths ‘quiet’ in front of me. Uh-oh! This can’t be good.

After they hand their goods by the counter and paid for them, they now walk out the store when something beeps harshly like the sound of an alarm, I don’t know. But it quickly alerted the guy behind the pay desk and run outside to catch the two kids. Both of them are invited back in, and the guy took their bags off their backs to rummage through their stuffs. The first bag was the girl’s and the guy didn’t retrieve anything he was looking for. But when he searches through the lanky boy’s bag, there he found the shower gel, as expected.

The boy flustered as soon as the guy looks and shakes his head at him contemptuously.

“You’re coming with me,” The sales guy tells him and grabs him by the shoulder.

“Hey, wait. I didn’t steal that, I promise,” The boy aggressively shakes his head and shuffles his arm away from the guy but doesn’t win. I have this instinct to intrude and tell the guy that it wasn’t him but when I take a step forward; the blonde girl quickly turns her head to me and throws a warning look at me. Her eyes burning with rage and her lips tightly press together as if she could punch me if I say any word. I stop dead in my tracks and watch the boy being taken away from the store, the girl stays behind with a smug and satisfied smile in her face.