Wanting (Short story)

Wanting

I sit there at the edge of the seat holding my legs together, my feet hanging under the round short stool. My arms pressed to my sides and my hands curled around the edge of my seat. Staring at the orange carpeting, the very fuzzy but grass like orange carpeting. I never understood why she got the rug, it was ugly, and old and out of the decade that we were living in, but that was her, she never really seemed to be a part of this time, either stuck in the past or wanting the future, the very far future. There was no in between with her, and she changed her thought from future and past so quickly. I have always expected that from her, she never wanted to be a part of the present. I remember the day she bought the carpet, I remember everything about her, as I was fascinated by her. I was fascinated by the way she loved to learn about the past, and how she always talked about the future and her random conspiracies.

A year, three months, and eight days ago. (But who's counting)

"...that aliens would rain down on us. The chance of them looking like us or they could be like little green things that like clone or shapeshift into us in some way. That's like a 45/45 percent chance." She spoke quickly as possible, her red lipstick lips moving at the speed they usually did. She grabbed one end of a jean jacket that was stuffed on a rack of jean jackets looking very similar to the one in her hand.

I blink quickly realizing I was staring, and try to think of a rebuke to her comment. "If it's a 45/45 percent chance then where is the other ten percent?" I ask trying to sound reasonable and realistic, which I usually think is what keeps her on the ground, with my hand resting on the coat rack she is looking at.

She looks away from the jean jackets and scans the other side of the store. "Well that's the thing, we could be the only ones in this vast and large universe. Left to venture it when we either kill our own planet or make the technology to cover the boundless amount of outer space." She spoke almost melancholy but also with a kind of love towards the words, as she starts making her way across the store, I took my hand off the coat rack as I quickly paced after her.

"Well what if we never make the technology to do so, like could we really advance our technology from here, if we could have, wouldn't we have done it already?" I ask kind of worriedly, looking at her usual curious wondering expression.

She ponders the thought as she keeps looking through the furniture part of the store. On this warm but misty morning, the sunset making its way through the windows, the street lighting up orange and yellow, hints of red showing here and there. The sun gives me a sense of serenity as I follow my friend around the store.

She makes her way over to the rugs and fabric and strange pieces of cloth. "First off humans are kind of slow so it's probably taking a while. And who knows, maybe some genius Japanese scientist has already figured it out. But... is maybe hiding it from the world like everything else our government hides from us. Or something like that." something caught her sun glowing eyes, It was orange ugly and needed to be washed... several times.

"You have a point there, our government does suck. But that still doesn't change the fact, how would we survive in space? Let alone how could we make a spacecraft or spacecrafts big enough for, What is it again? Seven point something billion people, get them up into space, where do we go from there, try and find a new planet to live on? That might possibly take too long for even three life times, maybe more." I remark, as the rug is being looked over by her curious gaze.

"I think i'm gonna buy this." She states, draping it over her arm, she digs around in her bag, and pulls out her phone. We make our way to the front where the registers are at. "Well I guess so but I mean if we leave the planet we could probably tear down buildings to use up materials. And then we get people up in sections like the rich probably go first and pay their way up. Then the next people have to be special or have to win something to get on." She comments as we get in line for the register. "Can you hold this for me?"

I look at the rug with slight disgust. "I don't know if I want to."

She looks at me with a pleading look, her eyes giving me the puppy dog look. "Please?"

I gave up as her pleading was convincing. "Ughh, Okay!" I say, while cautiously grabbing for the rug.

"Okay now where are you wallet?" She asks herself as she digs around in her bag.

I roll my eyes to what I'm about to say. "Here hold on to this I'll pay for it." I say grabbing my wallet out of my back pocket as we make our way to one of the registers.

"Alright that's gonna be $12.37 would you like to round up to..." I cut the cashier off.

"Sure." I say quickly, looking over to my friend who kinda looks dumbfounded.

"Do you want your receipt Ma'am?" The cashier asks.

"No thank you, you have a great day though." I say as I stuff my wallet back into my pocket. We head out of the store.

"Umm thank you?" My friend says as she gives me strange looks.

"Your welcome, also do you want to continue our "argument" about space travel or are you still speechless that I can show human kindness?"

"Umm...?"

"I'll stick with speechless then." I say kind of proudly while we walk home.