First Part of First Draft of First Draft of Random Short Story

Winter Errands

 In order to minimize this pandemonium, Lex would usually go at the latest possible hour and in the worst—according to most people—possible weather, which worked well for him, as his schedule was fairly nocturnal. However, today it had unfortunately been necessary to shop significantly earlier- not for a lack of food, as the frugal Lex did not mind starving for a day if it meant he could avoid the chaos of humanity, but because he had a massive commission due the following evening, which he had absentmindedly put off until it was nearly too late- at least, he hoped it was not already too late. Already internally humiliated by his forgetfulness, the fact that now he had to pay for it by experiencing supermarket hell put Lex in a dour, dismal mood. He had hoped the cold bite of January wind would deaden his shamed nerves and soothe his mind, but apparently pesky children were out to seize even that bit of comfort from his day.

"Sir, good sir!"

Lex came to a sudden halt at the matronly voice.

"It is a bit chilly today,is it not? Why don't you come in, warm up and browse our selection? We have quite a large outerwear section here at Heaven's Closet!"

He glared in the direction of the voice.

"Ah ... well ...I just thought you looked a bit cold there without a jacket or-"

"I'm fine ...ma'am." This came out more guttural than Lex intended, almost a growl, but he didn't care.

"Oh ... well,then." The jolly looking older lady stood on the steps of an old-fashioned storefront, smiling awkwardly at him. She was not beautiful, but clearly cared very much to keep up her appearance, as evident by her bleach-blonde perm, thick ruddy makeup and woolen pea-coat of a deep scarlet that matched the color of her rouge. Despite her moment of apprehension, she opened her mouth to continue speaking; Lex unfixed his glare from her, signaling his disinterest,and resumed his pace before she could utter another word. Her voice was as slow and sticky as molasses; he had to clench his firsts to keep his cool.

The winter sun shone its cold rays down on the thick piles of snow lining the sides of the road; briskly pacing along, Lex pondered its unusual harshness. The morning was steadily advancing; his judgment must have been clouded by drowsiness when he had earlier that morning estimated his time of arrival, as, judging by the sun's position,time was now a bit later that he had expected. That created a dilemma: if his journey took too long, the store may be crowded when he did arrive. Subconsciously he scanned the surroundings, checking for morning traffic: there were indeed a decent number of people out and about, but thankfully no cars, which, of course, made sense,since all the nearby roads were cobblestone. Wait ... cobblestone?

Lex froze in his tracks once again. After a moment, he apprehensively lowered his eyes. Yes, he was standing on a quaint little cobblestone road. Dread washed over him as he realized he was currently in the middle of Historic Main Street, which was nowhere near the supermarket.

Lex cursed under his breath; he must have been lost in thought again, wandering in the wrong direction. He could not remember when or where he took the incorrect path, and, due to his infrequent visits into town, the young man could barely navigate a couple blocks. The supermarket was a good twenty minutes from his studio, yet still on the edge of town;this was one of the only local places of which Lex was sure of the location. Often reliant on his phone when it came to directions,today he had noticed too late that it must have been mistakenly abandoned in an absent-minded morning rush.

Determined to maintain his composure in order to avoid any further probing stare sor conversations, Ilexis drew a deep breath, turned, and scanned his surroundings. He was unable to make any sense of them, having only been to Historic Main Street once before. Growing frustration now made his face burn bright red, and as blood rushed to the surface, he imagined it boiling under his cheeks. However, he had already lost so much time that to dwell on such negativity would only serve to waste more; again, he pushed his emotions deeper inside and focused on the present.