Sitting in the empty food court, the only sounds to be heard are the whispers of the morning joggers. The only other people in the food court are the elderly couple sitting at the far end. The old, graying man is reading today’s newspaper. His wife is sipping coffee while reading a slightly worn book. Neither of them are saying a word. The old man’s lips keep moving silently, as if he were lip synching. Occasionally, you can here the steady footsteps of the joggers.


I normally love the mall. My time with friends is normally spent at the mall. Of course, that is during hours. But before hours, it is utterly silent. It causes your thoughts to embroil you. You slowly begin to go insane. By the time the stores open, you want out. I turn my head at the slightest sound. I am starting to get freaked out. Go get coffee. It will calm your nerves. Your mind is just playing tricks on you., I think to myself.


I get up and start walking in the direction of the elderly couple. As I pass by them, the old man smiles and says, “Mornin’ Darlin’.” He has an unexpected Southern accent. I flash the sweetest smile I can conjure up, and say, “Good morning.” I keep walking until I hit J.B. Robinson’s. Then, I turn right and look in the windows of the closed up shops as I pass by. The hairs on the back of my neck are standing up because I can feel someone’s eyes following me. I turn around and no one is there. Van, you are going insane. No one is following you. Just go and get your coffee, I think silently.


As I pass Burlington Coat Factory, I think to myself, You are half way there, Van. Don’t freak yourself out now. I keep walking. I can still feel someone’s eyes following me. So I look around again. No one. A loud clanging of metal comes from behind me. I spin around. It was just the gate door to Foot Locker. I keep walking. I’m still creeped out. I pass Gertrude Hawk’s. The fresh chocolate smells amazing. The coffee shop is inside Border’s, which is straight ahead. I walk through the entrance of Border’s and take a right. I go through the clearance books, and the science fiction section. I walk up to the Seattle’s Best Coffee counter. A tall, skinny guy that looks about twenty-one is behind the counter. He looks over his shoulder and says, “I’ll be with you in a minute.” I notice he has his left ear gauged. It was a 0 gauge. His hair was jet black and clean-cut. He wore thin-rimmed glasses. He turned around and said, “How may I help you?” His name tag said Jeremy, in bold, blue, stick-on letters. “I will have a medium white chocolate mocha,” I said in a standard tone. “That will be four dollars and sixty-five cents,” Jeremy said. I open my purse and get out a five dollar bill. I hand it to Jeremy and say, “Keep the change.” He smiles and starts making my coffee. I turn around and look at the romance novels, that have Fabio on the cover. “Miss, your coffee is ready. Do you want whipped cream?,” Jeremy says. “Sure. Thank you.,” I say , smiling at my warm coffee. Jeremy hands me my coffee and I walk out of the book store.


I keep walking pass the stores. As I pass by Zumiez, someone grabs me from behind. Hands slide around my waist and someone starts kissing my neck. I jump and look behind me. It’s my incredibly hot boyfriend, Zachary. “Hi, Zacky Wacky.,” I say in an adorable voice. “Hello, Vancouver, my love.,” Zachary said back adoringly. Yes. My parents named me Vancouver. They absolutely love Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. I kiss him lightly on his perfect lips. He presses his forehead against mine, so his hair falls down into my face and he smiles. “What time do you have to work today?,” I asked Zachary. “From eight to five. How about you?,” Zachary said with his hands on my a**. “Eight thirty to five thirty. Do you want to hang after work tonight?,” I ask., putting my hands around his neck. “Sure. I’ll come down and see you as soon as I punch out. I’ll figure out something for us to do tonight.,” Zack leaned down and gave me a kiss. “I love you, baby. See you at five.,” I let go of Zachary and walk towards PacSun. The gate was already open. I punch in and then start stocking the shelves. A young girl walks in and starts looking at clothes that I just folded. This is my biggest pet peeve. I walk over with my biggest smile and say, “How my I help you?” “Do you have any openings here?,” she says. She has long blond hair. “Yeah. We do. Here, come with me and I’ll get you an application.,” I walk over to the counter and get her an application from next to the register. “Thank you so much. Can I fill this out here and give it to you?,” she asked. “Yeah. Of course. By the way, my name is Vancouver. My friends call me Van.” “Hi, Van. I’m Nelleigh.,” she says shaking my hand.


When five o’clock rolled around, I was ready to go home. “Hey, Van. Can I wait in the back room?,” Zachary asked. “Sure. Did you find something for us to do tonight?,” I asked Zachary as I was checking out today’s till. “Yeah. We are going bowling with one of my friends and his girlfriend.” “Oh. Alright. I’ll see if I can leave early.,” I say. At five fifteen, Zachary and I were jumping in his Chevy pick-up. He speeds off in the direction of the bowling alley. When we get to a stop light, Zachary leans over and kisses me. “Van, I love you.” “I love you, too.”
We pull into the bowling alley’s parking lot. There are only three cars in the parking lot, including ours. A silver Jeep Grand Charokee was parked next to ours. The other vehicle was a red Ford Challenger, that I recognized as the owner’s car. Who drives a Jeep?, I thought to myself. “Van. Earth to Vancouver.,” Zachary laughed. “Huh?! What did you say, babe?,” I came back to reality. “We have a lane already reserved.,” Zachary said unbuckling his seatbelt. I unbuckled my seatbelt and opened my door.
Inside, a tall, skinny man and a short, blond girl were putting on bowling shoes. “Seven and a half for her. Ten for me.,” Zachary said to the owner, Mr. Steria. Mr. Steria handed Zachary the shoes. Zachary and I put the shoes on. Then, he took my hand and pulled me over to lane four, where the tall guy and the blond girl were standing. “Dude. What’s up?,” Zachary said, slapping the tall guy on the back. When the tall guy turned around, I realized it was Jeremy from the coffee shop. “Jeremy?!,” I said, obviously confused. “Medium white chocolate mocha?!,” Jeremy said, equally confused. “Was I your only customer today or something?,” I laughed. “Sadly, yes.” “Oh. That sucks.” Jeremy’s girlfriend turned around. “Hey, Nelleigh.,” I said, shocked. “Hey, Van.,” Nelleigh said. “You two know each other?,” Jeremy and Zachary said surprised. “Yeah. We met in the store today.,” I said. Wow. How unusual. I don’t normally get jealous, but god damn. Nelleigh is beautiful. I wonder if Jeremy knows how lucky he is. Oh, no. My bisexual side is coming out again. I thought to myself, as I stared at Nelleigh. “Van, baby, what’s wrong?,” Zachary asked, putting a hand on the small of my back. “I’m fine.,” I force a smile. “Let’s bowl!,” Jeremy said, in an unexpected, deep voice.
After the bowling was done, Zachary said, “Van, it’s still early. Are you sure you want to go home?” “We can go home. We can watch a movie or something.,” I said. Zachary smiled as he turned the corner onto my street. We pulled into my driveway. All the lights were off. “Van. Are you sure your parents are home?” “They’re supposed to be.” I called my mom’s cell. “Oh, Van. I’m glad you called. Your dad and I decided to go see your Aunt Leslie. We won’t be back until tomorrow.” “Mom. Can Zachary stay over tonight?” “Yes. Even though I don’t fully trust the two of you alone, I would rather have him be there with you.” “Thanks, Mom. See you tomorrow.”
Zachary and I went inside my house. Zachary threw his keys on the new coffee table, that Mom paid way too much for, and kissed me softly on the lips. “I love you, Vancouver.” “I love you too, Zachary.”