SWNOVELS Chapter 8 No Pain, No Gain
That seemed to settle Al down for a bit. She opened the fridge and handed me a Dr. Pepper, then grabbed an Orange Fanta for herself. Man, Ben needs to cut back on the sugary drinks, or puberty is going to be a real nightmare for him. So, after we talked about stuff other than Josh, we finished our drinks and tossed them in the kitchen trash. Then we headed back outside, she locked up, and we biked back to my place. Where she stayed until my mom invited Al to come with me to Walmart, since I apparently still needed some toiletries for the field trip on Tuesday and some other stuff for the house. Al was totally down, since she needed stuff for the field trip too. She hopped in our red minivan, and of course had to sit right next to me in the backseat. Before we even backed out of the driveway, Mom asked if we were buckled up, and we both shouted, “Yes!” like the pure innocent kids we were.
As she backed out of the driveway, I stared out the window at the cars and buildings, trying to figure out what state we were in. I still had no clue, but I was leaning towards Pennsylvania. I’m starting to see a lot of Pennsylvania plates driving by, but I’m still not 100% sure. Maybe the newspaper or local news can help. But my focus changed from watching the cars whip past us when I felt someone constantly poking my arm. Annoyed, I whipped my head around and rudely asked,
“What?”
Al gave me a side eye and answered,
“Nothin, just makin sure you’re not sleeping… or dead.”
“Well, I´m not… just bored.”
Al took my comment as a personal challenge and made the rest of the car ride a living hell. First, she started poking me, then she started talking right into my ear about all the things she needed, like toiletries and fruit snacks. And when that didn’t get my attention, she tried poking me again, which really set me off.
Raising my voice I snapped back and asked “Can you please stop?”
She could see it on my face and asked with a pitiful look,
“Are you bored or tired noowww?”
“No.” I rudely answered, annoyed that she asked that ridiculous question.
She grinned evilly and said, “Oh, what do you know, you’re cured. You’re welcome.”
I was stunned that she played me like that, but before I could say anything back, “my” mom parked the car at Walmart. Man, I had forgotten how different it looked back in the day as I stared at the old sign with its dark blue letters spelling Walmart with the blue star in the middle of the letters WAl and the letters MART. The new sign was a lot different from the old one. And seeing people come out of the store with smiley plastic bags with shopping carts full of babies who were technically my age really threw me off. But I shook my head and got out of the car at the same time as my mom and Al and followed them into the store. I grabbed a shopping cart and pulled it towards Ben’s mom.
Walmart was a zoo, with tons of shoppers waiting in lines and kids and babies screaming. Other than that, the layout looked exactly the same as when I was a little kid. I need some time to myself, and I think I know just where to go to do that. I thought. With that in mind, I asked Ben’s mom all innocently, “Hey Mom, while you’re looking for stuff that both me and Al need, can I check out the video game aisle?”
“Fine,” Mom groaned. “But don’t go anywhere else. You hear me?”
“Sweet! Thanks, Mom, love you too!” I interrupted her as I dashed ahead of them and turned right at the sign that said “Electronics” with an arrow.
The video game aisle was easy to find, right where I thought it would be, in the back of the store near the toys. I had to take a quick peek at the toys, since I never got a chance to see what’s new back in 2002. It was pretty cool seeing all the new WWE action figures, like Eddie Guerrero and The Undertaker, and Star Wars action figures from the newest movie, Attack of the Clones. I also saw Furbys, Barbies, and other toys as far as the eye could see. But the video game aisle was where I really lost it. I was so excited, I felt like a kid on Christmas morning. I swear the whole aisle lit up like a Christmas tree, with a choir singing “Hallelujah” in the background. There were Gamecubes, Playstation 2s, Original Xboxes, Gameboy Colors, Gameboy Advance games, and even a few kiosks for the PS2, Xbox, and Gamecube.
I had officially died and gone to video gamer heaven.
With the biggest goofy grin, I scanned every single game and was giddily pointing out every single one. I remember saying “Oh my god, they have Nba 2k3 for Xbox, no way!” Then saying a couple other noticeable games for that system before I gravitated towards the PS2 section and that’s when I saw the best game ever. It was Grand Theft Auto Vice City. I´ve always longed to play it but my mother said no each time I saw it or had a chance to buy it. The last I saw it, let me tell yuh… it was not brand spankin new. Now there it sits behind the glass under “New Releases” where I could see its 1980s Neon pink VICE CITY gleaming with all of its greatness calling out to me!
I was fanboying out in the game aisle when a lean dude with brown hair and an iconic blue vest asked, “See anything you like, kid?”
“I see a lot of things I like,” I answered. “Like Grand Theft Auto Vice City on the PS2.”
The man grabbed his keys and opened up the PS2 glass cabinet, then handed me the game. My hands were literally shaking. But as I stared at the game longer, I knew that I shouldn’t be holding this. If I’ve learned anything from my journey here so far, it’s that no matter what age you are…your mother can still kick your butt and since Ben’s mom and my mom are so similar, I can practically predict what my mom would say if she saw me with that game. And I’m pretty sure Ben’s mom would say the exact same thing. Which I don’t or ever want to hear again. Ugh. I still have Vietnam-style flashbacks thinking about it. I sighed and told the guy, “Thanks, but you can put this back now. My mom would kill me if she finds me holding this.” I glanced over my shoulder to make sure she wasn’t watching.
The man laughed. “My mom was the same way. Maybe you could sweet talk her on your birthday or Christmas.”
“Yeah... maybe,” I replied. As the guy started to leave, Al came out of nowhere, shoulder-checking him. She gasped and said, “Oh my god, I’m so sorry!”
The guy laughed. “It’s okay. Happens more often than you think.” He left, and I tried not to burst out laughing in the store.
Once he was gone, I joked to Al, “Is that your new trick on how to catch a boy? By tackling him?... If so, I think it’s working.”
Al rolled her eyes. “I didn’t mean to do that!”
“I know,” I said. “It was still funny.”
Al’s mouth dropped open in shock. “Keep that up, wise guy, and you’re next,” she threatened.
I rolled my eyes back at her. “Whatever,” I said.
She grabbed my arm and continued, “Hope you had fun on your little solo trip, because it’s officially over.”
I groaned. “Great,” I said.
“And when we get back to your mom, you better not tell her a thing,” she replied.
I nodded, but I was thinking, Oh, I’m so telling her. It’s too funny not to. But not now, as apparently I was made the bag boy. I guess that’s my “punishment” for ditching my friend with “my” mom as I was put in charge of putting the stuff we need back in the cart and helping put that stuff in the trunk of Momma Harper’s minivan all by myself. I even had to put the cart back. Inside the Mom mobile I was told to buckle in, Ben’s mother had to ask,
“Did you two have fun?”
I smiled sweetly and said, “We had a blast, wouldn’t you say, Al?” playfully hitting her shoulder.
She glared at me and muttered, “Shut up.”
“Why was it so eventful, Ben?” his mom asked, not catching Al’s comment.
“Uhh, well, I was, uh...” I noticed Al’s stone-cold expression and folded arms. I coughed to cover my nervousness and said, “Looking at the video game that you know I’ve been talking about getting lately when... when...”
“Don’t you say it,” Al said under her breath.
“When Al tackled a dude,” I blurted out.
Al rolled her eyes and punched my shoulder lightly. I pretended to wince.
“Ow!” I cried.
“That’s what you get, tattletale,” Al said.
“Tattletale?” I asked.
“Settle down back there you two,” Mom said. “Allison Perkio, did you really tackle some dude?”
“I didn’t tackle him, Mrs. H,” Al said. “I only body checked him.”
“Dang Al, you shoulda been on our football team instead of softball with that body check.” I replied.
I think I broke Ben’s mom. She tried to cover her laughter, but she failed miserably and busted out laughing while trying to discipline me. Allison was red as a tomato from embarrassment. When Ben’s mom finally calmed down, Allison asked if her mom was going to find out about this. My mom said, “Oh yeah, and I bet Megan would love to hear about it too.” Allison groaned in pain, but I couldn’t be happier. I’m such a good friend.
Al and I were told to bring the groceries in as soon as we pulled into my driveway. And if there’s one thing I hate about being a kid again, it’s how brutally honest other kids can be. Like my new best friend Allison, for instance. I easily carried a 24-pack of water on my shoulder right in front of her, and she shrieked, “What are you, the Hulk?! Put it down now before your shoulder gives out!”
I put the pack of water down on the driveway and wondered what was wrong with her. Then I glanced in the car mirror and saw the scrawny kid looking back at me. I realized she wasn’t mad, she was just looking out for me.
As I was thinking this, she started chewing me out. “What were you thinking, Ben? You could’ve gotten hurt!” She gave me an evil stare and waited for an answer.
“Sorry, I thought it would be pretty cool,” I admitted.
“Pretty cool? More like pretty stupid,” she said, smacking me in the back of the head. “You could’ve gotten seriously hurt.”
Once the groceries were done, Allison and I hung out for a while. She even ate dinner with us. But as we were finishing up, her mom came to pick her up. As they were leaving, we said our goodbyes and Al gave me the same secret handshake as Josh did before leaving.
I know this won’t be the last time I see Allison, even though I wish it was. But as long as that girl Brittney has her wrapped around her finger, I’m a sitting duck. So the best option for me is to get a good night’s sleep in hopes that an answer on how to handle this drama will come up.