a giant box sits outside of town. cheap cds lure me, to fulfill my 80s heritage. it is for a just cause i tell myself, sickly. standing in line, ashamed. a dubious award for this store, printed on cheap-ass vinyl signage and hung crease-folded on the wall. a blue/yellow windows scheme that only makes it all the sicker.
as suckers leave with electronics to break, i get to the counter. all the cashiers looked bored and like someone else's idea of pretty. she rings me up and moves to put rio into a bag. "i don't need a bag" i tell her. still staring at me, her right hand does a circle - ally-oop - and she throws the bag away, her sullen mouth morphing into a smirk of joy. as if, by refusing the bag, i had set her momentarily free from her job. i say "yeah!" - because she's got the right idea after all.
served up on March 28, 2002 11:10 AM