The first customer in line is Heidi Claire, who is sixteen and a half years old and is buying gluesticks and tape. When she was born and first shown to her father, he remarked "I declare", and she was thus named Heidi Claire. Heidi Claire just broke up with her first real boyfriend. In a moment of equal parts post-break-up despondency and rage, she tore up all of her pictures with him. Was it mentioned that Heidi Claire fancies herself somewhat of a photographer? For every conflict there is resolution, if not always as concrete as in this case. Yesterday she heard a rumor from her boyfriend's girlfriend's girlfriend's boyfriend that he wanted to get back together. She wouldn't believe any rumor if it hadn't come from a credible source. In hopes of better times to come, she remembered her actions in times to pass and rushed to the store to fix her mistake. She will be taping pictures together all night.
Second in line is seven year old Jimmy. Jimmy lives with his mother and they take care of each other just fine. No one ever loved their mommy more, and to prove it, Jimmy has saved his change for weeks. He dug in every cushion of every couch and checked the ashtray of the car. He planned on giving his poorly counted twenty four cents to the clerk and getting back a quarter, with which he planned to buy a ring from the machine. His mother would be so happy, and she'd never guess it came from the supermarket.
Behind Jimmy is Darryl. Darryl is thirty-five ad works hard all day to provide for his wife and himself, except for today. He just forgot their anniversary. Fortunately for him its nothing a rose and a twenty-four pack of Heineken can't fix. Well, if it can't fix it, there's still the twenty-four pack of Heineken, which is the best remedy for a disgruntled wife.
Debby is behind him and she is buying a jar of diet pills and "US Weekly", although she knows as well as we all do that it is not about US, but more about THEM Weekly. She knows that it could all about HER Weekly if she could shed enough of her one-hundred-twenty pounds and become one of them. That's where the diet pills come in; her vehicle to that goal. Then she'll feel better, at least in the most emotional way, because physically she will be half-dead.
One up from the end of the line is Kenny, sixteen-years-old and buying booze. He just got a fake ID and has been spending the last week building up enough courage, and four blond hairs on his chin to use it. If he had paid a little more attention, he would have noticed that he was buying cooking sherry, but beggars can't be choosers any more than sixteen-year-olds can be fine liquor aficionados.
And always last in line, as if by divine providence, is me buying this pen. I am buying this pen for one simple reason- to write this story.