Mr. Monroe's Produce Corner and Convenience Store

Erin pressed the button to cross the street. She was standing next to Luke, a block away from the theatre, and had three more blocks to go before they reached the grocery store where Jess worked as a cashier. The light switched to the walking man, and Erin and Luke ran across the street, fighting the chill autumn air. Their jackets were pulled tight around them, but the cold still nipped at their skin. Erin didn’t say anything, and neither did Luke, but it was as if they were talking. It wasn’t an awkward silence. It was sort of like an unspoken conversation between friends. Friends. Was that what she and Luke were now? Erin didn’t know. She never had had friends before. She was the outcast at school. The oddball. Erin had always pretended she was just unique, just a little different, and all the other mean girls at school were just not as special as she. She now knew this wasn’t true. This was a downright lie. She was unique alright. But in a weird kind of way. ‘No.,’ Erin thought to herself, ‘I’m not weird. Weird people don’t have friends. I have a friend. I have Luke,’ she looked beside her and saw him staring at his feet, probably thinking the same thoughts as Erin was now. She turned her head the other way, to see Sweet Samantha’s Floral Shop pass them with its beautiful roses and violets out on display behind the glass window. They went on for a few more minutes before Erin broke the silence.
“Here we are,” she said. Erin pointed to a red brick building that was crumbling at the corners with a wooden sign that had obviously seen better days hanging above the dark green door frame. Mr. Monroe’s Produce Corner and Convenience Store it read. Erin checked behind her to make sure Luke was following and then entered the store.