INTRO: Here’s a new one I wrote in my phone’s Notepad. Trying out a different style of writing. Hope you all like it! :)

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I plunged into the chaotic grocery store sale with little care towards anything. I didn’t really want to be here. I was hungry. The crowd was so huge that five steps forward took awhile to achieve; this made me sickeningly impatient. I hated it. Nevertheless, I pushed on.

Slowly creeping toward the first shelf, I ached to get my hands on a bag of Cheetos; Jalapeño flavored, of course. Damn did I want a bag. I wanted to taste the simple pleasure of Cheetos once again. That cheesy crunchy twig of pure cheetah-endorsed happiness: delicious. Then, I saw her.

She wasn’t the kind of girl that would grab everyone’s attention. More like the shy girl in a chick flick with which the high school heartthrob would fall head over heels for, only this girl knew how to dress. She stood around 5’5”, was fair-skinned, probably of Chinese lineage, and had long dark hair. She was looking at the top shelf, then the bottom; probably looking for something to place in her cart. Snacks, maybe?

She saw me looking at her and we shared a stare for about five seconds, then, she suddenly looked away. She looked away from me. Can you believe it? Me: the hottest boy in this region, the eye-candy of every girl within a one-kilometer radius, the embodiment of Adonis in the Twentieth Century! The nerve of this girl! I was offended, but I couldn’t get mad. This girl got me hooked. She got me hooked real good.

A sweet aroma diffused into my nose as she walked by passed me, deliberately ignoring my presence. She grabbed a box of Pop Tarts, a bag of Kisses, and a little piece of my heart for every other item that she took from the shelves. I walked toward her direction to see what else she would get; probably letting her take my heart completely in the process. She cradled a bag of Lays, and slowly crept up to the Cheetos corner.

She dropped everything into her shopping cart, looked up and saw me. She looked at me quizzically, then her eyes transitioned to view the Cheetos shelf—so did mine.

Time stopped.

There it was, the last bag of Cheetos Jalapeño sitting on a shelf across the girl that I’ve strangely fallen for. Her arms inched forward, her hands opening to grab the bag. She had a lustful smile on her face, as if to say, “My precious.” Gollum-style. My senses started tingling. This girl was about to take my bag of Cheetos!

With a sudden protective instinct, I pounced at her. She dropped the bag and screamed, “Ahh! Don’t hurt me!” and at that point, our eyes met, again. Her beautiful brown eyes were tearing up, almost pleadingly, and I felt sorry. I didn’t understand why, but we had an understanding after that. This bag of Cheetos was a wall—the wall that separated the two of us.

I straightened myself and picked up the bag of Cheetos Jalapeño and held it right in between her and I: a peace offering. She grinned, looked in her bag and pulled out a piece of paper and pen. She scribbled something on the piece of paper and traded it for the bag of Cheetos. I looked at it as she smiled. I smiled back. Then, she happily walked away toward the counter to purchase her snacks.

That night, I typed the number into my phone. Ring ring. No one picked up.