A Simple Treat

My mother has always said that life is full of tough choices. I still have no idea if she meant to teach me some common sense with that line or if she is just perpetually annoyed with me. You see, I have always been…a bit of a troublemaker. I get that from my dad mom says.

Well anyways, I should probably introduce myself. Hello, my name is Sam. That is short for Samantha. Today, I am taking a nice walk through the shopping district in beautiful downtown Springfield. The one in Oregon, not the one in the Simpsons. I do not know what to buy though. I just do not have very much money and I am very picky. I need something…special.

I stop to look in the closest window and see a little bookshop. No, today is too bright and sunny for that dusty old place. Besides, I am more of a comic book fan. This place looks like it only sells boring old books. Maybe the next shop will be more interesting.

I have been exploring the area for the first few weeks since we moved to town. To tell you the truth…I keep hoping to bump into some new friends while I shop. Sadly, folks up here seem to keep to themselves. Oh well, mom also says that it takes a lot of time to bake a good cake. I stop for a second and wonder if she should work for a greeting card company with all those sayings.

The next shop catches my eye because it is a toy shop. I know, I know I am a fourteen-year-old woman of the world, and I should grow up. But I am a sucker for action figures, so I decide to stroll inside and see what they have to offer. These shelves are so tall, and the layout is confusing, but eventually I make my way to the back of the shop. This is where they keep the good stuff I bet.

I find a few action figures that look good, but the prices are over fifty bucks! For a moment I consider making a mad dash with all of them for the door. Good thing I am old enough to know better though. Besides, my dad is a police officer. I am sure he would not enjoy seeing me escorted to his workplace in handcuffs today. So on to the next adventure I tell myself as I leave the toy store.

The next store is a beauty salon. I stop and think for a second about maybe buying some hair dye for myself. Right now, my hair is green, but I have been thinking that red would get more attention from those elusive new friends my parents said would be waiting for me here. I run inside for a quick look and ask the man inside about red hair dye, but they are all out of the red. Oh well, time to keep looking for something else.

I pass a few shops trying not to get upset. I wonder if today is more of a window-shopping day. But then, I smell something…incredible. I hear laughter coming from the open door of a shop and see a family exit laughing together. I must see what made them so happy. It better also be less than twenty bucks, because that is all I have…

The sign above the door proudly says, ‘A Simple Café’. I walk in and see the place is not too busy. It is one of those places with a huge glass case which holds a variety of sweet bakery items. The smell is even stronger and more delicious in here. It is my favorite smell, chocolate. My poor stomach rumbles and I know I must have some. I chose a triple chocolate brownie with white icing and thank the nice lady working the counter.

With my tasty treasure in hand, I looked at the tables and saw that while I was staring into the case a lot of people had taken them up. Just one empty seat left. I make a dash for the last place and make it just in time to beat another young woman to the table. As I sit down quickly, she looks at me with an odd expression. Then she looks at my cake. I look at her nervously and notice she is also holding a triple chocolate brownie with icing. Before I can say anything in the awkward silence, she speaks…

‘Chocolate fan huh?’ she says as I nod.

‘Yeah, I guess…’, I spit out lamely.

‘They are crazy busy, mind if I sit with you?’ , she asks boldly.

“Umm, sure…yeah’, I said not knowing what to say really

And that is how I met my new best friend. Her name is Penny. She works part time here and she is also a bit of a troublemaker. I cannot wait to see what kind of trouble we can make together.