The Convenience Store!

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CHAPTER 16: THE CONVENIENCE STORE

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It was eleven at night and I couldn't sleep.

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The trains had stopped an hour ago. The apartment was quiet. My mother was asleep. The refrigerator hummed. The floor creaked. Somewhere in the building, someone was watching television.

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I got up and put on my shoes and walked to the convenience store on the corner of the shopping street.

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It was the only thing open at eleven at night. The fluorescent lights were too bright. The aisles were too empty. The clerk was half-asleep behind the counter. I bought a melon bread and a bottle of water and sat down on the curb outside.

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That was when I saw her.

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Charlotte was sitting on the curb fifty meters away.

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She had a paper bag in her lap and a can of coffee in her hand. She was wearing a hoodie that was too big for her and shorts that were too short for the weather. Her pink hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail.

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She noticed me the moment I noticed her.

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She didn't wave. She didn't smile. She just looked at me with that same unreadable expression she always wore.

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I could have walked away. I could have pretended I hadn't seen her. I could have gone home and gone to bed and forgotten about it.

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I walked over and sat down next to her.

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"You can't sleep either," she said.

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"No."

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"Bad dreams?"

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"I don't dream."

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She looked at me.

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"Everyone dreams."

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"I don't remember them."

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She took a sip of her coffee.

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"That's not the same thing."

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I opened my melon bread and took a bite. It was stale. I didn't care.

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"Why are you here?" I asked.

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"I couldn't sleep."

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"Why not?"

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She was quiet for a moment. Then she said, "Same as you."

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"Bad dreams?"

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"I don't dream either."

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We sat in silence for a while. The street was empty. The convenience store clerk was still half-asleep. A taxi went by. A cat crossed the road and disappeared into an alley.

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"Can I ask you something?" she said.

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"Sure."

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"Why do you sit two rows away from Mei every day?"

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I didn't answer immediately. I took another bite of the melon bread and chewed and thought about it.

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"Because she doesn't want me to sit closer," I said.

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"How do you know?"

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"Because she always sits with her back to the wall. Because she never checks the book out. Because she reads the ending first."

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Charlotte was quiet.

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"You notice things," she said.

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"I don't have a choice."

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"Why not?"

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I looked at her.

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"Because I've been invisible my whole life," I said. "And when you're invisible, you learn to see everyone else."

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She stared at me for a long time. Then she looked away.

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"I know what that's like," she said.

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"You do?"

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She didn't answer. She just took another sip of her coffee and looked at the sky.

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We sat there for an hour. We didn't say much. We just sat there, two insomniacs on a curb, watching the street and the sky and the world.

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At some point, she stood up.

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"I should go," she said.

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"Okay."

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She looked at me.

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"Will you be here tomorrow?"

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I thought about it.

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"I don't know."

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"Okay."

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She walked away.

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I watched her go. 124Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvMepUVl6Lh

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