Is it Really Stealing?
Who: Hadley and Open
When: Morning
Where: Grocery store
The place was fucking deserted. It took her awhile to figure out that it wasn't just boarded up houses. It was... everywhere. She entered a few businesses to find them empty when they should have at least had an employee or two. Doors were open, everything appeared normal. But... yeah. Deserted. The fuck.
Hadley wasn't sure what to make of it. If it was some sick joke, if maybe there had been some disaster and everyone had been evacuated but her? Aliens had come and sucked everyone up into space, right? Doubtful, but after living through nine months of bullshit, no scenario that ran through her head was too far fetched. Inhaling deeply to soothe her nerves, she found her cigarette pack empty but for a few loose flakes of tobacco. Which led her on foot to the grocery store. It was the same as the others. Open but empty. And at that point she didn't give a shit. She went behind the counter and grabbed a carton of cigarettes, ripping it open and starting in on pulling the cellophane from the pack of cigarettes. If there was no around to tell her she couldn't do it, then fuck it. She needed a smoke. Maybe she could grab a box of Oreos while she was at it. Nicotine and sugar always made everything better.
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There was a quiet noise from the canned goods aisle, and a blonde head peeked out from behind the shelf. It was Penny, the girl from the flower shop. "Um.... hi," she offered self-consciously, giving a little wave.
When she'd woken up to find her little house freezing and a lot of the houses on her street boarded up, Penny had ventured out of her home. It felt more useful, more sane, to attempt to prepare for what could be a while without power than to curl up in a ball under her covers - a rare show of bravery from her. At her feet were a propane cylinder and a small basket with milk and a loaf of bread inside.
"Do you... I mean, do you know what's going on?" she asked nervously, not quite stepping out from behind the 'safety' of the shelves. "Like why the power's out and the town is... is kind of dead?"
Hadley's head snapped toward the noise, her eyes narrowing at the blonde girl who appeared. She relaxed considerably when she didn't feel, or see, any threat coming from Penny, and Hadley worked on finding the lighters behind the counter. "Hi," she said absently. "I don't have a clue what's going on, other than we're all probably fucked or something. What about you? Any idea? Or theory? How long have you been in here?"
Penny shook her head. "I don't know either. It happened so suddenly," she frowned. "I haven't really got any ideas that fit into a single night." She checked the watch on her wrist. "Um... I think I've been here about fifteen minutes. Not too long." Just long enough to secure a tank of fuel and the two things everybody ran for back home during 'emergencies'. Milk and bread: the official currency of the the end of the world. "Do they have any Twizzlers up there?" Penny asked, dragging the propane cylinder behind her and approaching the counter slowly.
Hadley found a lighter and pulled it out of the plastic holder. She held the cigarettes and lighter in one hand and then glanced at Penny walking toward her with what looked to be a propane cylinder. Hadley arched a dark eyebrow curiously and then reached down to grab a package of Twizzlers. "They have a bunch of them. I'll throw you some if you promise me you're not going to blow the place up. At least not with me in it."
"Huh?" Penny looked confused for a second, before looking down and realizing what Hadley must have been talking about. "Oh. Oh no no, it's for the house. The electricity and all... it gets too cold." She was fairly certain she could rig something up, or at least power a barbecue grill or something with it. "I wanted kerosene, but this was all I could find." Penny stood the cylinder up on its end and left it there in the floor, going closer to the counter. "You don't have to throw them," she responded, pink-cheeked. "I just wanted a little comfort food."
"Oreos are the best comfort food," Hadley informed her, offering the girl a package of Twizzlers. "That or pickles... but I don't think many people consider pickles comfort food. Maybe it's just me. Do you smoke?" she asked, offering the pack of cigarettes out in the case Penny wanted one.
Mmmm, Oreos. "Yeah, with a glass of milk to dip them in... they /are/ the best, aren't they?" Penny took the package of candy and opened it, pulling out one long red straw and popped the end into her mouth to nibble on. Delicious Red #40 and wax. "My mom actually did that. Does that. Something. She'd fix a whole bowl of those dill pickle slices, like for hamburgers, and just chow down." The blonde hesitated a little before drawing a cigarette out of the packet. "Thanks. I used to in college but I quit. Um... can I get a light?" she asked, and hoisted herself up to sit on the still conveyor belt.
"I used to buy pickles by the jar and just eat them for meals." That and macaroni and cheese. When you were low on money, you ate frugally. Hadley handed Penny the lighter, turning to lean back against the counter. "Do you mind lighting mine too?" she asked, holding out her unlit cigarette. She didn't feel like trying to beat around her phobia. She was too desperate for nicotine at the moment, and given their circumstances, wasn't worried about saving face.
Penny took the offered light and lit her cigarette, breathing in the thick smoke like an old hand. "I hope this doesn't get me started again," she sighed, holding the cancer stick out to look at the glowing cherry. She looked at Hadley a little curiously for a moment when she asked to have hers lit for her, but took it anyway. "Uh. I don't have herpes or anything, so is it okay if I do this one the same?" she asked, motioning to her own mouth. It was really just a formality to ask, and she used her own cigarette to light the other girl's, passing it over once the tobacco caught. "Here you go. My name's Penny, by the way. Who're you?"