2 Chapter 2- Hi! I am a bus! (1/2)
With the alarm ringing at 7 in the morning, Adam woke up early. Groggy from having to stay up till 2 am the night before, he got out of his bed and wobbled his way to the bathroom. After washing up he got into the shower.
Today was his birthday. He knew it would be a long day as his parents usually liked to make a big deal out of occasions. So a simple laid back meal and then watching a movie or two to end the day, which he hoped for, was the last thing he expected to happen.
Realizing that he had to make preparations, he hastened his pace and got out of the shower and changed into a casual shirt and joggers. Making his way to the kitchen he opened his cabinets and refrigerator. Taking a quick scan anyone would be astounded. Even rats would starve in this kitchen of his.
Lately, he had been ordering out as he was way too engrossed in his research and had no time to spare for the preparation of his meals. This left him with an excessive amount of reusable containers and no ingredients for anything.
He knew that if his mother came by and saw the state of the situation, the last thing he needed to be worried about was her extravagant plans for the day. Rather he would have to spend the day being nagged at constantly. She had already been on his back recently to set him up with a daughter of one of her friends and the last thing he wanted to do now was give her more ammunition to use against him.
”I'm way too old to be nagged by my mum.” He said dismally. ”Never mind ill just go do it now. I need to stock up on my essentials and I need to buy a few decorations for the party. It is almost 8 now so I should have at least 4 hrs till they arrive. The general store is just 10 minutes away so considering I take no more than an hr and a half in there and then another 30 mins at the props shop opposite it. I should be back and still have an hr and a half to set everything in place. Everything should work out, as long as they don't decide to pop by early.”
Having decided his gameplan he got to it immediately. Having no time to spare he picked up a lightweight hoodie from his room and put it on as he walked out of his apartment and locked the door behind him.
The area he lived in was occupied by 3 to 6 storey buildings. It was quite an ordinary residential area but something about its arrangement just left a person feeling satisfied by its aesthetics. It was neither too fancy nor too drab or messy.
Walking down the road Adam couldn't afford to stop and appreciate the view. So taking a quick glance at his surroundings he hurried his footsteps and made his way to his first stop the general store.
Nothing out of the ordinary occurred as he shopped at the two stores and to his surprise, he was actually able to come out a few minutes earlier than he expected.
Walking out of the store he had two to three bags of groceries hooked onto each of his ten fingers and 2 small cardboard boxes 1 balanced on top of the other in his hands. Though he was not the most athletic or fit person he was still considered average. However, this amount of weight was truly a bit too much for him. With his fingers going numb and his arms starting to burn he rushed to get back home.
He would have jogged back if only he wasn't balancing the two boxes in his hands.
”I really can't hold on any longer! But I'm soo close to home. Considering it is me…if I try putting everything down now and take a break I am guaranteed to fumble and embarrass myself. Especially since my hands have gone numb.” Not willing to take the risk he trudged on till he reached the crossway just outside his apartment building.
He was truly at the end of his ropes at this point. He was heaving heavy breaths and he felt like his arms would fall off at any moment. Seeing his building the sweet euphoria one feels when they're just about to accomplish their objective kicked in and along with it, so did his tunnel vision.
”Luckily it is not summer yet or I would have truly melted.” Thinking such mundane thoughts he failed to realize the people around him had halted their footsteps at the crossing.
”Hey, you!”