Audrey Hepburn

– Audrey Hepburn

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A Report! From Inside The Walls of Aiden

Sand was swept by the wind as I made my way into the Mallmart store of Okaloosa County. Being greeted by the harsh fluorescent lighting and the song "Dancing Queen" playing overhead, I made my way to the back rooms with a nervous energy gripping my stomach. Because this is the story of Aiden Gossman.

"Dude, there's no blog." 

"No, there's a blog. I don't have a Tumblr but there's definitely a blog." Taylor reassured him. The two sat at a table in the breakroom, biding their time before they clocked in for another day at Mallmart. "Dude, they wouldn't even let me take a day off without them taking some of my Mallmart points off! For real!" Aiden, was originally from Georgia, caring for the many animals that filtered in and out of his home at an early age. With long blonde hair that he dyes brown, and sunglasses always on his face, Aiden was a truly unique individual. Luck had an odd relationship with him as he often found himself in hot water, making it out by the skin of his teeth. And as luck would have it, he walked away from a car crash relatively unscathed. 

When he first got hit, he had thought for sure he was dead. The flip of the car left him winded and the seatbelt dug into his skin, drawing blood and making it impossible to breathe. His hands felt around for the buckle but as many times as he clicked the release, it didn't let go. He was suspended there, up above the roof of his car, staring down at the crushed metal and broken glass, and the growing pool of gasoline beneath him. Aiden Gossman was not going to give up. Pushing the button of the seatbelt down he wiggled and strained against it with all his might until the seat belt retracted and he was roughly thrown to the ground. Aiden crawls out through his shattered driver's door window, and makes his way out into the growing crowd. 

Aiden thinks of this as he works in the dental aisle, the crunch of the glass, the way people seemed more concerned that he left his passenger behind, when he was in an empty car. The fact people seemed less worried about his well being. Now here he was, back to life as normal, and even punished for taking a necessary day off. Mallmart didn't care if you took the day off for your birthday or because you needed your appendix out. Failure to comply with the schedule was insubordination all the same. And Aiden was already down to his last two points. "Aiden!" A young woman, Tori, looked at him intensely from her spot at the end of the aisle. Was he already in trouble? "Were you in that car wreck the other day?" Her voice sounded heartbroken, as she eyed him with concern. "For real, I was." He smiled, taking a step down from his topstock cart. "Which one were you? The grey or the white car?" 

"The grey one."

"Oh my god!" The grey one, was the one that had been completely flipped upside down, after all. 

So when Aiden inevitably walked into the breakroom that afternoon for lunch and saw Taylor and I sitting at the table, chatting he was ready to explain everything that happened in depth. He took a seat, took a deep breath and watched as our gazes latched onto him, curiously. And he spoke, and despite his way of speaking being peppered with "dudes" and "for reals" we were completely hooked. It felt as if we'd been there. "Put that, in your sad little blog, Ciara!" He grins at my scowl. We probably looked like the masks of comedy and tragedy at that moment. 'Aiden was a pompous and insufferable little man who-'

I shut the narration down. 'No, the man nearly lost his life. The least I could do was be nice to him for today.'

"Rosa was so shocked when I called her," He continued on regardless of my irritation. "Like she totally kept gasping every time I spoke. I was like, "Hello, is this Rosa?" And it didn't even sound like her dude! Like I thought I had some random stranger lady on the phone,"

I found myself having difficulty containing my laughter. Aiden had a magnetic way of speaking. He wasn't stilted and awkward and ugly at conversation at all. He had us all on our toes with this sort of down to earth account of things, that was reaching a feverish pitch of humor. He had a personality for story telling, and it was sublime. 

"And I was all, "Oh I got into a car accident at the intersection, and she was all 'gasp!'-

 And she asked if I was okay and I told her that I wasn't hurt, my car got totaled since it got rolled, "gasp!" And then I told her that I had to go give my statement-"

"'gasp!'" I helpfully supplied, and he choked on a laugh so infectious that it yanked mine out, a string of drool sliding from my lips which I frantically wiped at and hid my face in embarrassment as I laughed, tears budding in my eyes from the exertion. "No- I- Ciara she didn't-" He struggled through barks of laughter. "I can't breathe-" Taylor giggled, her face flush. We sat there for a moment, trying to catch our breaths.

"You really are lucky with how little injuries you got, that could've gone really badly." Taylor's voice was still wavering slightly from her earlier laughter, but nobody missed the seriousness in her eyes. "Yeah well, I think my luck is better after that car accident. Dude, don't look at me like that! I'm onto something!" 

"Well take it easy, alright? Don't go getting yourself killed," Taylor stood, retreating over to the cabinet to put her sanrio purse away. 

"You know, everyone can see you like her. You're not exactly subtle,"

"Taylor is a wonderful employee, Aiden-"

The disapproval in Aiden's eyes reminds me that this was just a one off. So when he goes back to talking to Taylor when she sits back down, I find it hard to write about Aiden Gossman anymore.

A Product Recommendation!

The Billie Eilish Moonbeam Razor has changed my life. When working at Mallmart, I found there was a lot of new glow in the dark stock that was being placed on shelves in the health and beauty section of the store. Things like, glow in the dark tooth brushes, glow in the dark bath bombs, glow in the dark bandages-

This item stood out to me because of its potential longevity, and plus... It's purple, how could I not buy it? So, after work I purchased the Billie razor, and eagerly drove home in hopes of spending my time off from work staring at it in a dark, quiet, bathroom. Unfortunately when I took it out of it's packaging, I found that it did not glow. Not even a little bit.

I went through the stages of grief; denial, anger, bargaining. 'Billie, why would you lie to me?' I questioned. Luckily, a friend of mine had suggested it may be solar powered and to leave it in the sun. So, I sat it in my windowsill, perhaps a bit discouraged and disbelieving at this point, and after an hour- wouldn't you know it? It did in fact glow!

Now, every morning and evening, I bring my Billie Eilish Moonbeam Razor out to the backyard to feed. I dance around the razor, chanting

"Feed, my child, feed!" My razor now glows brighter than my future. My razor eats the sun itself for sustenance. It becomes ever stronger, taking in it's nourishment from the light like a plant. I am building a shrine for my glow in the dark Billie moonbeam razor. Am I feeling material feelings for this razor? Or perhaps see it as a well loved pet?

My neighbors now chant with me from across the bayou. They chant, "Feed! Yes, feed!" As well, but they do not know yet why. All they see is a crazy lady clad in pajamas dancing rhythmically around a razor, laughing maniacally. They do not know the joy of the glowing razor so tonight I will go out into the backyard and wave the razor over my head to show them. We can pray to it together. My glow in the dark razor is now a god.

So remember to make sure to get your Billie Eilish Moonbeam Razor in stores today! (This is not a paid sponsorship)

WATCH OUT!

A Report! From Inside The Walls of Taylor

'I'm having such naughty thoughts of you in different scenarios with that little dress on too :3'

I read the text on the online chat room. 

And then I read it again. Going onto an 18+ chat room just to post pictures of myself in dresses for validation, how did it get to here? I had to lean into some form of attention. I had to feel seen, and if that was wrong

Why did it feel so right?

'Oh thank you 💛' I type back. The people here, they're nice. They see me. There's nothing wrong with wanting attention. I'm being perfectly reasonable. 'I'm gonna be honest, you have wonderful curves, you definitely got my preferred body type. You're absolutely beautiful and I'm just so thrilled you posted asking for opinions because wow…'

I smiled for a second because I felt like I reached a level of adoration I was looking for. Then, something from deep in my stomach twisted, there was regret. I thought I would feel better. I thought this would give me some sort of control over my life, that I was desperately craving, and now I no longer wished to be me. So instead, we'll focus on someone better than I could ever be. We'll focus on Taylor.

This story starts with a young lady named Taylor Peyton. Moving to the tiny town tucked away in Okaloosa County was not what she had originally wanted. What she had wanted was the stormy skies of New England and the dark secrets the land itself seemed to carry. Taylor loved all things dark, peculiar. She found herself enjoying things others tended to shy away from. These sunny beaches did not hold even an ounce of mystery that she found herself craving.

 She couldn't stay in Arizona though. There was no way she could, not after everything. The juxtaposition that she wanted to believe in something more, something supernatural and surreal, and that she didn't believe in it existing- this was not lost on her. That the very fact that it seemed so unlikely in her eyes. That she actively seeked out ways to prove herself wrong. To prove that there was some meaning behind the chaos in her life. Niceville was a letdown. Working at Mallmart, was a letdown.

So when the power outage first happened on that sunny Thursday, she hadn't thought anything of it at first.

And when she went to bed at night, after everything she had seen, after all the signs that there could be something out there, she sweeped those thoughts away as a simple dream. It wasn't until a hot and sunny Monday, that she began to suspect something was very  wrong. 

There in the gardening section of the store, Taylor felt at ease. People rarely bugged her in the gardening section. While everyone in Mallmart would agree that Taylor was the perfect employee-

The other associates, management, all the customers in a single disembodied voice- 

Taylor would still prefer silence to think, to reflect on her findings about the strange chain store in the middle of nowhere because she did not seek the constant validation of customers and coworkers alike. In this time of reflection the first thing she came to notice was a dark figure staring at her from the corner of the gardening department. "Hello sir? May I help you?" The figure remains silent, gazing at her silently. Taylor, undeterred by this turn of events, begins to walk towards the dark and shadowy figure. "Hello?" 

"Taylor!" The store's overseer materialized behind her. She turns to face him, opting to read his name tag rather than look the man in the eyes. "We're going to need you to pick stock from the backrooms, I-"

"An idiot is trying to contact you on your cellular device! An idiot is trying to contact you on your cellular device!" His phone chimed, and Taylor didn't miss his grimace. She found herself wondering if it was appropriate for the overseer to have this ring tone on their work cell. "Please don't be who I think it is.." He gave a nearly silent prayer, hissing through his lips before opening the old flip phone. "Hello?"

"Heeey, Mr. Greenwood." The man's scowl deepened at my voice over the phone. "About the modules being flexed in the home department, what-"

"Ciara, did you really need to call me for this? What did I tell you about emergencies only?"

"Another thing, and I think you'll find this imperative- there may be a small fire in electronics right now. Stacy had asked me to call you-"

"Put it out!"

"Okay, will do, but one thing- How old is this fire extinguisher? It's not-" He hung up abruptly. "I'm going to have to go bring her the working fire extinguisher. Just focus on the stock and not whatever you've been staring at for the last 15 minutes." Most people would've just gone back to work. Most people would've chalked this up to just a strange day, or their head playing tricks on them. As we established though, Taylor Peyton is not like most people.

"Where is Aiden? Did he get eaten by the customers?" I ask from across the break room. "No, he and Marni are waiting by the deli. I don't know how they can eat something so heavy on lunch break. Whenever I do that I always get sicky." She stares at me tentatively. "Okay, dude. My mother didn't believe I had ADHD until today when I actually got diagnosed!" Aiden comes into the room in a flourish. "I showed her the hand tremors and everything. I wouldn't be surprised if I'm also like, slightly on the spectrum too."

" I absolutely believe you have adhd, but that is not a symptom. You might have raynaud's syndrome. So wait, what makes you think you have autism? Because I have autism as well." She says, suddenly serious. 

"This is going to sound strange but speaking of symptoms of mental health, have you ever taken your clothes off in public because your clothes got wet?" I chime in. 

"What? Dude, no!"

"Oh…"

"Wait, there's a story behind this. What-"

"So one day, on the first day of first grade. It rained and so, in my infinite wisdom, I took off all my clothes, and got in trouble with my mother."

"I'm sure you did!"

"Another time," I continued, watching the alarm on Aiden's face. "I was getting ready to go to martial arts class and my ghee was still damp. My mother said we didn't have time to dry it completely so I… well I mean I dealt with it, but it was awkward when I had to practice kicks and a stream of toilet paper came flying from my pant leg-"

"You mummified yourself?"

"It was like a dirty magic trick."

"Dude really pulled a rock lee here-"

"Who?" I asked, and Aiden burst into barking laughter. "Don't mind him, he's sleep deprived." Taylor says pointedly. "You say that like you aren't!" And at this comment, Taylor fails to hide her guilty smile, face coloring like a blooming stargazer lily. 

And as entertaining the color of Taylor's face is, this was not where the story truly began. No, the story  began when break was over, and we were back on the sales floor. Taylor found herself thinking back to that morning. Taylor thought about all of her time working here. How it seemed like so much had happened in such a short time. How it seemed like so much that went against what she believed what seems absolute, now seemed impossibly possible. 'Surely, this was all in my head,' was what she thought to herself. 'Surely this is all my brain playing tricks on me.'

 She looked at the box in her hand, only to find that it didn't have a written store location on its backroom label. She breathed out an irritated sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose before pulling out her scanner. 'No Sales floor location.' Even when Taylor cut into the box and pulled out the stock to scan, it still refused to tell her where the item belonged, stubbornly. So, that was why she found herself making her way back through the store to where Aiden and I were. 

Someone else was making their way to the far corner of the store as well though. Someone who would leave us all questioning the nature of our own heads, and this small little town tucked away in Okaloosa County. "The UPC label on this looks damaged!" Taylor called, but her voice did not raise much louder than her usual speaking voice. It was enough for Aiden to hear all the same. "Let me see that," He grumbles, but pauses his advance when his gaze flickers up. A sound caught her attention, hauntingly distinct against the dull hustle and bustle of Mallmart. Taylor heard something wet and nauseating, flesh like cracking, tendons popping. Something was very wrong, because now Aiden and I were hugging onto each other. 'Those two don't even like each other,' she thought, turning her gaze to see what was the issue. Before Taylor could truly comprehend what she was seeing, she was moving back, back far behind the two cowaring together in a huddled position asking if they saw what the other saw. 

Muscles and sinew all twitching, veins and arteries moving, vividly, pulsing with the life that should be impossible for a man lacking this much skin, she could see his heart moving, sinking down almost impossibly in his chest when he looked at her. She couldn't make out what he was saying but it sounded like he was retching out a name; her name. He was vomiting up her name in a guttural, disturbed sound.

 Aiden shoved me in front to deal with this man, but I stayed quiet for a moment, trying to understand what was happening. Customers passed by, undisturbed. Mallmart continued on in a sickening harmony. "Hello sir, h-how may I help you today?" I smile tightly, looking him up and down. His teeth were gripped out like a racehorse. His frame was blurry, as if dislodged in time.

"̵̨̥̬̲̖̼̙̻̫̫̝̗̎̌͝ͅÎ̸̢͔̗̲̫̈́͠͝ţ̴̨̢͍̘̩̯̘̙͔̞̤͔͛̀́͑̋̿̎̓͘̚̚͝͠ͅî̴̻̩̜̓̕ ̶̟̺̀̊͊̎͌͌̆̈́̋̂̚̚͝͝ạ̷̛̖̬͙̓̈́̐̀̃͆̑͝ḿ̸̛̖̤̽͋̒̏̋̾̃̅̈́̐̄̅̕i̵̡̛͚̫̫̖̟͉͉͖͚͎̭̦̫̝̽̂̍͊̆̓͆͠͝n̴̤̪͒̓̏̃̄̈͆́̍̑͘̕͠t̸̩͉̤͔͎̬͑ḙ̷̡̞̪̼̮͓̫͈̹̍̈́̌̌̚͠ͅş̴̨̹͒̎̔̕ͅt̴̢̛̯̤͈̪̹̗̣̪͂͋̂̽͐͌̈́͌́͌͝͠ȉ̶̧̼̹̤̲̳̘̗̝̖̬̯̓͗̀́̀͗̍͆͜ͅ ̴̗̺̼̞̲̦͓̹̖͕̏̋̈́̈́̓̊̾̃̑̃̈̾̓͜d̸̢̬͕̝̳͓̣͈̜̩̠͎̤͓̓̄͜͝ë̷̫̘͙̯̒̋͒̽̌̒̀̀̌̑͜ ̴̢̛̞̩͚̮̰̻͍̠̬̤̫̅͋͗̉͑̉͑̈́̕̕m̸̨̧̢͉̙̰̞̪͈͉̯̤̻͉͂̽͊̅̉̇̄͗͊̔̅̿͗i̴̢̧̊̅͆̉͝ṉ̷̥̥͉̪͈̫̼̘͙̹͘̚͝e̷̩͍͉̼͙͕̯̖͖̿̾͑̉ͅͅ"̸̨̢̧̥̩̠̱̹̥̹̰̲͓͈́͐͊̌̔̈́̉͂͛͌͛̉͘͝͝ͅ

"I'm sorry sir, I don't' und-derstand your accent. You see, I'm from up north and-"

"̵̨̥̬̲̖̼̙̻̫̫̝̗̎̌͝ͅÎ̸̢͔̗̲̫̈́͠͝ţ̴̨̢͍̘̩̯̘̙͔̞̤͔͛̀́͑̋̿̎̓͘̚̚͝͠ͅî̴̻̩̜̓̕ ̶̟̺̀̊͊̎͌͌̆̈́̋̂̚̚͝͝ạ̷̛̖̬͙̓̈́̐̀̃͆̑͝ḿ̸̛̖̤̽͋̒̏̋̾̃̅̈́̐̄̅̕i̵̡̛͚̫̫̖̟͉͉͖͚͎̭̦̫̝̽̂̍͊̆̓͆͠͝n̴̤̪͒̓̏̃̄̈͆́̍̑͘̕͠t̸̩͉̤͔͎̬͑ḙ̷̡̞̪̼̮͓̫͈̹̍̈́̌̌̚͠ͅş̴̨̹͒̎̔̕ͅt̴̢̛̯̤͈̪̹̗̣̪͂͋̂̽͐͌̈́͌́͌͝͠ȉ̶̧̼̹̤̲̳̘̗̝̖̬̯̓͗̀́̀͗̍͆͜ͅ ̴̗̺̼̞̲̦͓̹̖͕̏̋̈́̈́̓̊̾̃̑̃̈̾̓͜d̸̢̬͕̝̳͓̣͈̜̩̠͎̤͓̓̄͜͝ë̷̫̘͙̯̒̋͒̽̌̒̀̀̌̑͜ ̴̢̛̞̩͚̮̰̻͍̠̬̤̫̅͋͗̉͑̉͑̈́̕̕m̸̨̧̢͉̙̰̞̪͈͉̯̤̻͉͂̽͊̅̉̇̄͗͊̔̅̿͗i̴̢̧̊̅͆̉͝ṉ̷̥̥͉̪͈̫̼̘͙̹͘̚͝e̷̩͍͉̼͙͕̯̖͖̿̾͑̉ͅͅ"̸̨̢̧̥̩̠̱̹̥̹̰̲͓͈́͐͊̌̔̈́̉͂͛͌͛̉͘͝͝ͅ

I looked back to see Taylor was already gone, because Taylor is a woman of action. She sees danger, and she acts. She wouldn't be here with us today, if she didn't. So when something this troubling happened, Taylor didn't wait to see what would happen next. Pulse thumping against her neck, she ran over to where the phone in the gardening center sat. 

And then, she dialed the tone for Okaloosa emergency services.