Chapter Fifteen - Where Chaos Hides in Lava Lamps

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Where Chaos Hides in Lava Lamps

I STEP INTO Hot Topic.
It’s a portal to the past.

The lighting is dim. The shirts are loud. The music is yelling.
There’s a girl buying a hoodie that says “Sad but Fast.”
I respect her immensely.

I turn a corner—and see the bracelet girl.
She’s holding up a new one.
Rainbow beads.
A charm that says “BREATHE.”

“You were right,” she says.
“They had the exact same one, just hidden behind a pile of Invader Zim socks.”

We nod at each other.
There’s nothing else to say.
It’s a complete emotional arc.

She walks away.
Fade to black.
Roll credits.

Spencer’s is two stores down.
I enter cautiously.
Because Spencer’s is the kind of place where reality is...optional.

Lava lamps. Blacklight posters. Fake poop. Real regret.

A rubber chicken squeaks behind me—for no reason.
The cashier is wearing devil horns.
They do not smile.

I wander to the back of the store.
Mistake.

TOO MANY GAGS.
I accidentally step on a whoopee cushion.
It moans.
Not farts. Moans.
I leave it behind and whisper, “I hope you find peace.”

A clearance shelf calls to me.
One item glows faintly:
A plastic snow globe with a mall inside.
Inside the mall is me.

I shake it.
The lights flicker overhead.

The cashier says,

“You’re in deep now.”

I say,

“Cool. Can I get a pack of strawberry Pocky and a lava lamp shaped like a narwhal?”

They nod.
We never break eye contact.