malls & cars

I go shopping with all the girlfriends, and we're getting a bunch of stuff cheap by weight, going in on it together-- and even though there are only a couple little things I want, I overpay, typically. then one friend says, hey, wait-- that's too much-- and I say, oh, don't worry about it-- but in my head I'm keeping track and kind of mad at myself for doing it again.

then there's a series of delays-- one thing after another comes up to hold up the group-- there's an episode in the food court with a nearby table of guys, one of the girlfriends instigating it but on my behalf, the single one-- and I'm embarassed and resistant, but in the end I'm glad because one of the guys is very cute and seems interested-- meanwhile the rest of the group is getting tired of waiting out by the car, and when I finally get out there, they've loaded up with a stranger and are heading off-- I both feel bad and am annoyed that they wouldn't wait-- and I realize they've taken all my stuff with them as well. the same friend who called me on the split amount makes sure we all end up on my front porch to divide it up-- I arrive late and find them there-- I'm happy and start poking through the bags, looking for my stuff-- and then I realize and say, yknow, the only thing I really want is a pear-- and then instantly regret saying it when I find the bag of cores and see their faces fall. I hurry to say, oh, never mind, but there doesn't seem to be a way to fix it.

I'm driving a bunch of people around in my brand new safety-yellow SUV, and things keep going wrong-- I'm driving erratically, then I pull out into a busy road and in avoiding one car going in the same direction, I end up in the oncoming lane and think I just have time to execute a tricky move-- but suddenly I have no power or pickup and realize all the cars' healights have gone out all around-- then the accident happens in slow motion, kind of grinding and horrible, though no one's hurt-- once the mysterious power loss comes back on, my car's still drivable-- though my passenger notes there's no radiator fluid-- so I'm trying to pull across traffic to get into a service station, only they all seem to be full-- and then I'm heading for one someone's told me should be open-- only I end up in the wrong lane, heading onto a bridge into downtown, where I really don't know that I want to go. at some point I climb into the back seat of my own car and realize how uncomfortable and badly, flashily designed it is and begin to regret buying it and wonder what in the world possessed me to give up my nice green forester.