Tessa worked at Stride Rite, selling shoes to middle class women who already had too many. Nick worked two stores down, at the Indians Theme Shop. He watched baseball on the display TV and stole T-shirts for his friends. They met in the mall food court on a Friday afternoon.

Nick had seen Tessa around, and liked the color of her eyes. Her taste in clothing told him they might listen to the same music, and he sat down at her table hoping to impress her with allusions to obscure lyrics. Tessa had seen him looking, approved of his hipster hairstyle, and thought she might be able to work a free dinner out of him.

“Hi, I’m Nick.” His nervous grin was large and white. She offered her hand while sipping from a Taco Bell cup.

“Tessa.”

“Hi.” He removed a sub sandwich from its wax paper wrap, and took a huge bite. Mayonnaise ran out the sides and Tessa grimaced.

“That’s really gross.”

“What, this?” Nick licked the condiment from his fingers, taunting. “It’s great.”

“I just can’t handle mayonnaise. It scares me.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know; it’s just wrong.”

“So what do you like?” Tessa was either uncomfortable with his questions, or simply unable to watch him eat; her eyes wandered beyond the table to lazily inspect the passing shoppers.

“I don’t know,” she said finally. “I like going to the bar with my friends; I play a lot of poker. Or sometimes I just like to sit at home and watch TV, be by myself.”

“Do you like to smoke?” This drew her attention back in, and she raised an eyebrow.

“Smoke what?” Nick smiled knowingly at her response, pleased he had read her correctly.

“Whatever.”

“Camel menthol lights, about a pack every two days. Pot every once in awhile. I’m not real into it, or anything, but yeah, I like to smoke.” She spoke casually, watching with bored interest as Nick finished devouring his food and rummaged in his pockets for a pack of gum.

“Well I’m going to go up and get some from a buddy tonight. You wanna come? It’s kinda a long drive, but we can smoke and listen to CDs the whole way back. It’s really nice.” Tessa mentally rolled her eyes. He must be one of those artsy stoners, she thought.

“Sure, what the hell. I don’t have to work tomorrow until noon, but I really didn’t want to get drunk tonight anyway. I don’t have any money, though.” She waited, hopeful.

“I’ve got money, don’t worry about it.” Tessa finally smiled at him. Confident, he continued, “What time do you get off work?”

“Six.”

“Me too.”

“Cool.”

They met in the parking lot and Tessa let him follow her to the garage by her apartment, but was careful not to show him which building she lived in. Before parking, Tessa called her roommate to pass on the vitals of her evening plans.

“Yeah, it’s Nick Kingsley…The theme shop, uh-huh…HDF-942, silver, really nice…Ok, I’ll see you by one…I will, bye.”

Nick drove a new Honda, and she thought he must have a second job, somewhere better than the Tower City mall. On the dashboard, the head of a ceramic Pee Wee Herman doll bobbed to the confused beat of his indie rock CDs.

“Do you like Bright Eyes,” he asked, flipping furiously through a huge CD binder with one hand as they flew down the highway.

“It’s okay. I like Say Anything better. Admit It, is my current favorite.”

“I have that too.”

They exited the highway for a town Tessa had never heard of. A shabby place with one stoplight and splintered sidewalks, it reminded her of home nonetheless. Nick parked the car on the street, across from a crumbling house.

“Your friend lives here?”

“Yeah, lots of people do.”

A morbidly obese young man answered the door and, upon recognizing Nick, punched him in the gut.

“Hey fucker,” he greeted, as Nick choked and stumbled forward, “come on in.”

“Tessa, Big Chris,” Tessa entered the squalid house, stepping past Nick as he struggled to catch his breath and gestured towards their host. In front of her, Big Chris waddled back towards a table where two other men, as skinny as he was large, sat amidst several ounces of marijuana in various stages of packaging. Three yellow, fuzzy creatures also occupied the table.

“That’s Phil, Harper, Duck, Duck, and Goose,” Nick listed, as he pulled out extra chairs for Tessa and himself. She sat only after inspecting the seat for filth, and then lit a cigarette before responding.

“Is that one really a goose?”

“No.”

“Why are they on the table?”

“Like to eat the seeds,” Harper mumbled. Tessa noticed his nose was bleeding and tried not to stare. She sucked harder on the end of her cigarette, too hard, and coughed.

“You guys got any beer?”

“I got it.” Nick disappeared in search of one.

“So, Tessa,” Big Chris’s chair creaked dangerously as he sat back and crossed his meaty arms, “you ever do anything bigger than pot?” Tessa’s eyes wandered again.

“No, not really…I used to steal my brother’s Ritalin when we lived together, but that was awhile ago.”

“Oh yeah? He move on to bigger stuff?”

“No, he’s in the military now.” Tessa was bored and disgusted. The sweet smell of contraband was mingling sickly with the sour stench of the room. She assumed the ducks were responsible for the second odor, but it could have just as easily been one of the men. When Nick returned with a warm beer, she opened it hopefully and swallowed a big gulp, only to find it old and sour.

“Oh, gross,” complained Tessa.

“Ohh, god…” moaned another girl.

“Shut the hell up, Stacey,” Big Chris snapped at the voice. It came from a plump young girl on a couch in the corner of the room. She had not moved or spoken until then, and Tessa had forgotten the figure was even there. Nick, however, had been waiting to address her.

“How you doin’ over there, Stacey?”

“Ohh, god Nick…I’m dying…”

“Give it a rest, fatty.” Big Chris was delightfully unaware of any irony his insult may have carried. Nick caught it immediately.

“Pretty harsh, man, making fun of your tubby sister when you can’t even see your feet.”

“Fuck you man; you know she’s fat and so does she. And now she thinks she’s expanding.” He laughed. “How do you like that for a bad trip, Stacey? I told you those mushrooms were old.” Stacey moaned again and Nick laughed too, glad to have Big Chris distracted. Tessa watched with morbid fascination as Nick covertly slid a small green bud off the table and slipped it into his coat. At the same time, he continued speaking to the girl.

“Are you gonna die again, Stacey? Is your big old belly going to blow up?” She turned away from him on the couch and the men all laughed. “Maybe we ought to get out of here before your fat ass is dripping off the ceiling in chunks.”

The image was too much for Tessa. She stood suddenly, bumping the table and upsetting the ducks.

“I need out of here now.” Nick paused and looked up at her, confused. Her face was white and her breathing was ragged and shallow. Big Chris and the others continued laughing.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m having a panic attack. I need out of here, right now.” She began to whip her eyes around the room, frantically. The ducks argued with each other and ruffled their feathers. Nick grabbed the beer from where she’d left it tucked under her chair, and offered Tessa a drink. The skunked smell hit her in a fresh wave and she began to cry.

“Oh god, I think I’m going to puke.” She ran for the front door and scrambled with the latch, unable to get out. “Oh Christ, what the fuck is wrong with the door?” Tessa was pounding on the exit, ready to break the glass if necessary. Awareness assailed her in horrible surges, choking the young woman with sudden, fierce reality.

“There’s an extra bolt at the bottom,” Big Chris shouted. “Fucking cops.” She finally found it and burst outside just in time to vomit Taco Bell down the eroded cement steps and onto the remains of the sidewalk.

Nick appeared behind her with a paper towel, and Tessa wiped her mouth carefully. He escorted her across the street to his car and would have opened the door for her, too, but she reached out first and beat him to it.

Once seated, Nick chose a CD carefully and offered it to Tessa for approval. She nodded, and he started the engine and inserted the disc. She opened her purse for another cigarette, but Nick produced a joint from somewhere in his coat and Tessa gladly lit that instead. He drove fast, the music was loud, and they were quickly stoned.

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