Once upon a time, industry gave birth to consumer culture and rather than going out to hunt for our food, we picked it up from supermarkets. The supermarket is like a market but made superior with that little addition of a prefix, like superman but without a ridiculous looking red and blue outfit. The supermarket is where I reach a new low in searching for dates, filtering the masses of old ladies, middle aged mums with their kids, fellow 20 something, 30 something single guys like myself, to find that perfect lady; finding it hard not to compare my situation to that of Jarvis Cocker in 'Common People'. The supermarket is ordered rows, food packed to the brim, prices on each, usually the .99 suffixing each pound amount so you can get a penny change; my wallet is filled with those. On closer inspection, some of the jars develop a voice, form mouths around their instructions on the label and start talking to you: 'how to cook me', somehow I doubt, if this were a sentient being, it would want to be cooked, especially alive.1
An announcement over the loud speakers brings an end to my shopping trip. 8.30pm, they obviously never followed the 24-hour model of Tesco in suit. It seems vaguely typical that when I look to my basket, I see it empty. Food was never the reason to come here. My journeys into supermarket bliss were always for the choice between loves. Romanticism must have died. I join the inevitable path. Having filtered out the supermarket, a few streets down in the cold of the night I meet my dealer. He’d been pulling strings to get a hold of what I’m after in such large quantities, a rarity after the end of the nineties; the longer trip. We make a short transaction, fivers and tenners travel from my hand to his, and from his hand to mine come the squares of perforated blotter paper. We disperse in separate directions without a word. Elephants of various colours and shapes stare up at me from the paper squares; Ganesh, Nellie the elephant, Dumbo, white elephants and pink elephants, standing tall and smiling grimly. Soon they would be moving, laughing and dancing in a state of hysteria. I eat them selfishly, ingesting each: seeing noises, listening to colours and smelling movements, my sort of secular Entheogen. My LSD.2
2 hours later3
Breaking through the glass of the front door, I enter a labyrinth, now distant from that simple and straightforward construction I had been in, which seems such a long time ago. The talking boxes, jars and household appliances become more than just metaphor and spiral round in literal constructs, so fake and so real. They mock me, laugh, point out my failures in looking for love in all the wrong places; supermarkets included. I'm shouting and I'm screaming and I'm jumping up and grasping at air. 'Cook me', 'Eat me', 'Drink Me'. I eat one and I’m in the land of the Lilliputs and I can step all over the cans and frozen food sections. I drink another and I'm a single celled amoeba, they cover me in white lasagne sauce and frozen chicken parts while cans of cat food give me Cheshire cat smiles. Reaching the alcohol section is fatal, Vodka and Whiskey drown me out, pouring down my throat, they’re still laughing at me, scorning as I smash bottles and shards of glass puncture me. Spiralling down a big black plug hole, go all the commodities, food and produce, little faces without eyes spouting curses from their mouths, myself following, twisting around as a fluid. This is how they'd find me in the morning, a dead mess on the floor, a picture too graphic for the papers; a yellow and brown puke disdain; remaining there but not ever after.4
Author notes
Another University assingment, this time about the beginning and ending of a story.
I have now put the story up in its entirety, with its formally missing middle section.
An Amalgamation of 1,2,3 and 6.
What did you think? Please comment!
Comments
1 - 8 of 8
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1000
ti's was good story well written and has good ending! -
i liked the first part, never get tired of people having a dig at consumerism, but i'm not sure about the second part, kinda confused me, anyway hope u get a good mark for it mate
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chronic
I'd say he fell pray to a particularly potent acid tab half way through the weekly shopping. Crazily random, as usual, but, hey, thats why i love your stuff!keep it up... -
Aw, cheers very much, that means a lot. I may consider writing the main body to this, overall I think a relatively short story, but I bet you can guess what happened to the protagonist here. Finals, hmmm, I'm only in the first year, not sure when exams are. I have essays to do though, not till January though. With all the stuff that's been going on in Bradford lately, I haven't been reading enough. I don't know if you heard in America, but there was a police shooting here, and it made national headlines. I also think I walked passed the travel agent that was being robbed while it was occuring, though I didn't realise anything was going on till the helicopters and traffic jams.
Edited on Dec 02, 7:03 p.m. because 'missed ''m' on I'. -
awesome
this is very good writting. i enjoyed reading this. well done. thank you for sharing your words with me.. -
I can bet you got an excellent grade on this assignment, for this is an excellent write. I wish they would give me assignments like this at college. The assignments I get are quite rutinary, and foremost boring.
Now, as Belle said, you have to tell us what happened at the middle. Actually, you are in the obligation to do this for us, your fellow readers. You can't leave us like this.
I'll be waiting for the addition of it (that is, if you actually do so, for maybe you're too busy at college- I'm posting this message from the humanities faculty library, heh heh heh!). Anyway, have a nice day and good luck with the finals!!
Peace, and God Bless, Enid.
p.s. An applause for you!! -
Oh my goodness; such a strange write. I do have to wonder about the middle portions; you must write those out or at least tell a poor girl like myself what happened! LOL! This was really great; I believe you have done as the assignment intended. Great job!
Hugs
Jess -
What da freak happened???!!!! Tell me tell me tell me!!!! I couldn't even begin to imagine...well I could....LOL Suspensful......good reading...I am so curious as to the middle happenings!
~Brandi~
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