The SCC: Driving to the Sea (Sarah)
Written for scc_flashfic's Time Lag challenge.
Title: Driving to the Sea
Author: voleuse
Character: Sarah
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Summary: We were all the people there were.
Notes: Set before 1.03
Sarah walked through the aisles of the grocery store, scanned the bright promises on the packaging of cereals, not knowing what most of them meant. People chattered everywhere, their voices echoing off the floors, and she told herself they weren't necessarily threats.
A girl, maybe thirteen years old, trotted past her, holding a phone to her ear. It was bright pink, barely larger than the girl's palm. She had earphones, too, connected to a device clipped onto her pocket. The left bud dangled from her shoulder, tinny music blaring out.
Sarah didn't stare, because she never stared at anyone.
The cashier smiled at her as he rung up the items. Carrots. Hamburger. Orange juice. Coffee. "Do you have a club card?"
"No." Milk. Glass cleaner. Shampoo.
"Would you like to get one?" He smiled. Oatmeal. Eggs. "It takes just five minutes to fill out the form."
"No." Newsweek. Spinach. Monterey Jack. "Thank you."
"Debit or credit?" He swiveled a small console towards her. "Just swipe the card here."
Sarah shook her head, kept a smile on her face. She handed him four twenty-dollar bills, and didn't startle when coins clattered out of a machine on her right.
The cashier handed her the rest of her change. "Do you need any help out?"
"My son will help me," she said, and gathered the plastic bags into her hands, wrinkling her nose at the rustle.
John stood next to a booth near the exit, flipping through the pages of a technology magazine. She handed him the bag with the milk and tuna, and he abandoned the magazine on a nearby shelf.
"Too bad I can't get a subscription," he remarked. "Do you want some coffee?" He gestured to the booth, and she took a moment to peruse the menu, like normal people did. Another woman stepped up to the barista and rattled off a string of words that only made half-sense to Sarah.
"Maybe later," she said.
"We should get a hybrid car," John replied.
Sarah handed him another bag, and they stepped through the sliding doors.
###
A/N: Title, summary, and headings adapted from Robert Bly's Driving West in 1970. Link courtesy of breathe_poetry.
Originally posted at scc_flashfic.
Title: Driving to the Sea
Author: voleuse
Character: Sarah
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Summary: We were all the people there were.
Notes: Set before 1.03
Sarah walked through the aisles of the grocery store, scanned the bright promises on the packaging of cereals, not knowing what most of them meant. People chattered everywhere, their voices echoing off the floors, and she told herself they weren't necessarily threats.
A girl, maybe thirteen years old, trotted past her, holding a phone to her ear. It was bright pink, barely larger than the girl's palm. She had earphones, too, connected to a device clipped onto her pocket. The left bud dangled from her shoulder, tinny music blaring out.
Sarah didn't stare, because she never stared at anyone.
The cashier smiled at her as he rung up the items. Carrots. Hamburger. Orange juice. Coffee. "Do you have a club card?"
"No." Milk. Glass cleaner. Shampoo.
"Would you like to get one?" He smiled. Oatmeal. Eggs. "It takes just five minutes to fill out the form."
"No." Newsweek. Spinach. Monterey Jack. "Thank you."
"Debit or credit?" He swiveled a small console towards her. "Just swipe the card here."
Sarah shook her head, kept a smile on her face. She handed him four twenty-dollar bills, and didn't startle when coins clattered out of a machine on her right.
The cashier handed her the rest of her change. "Do you need any help out?"
"My son will help me," she said, and gathered the plastic bags into her hands, wrinkling her nose at the rustle.
John stood next to a booth near the exit, flipping through the pages of a technology magazine. She handed him the bag with the milk and tuna, and he abandoned the magazine on a nearby shelf.
"Too bad I can't get a subscription," he remarked. "Do you want some coffee?" He gestured to the booth, and she took a moment to peruse the menu, like normal people did. Another woman stepped up to the barista and rattled off a string of words that only made half-sense to Sarah.
"Maybe later," she said.
"We should get a hybrid car," John replied.
Sarah handed him another bag, and they stepped through the sliding doors.
###
A/N: Title, summary, and headings adapted from Robert Bly's Driving West in 1970. Link courtesy of breathe_poetry.
Originally posted at scc_flashfic.