It's a Wonderland Life

"Ugh, why do I keep screwing everything up!"

"Allison, you don't keep screwing everything up."

"Yes, I do! I gave Mrs. Johnson an allergen-filled sandwich, awkwardly invited a cashier to my trading card group, and embarrassed myself in front of Spencer Greenfield."

"The Spencer Greenfield?" asked Mom. 

"Of course, the Spencer Greenfield. Who else?"

"Oh, it's not as bad as you're making it seem. I'm sure–," said Mom, but Allison was already halfway out the door.

Allison's footsteps echoed on the sidewalk as she stormed off to her favorite ice cream shop. 

"At least I can always count on a cookies-and-cream milkshake to drown my sorrows," she said to no one in particular as she opened the door and stepped into line. 

"Hey, Allison! The usual?"

"Yup."

"Something bothering you?"

"The usual…you know–can't seem to do anything right these days. I wish I could disappear and forget all my failures in life." 

"Don't we all? Sorry, girl. I can't fix your problems, but your order's on the house today. I'll be back in a sec."

"Thanks, Stacy! You're the best." 

Allison sighed and proceeded to the pickup counter. Surprisingly, her drink was already there waiting for her. "Drink this," commanded the cup from the blank space that typically held the customer's name. 

Weird, she thought but did as the cup insisted. As Stacy returned from the backroom with an order, Allison smiled at her friend. "Thanks again for the drink and the speedy service!"

But Stacy just ignored her. 

Allison frowned. It wasn't like Stacy to disregard a customer, especially one who was a close friend. Allison shrugged and headed out the door. A man rushing down the sidewalk passed, almost plowing her over without a word.

"Excuse you!" she shouted. It's like I'm invisible. She collected herself as she walked toward the park to find a shady place to enjoy her beverage. As she neared the end of the block, she spotted an unfamiliar man anxiously pacing Mrs. Johnson's front porch. 

"Hey! What's going on?" she called but was ignored again. She approached the front steps, hoping to warn her friend about the stranger. Suddenly the older woman burst through the door. 

"Chris?" Tears glistened in the woman's eyes as she embraced him. "I can't believe it's you!"

"Wait. You know this guy?" Allison asked.

Tears streamed down Mrs. Johnson's face. "I never thought I'd see you again, Chris. I assumed the worst when you didn't respond to my letter."

"Oh, mom. I couldn't hold a grudge forever. It just took me longer to realize that than it ever should."

"Are you hungry? A friend brought me an egg salad sandwich this morning, and I couldn't eat it because I'm allergic. It's yours if you like."

"Are you kidding? How could my own mother forget that egg salad's my favorite?" he teased as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and escorted her through the door. 

Allison withdrew from the porch, dumbfounded. "Wow. All these years, and I never even knew Mrs. Johnson had a son," she mused aloud. She took another sip of her shake as she resumed her journey to the park. 

She almost choked on her next swig when she saw the cashier that had rung her out at the deli that morning. Great! All I need is another awkward encounter with her! Allison cringed as she recalled the rejected invitation she had extended to the cashier–dubbed "Beth" by a laminated name badge–when she'd recognized the Pokemon character on her t-shirt. 

"Jolteon? Nice! I love the classics. It's hard to pick my favorite evolution of Eevee, though. Beth, I'd love to have you join my trading card group this evening. We're always looking for mew members!"

"What are you talking about?"

"You know? Mew, legendary psychic-type Pokemon? 'Mew' sounds like 'new.' Get it?"

"Right… I'm only here to package orders and print the price labels."

"Oh, I just saw your shirt and thought…"

"My uniform shirts were at the cleaners, and I don't care much about this job. So yeah. This shirt. Here's your egg salad sandwich and the turkey on rye."

"Thanks… I'll just leave this info card on the counter if you change your mind."

Allison snapped back to the present. Please, please, please don't notice me! she thought as she moved to the far side of the path. She pretended to be fascinated by the milkshake in her hand, but the effort was unnecessary. Beth was preoccupied with something she held in her hands. Curiosity tugged at Allison, and she couldn't resist drawing close to see what held her attention. 

"What are you doing!?" she shouted when she recognized the sleeping pills and painkillers in the bottles. Who would think of taking those in the park in the middle of the afternoon? 

The other girl didn't seem to hear her. Instead, she pulled a small card from her pocket. 

"That's the info card for my group!"

"Maybe I should go there instead," Beth whispered. "I thought no one noticed me, but that girl talked to me and even recognized the fandom on my shirt."

"Of course I did! Pokemon is a lot cooler than people think."

"I don't know…maybe I'll just blend into the crowd like I do everywhere else."

"You won't! Why won't you listen to me!"

The girl crumpled the card, stood, and walked to the trash can near the bench. Allison watched her hesitate to drop the card into the bin. Suddenly, Beth seemed to change her mind. She smoothed out the card and placed it back in her pocket. She pulled out the pill bottles from her bag and tossed them into the trash instead. 

"Whew, that was close!" Allison said as Beth continued to ignore her. She watched the other girl walk away as she slurped the final dregs of her milkshake. Before she threw the cup away, she popped the top and licked the inside of the lid and cup, reveling in the last taste of bliss. When the cup landed in the can, the bottom of the cup read, "toss this." She shrugged and glanced at her watch, realizing it was time to get over to the community room at the library for her trading card group. 

"Nice to see you, Allison. I have the room set up for you," the librarian said as Allison walked up to the desk. 

"Th-thanks," she replied. Stunned, she turned away and headed to the room. Upon entering, she slumped into her usual chair and startled at the sound of a familiar voice.

"Two in one day? If you're not careful, you'll end up with a Snorlax-esque figure."

"What?" she asked, sitting up straight. 

Allison saw Spencer Greenfield tap his upper lip and chuckle. She quickly scrubbed her face with her sleeve and blushed. For the second time that day, the Spencer Greenfield had caught her with a milkshake mustache; how embarrassing. Allison hardly noticed the other members of the group filing in as she hid her face in shame. 

"You know…" started Spencer, "I've always been a fan of Vanillish, myself. Maybe we could meet for ice cream after school on Tuesday. If you want to, we could even Muk through that algebra project from Mr. Simon's class together?"

"Wow. Your Pokemon jokes are even worse than mine. But sure, I'd love to Diglett right into that assignment with you." 

Their boisterous laughter filled the small room, and Allison's eyes joyfully shone when she spotted Beth tentatively making her way toward the table. It sure is a Wonderland life, she thought. Excusing herself, she stepped away from Spencer to greet the group's newest member.