Buying Tampons
Sam walked alone on the small strip of sidewalk, a heavy textbook balanced open in one of his giant hands and his battered book bag in the other as he weaved through the milling crowd of students.
He didn't look up once as he sidestepped past giggling girls or yelling guys, his soft eyes slowly moving back and forth across the page, his red lips moving slightly as he tried to concentrate on the paragraph in front of him.
The harsh wind blew, causing the pages to flap and turn on their own before he was ready. Sam cursed the windy autumn day quietly as he flipped the book shut. It's not like the book was making any sense to him anyways.
Shoving the book in his bag and slinging it over his shoulder, he ducked behind another group of girls to walk up the short flight of stairs into the dorm room he now shared with his girlfriend, Jess.
They had been living together for two months now and it had been the best two months of Sam's short life.
Finally getting used to collage life, and feeling freer than ever before, he finally had someone to share his success and pleasures with. It didn't feel as lonely anymore. Plus, Jess was experimenting with cooking and it almost always turned out beautifully.
He walked in the door, ducking his head so he didn't hit it on the small doorframe, and set his bag down on the coffee table.
"Jess?" He called out.
Her last class of the day was finished twenty minutes before his, but Jess was a social butterfly, if Sam ever had seen one, and she was out with friends already a lot of the time before he got home.
"Sam?" She answered.
Her voice was taunt and cautious.
Sam's dark eyebrows pulled together in a knot immediately. Concerned, he went into the dimly lit bedroom they shared.
The smart outfit she had been wearing that morning was flung carelessly across the unmade bed sheets and her book bag was laying on its side on the ground, books spilling out onto the hardwood floor.
"Babe? You okay?" Sam knocked on the bathroom door where he could hear the water running.
The water shut off.
"Sam? How much do you love me?" Came Jess' small voice again.
"I love you a crazy, insane amount… why?" Sam asked.
He tried the door handle but it was locked.
"Okay… will you do something for me?"
"Anything you need."
Sam was now really concerned and he considered kicking the door in the lock clicked and Jess stepped out. Her hair was pulled into a messy bun at the back of her head, blond curls escaping everywhere.
The concern almost disappeared as Sam took in her appearance, she was wearing one of his tee-shirts and a pair of sweat pants. The kind that had giant legs but stopped and had a small band right below the knee.
She blushed under his gaze and tried to step back again but was stopped by the boyish grin that escaped onto Sam's lips.
"You're adorable." He said finally.
"Shut up!" She whined. Pushing past him, she went and sat on the bed and pulled her knees up ho her chest.
"Sorry!" Sam apologized, still grinning. "What's wrong? What do you need me to do?"
Jess sighed. "Do you want good news or bad news first?" She asked finally.
"Um, good?" Sam asked uncertainly. He awkwardly shifted his weight from foot to foot, not sure if he should go sit with her on the bed or just stand there some more.
"I'm not pregnant." Jess declared.
"Oh…" Sam blinked at her. "Um…"
"Bad news is I got my period in the middle of class and I don't have any tampons left."
Sam's heart started sinking. He was completely at a loss and it was terrifying him.
He felt like a sailor out alone on the stormy sea at night, with no one around to throw him a lifeline. He could handle a lot of things and take a lot of crap in a stride, but girl problems were not one of them.
"Congratulations?" He offered.
"Shut up." She said again. "Anyway, I just need you to run to the store and buy me a box of tampons." She looked up at his with her big blue eyes and stuck out her lower lip just the tiniest bit. "Please? It would really mean a lot to me."
Sam bit his lip hesitantly.
Growing up with only his dad and brother to talk to, he hardly knew what a tampon was, let alone how to buy one.
His stomach was churning uncertainly at the prospect of this challenge.
"Okay…" He agreed, surprising himself. "I guess I could… but I don't know what kind to get… are there different kinds?" He asked, suddenly horrified he'd said the wrong thing.
Jess rolled her eyes. "Of course there are different brands! And if you get the wrong one, I will cry at you." She tried to glare at him but ended up laughing at his fear stricken face.
"There's an empty box in the bathroom garbage. Just get the one that looks exactly like it."
She pointed to the bathroom and Sam had no choice but to follow her finger like a dog that had been kicked to retrieve the box from the garbage can.
He picked it up and gazed at it sadly. He had seen in under the sink but hadn't actually looked at it before.
It was purple and had white flowers plastered all over it. Easy.
"Okay, I'll be back in a few."
"Thanks, babe." Jess grimaced at him, her arms wrapped around her middle.
Sam glared at her as he picked up his keys and walked out the door. He shut the door gently and started jogging down the street, still dodging the huge body of students who seem ever-present on the streets.
He pulled his jacket closer as the wind picked up. Shaggy hair flying and eyes watering against the dusty wind, he pressed on to the nearest drugstore.
When he walked in, he kept his head down and tried to look small and not get himself noticed, a skill her never really had, and went to the aisle he had never before entered.
He thanked God it was empty as he started searching the shelves for the box like Jess had.
Fairly soon, he realized that it was not such an easy task, his eyes racked the long shelves and he still couldn't find the right box.
Some were pink and blue and some had stripes on them. Some said 'extra strength' and some said 'delicate' and some weren't even tampons but weird pads with wings on them.
A pretty girl ducked into the aisle and Sam blushed when he saw her and immediately wished he could be swallowed up by the ground.
The girl also look uncomfortable to find a tall, young, handsome man in the aisle with tampons but she only raised her eyebrow at him before grabbing the box she wanted.
She noticed how awkward the guy looked and offered him a small, cheeky smile. "How's the Mrs.?" She asked.
Sam blushed even darker and ducked his head down. "Uh, my girlfriend…. She just needs… and I said-"
The girl laughed. "You're doing great," she encouraged. "My boyfriend won't buy me tampons." She winked and then turned and quickly left, leaving a heavily blushing Sam in her wake.
While still on the search, another guy, about the same age as Sam, with light, shaggy hair and a slim build walked up the aisle.
He didn't look as out-of-place as Sam, but he looked just as unhappy about the unfortunate situation that had befallen the two of them.
Without too much hesitation, he grabbed one of the boxes that had pads with wings on them and held them in his hands.
He nodded at Sam. "S'up." He greeted.
Sam nodded back, wishing he would leave or stop acknowledging him.
The guy grinned sadly. "First time?" He asked, gesturing to the shelves behind him.
Sam nodded again. "Yeah, I just moved in with my girlfriend and now I guess this is a requirement for me."
The guy laughed. "Better get used to it now. You'll be doing this for the rest of your life."
He turned to leave but Sam stopped him.
"Hey, wait." He called. "Could you help me? Please?"
The guy turned again and narrowed his eyes as he looked Sam up and down, like he was sizing him up.
"Fine." He agreed, grudgingly. "But only this one time! It's bad enough I have to do it for my own girlfriend." He sighed, defeated. "What kind does she use? You have to know that or else she'll bite your head off."
"Uh, the box was purple… and it had these white flowers on it." Sam struggled to remember something else about it.
The guy reached up to the top shelf and pulled a box down and tossed it to Sam, who caught it and looked in wonder.
"Yeah! This is it." He breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, man."
The guy pointed a finger and glared at Sam. "Don't you breathe a word of this to anyone."
Sam held up the box of tampons and raised one eyebrow. "Yeah… like I'll be doing that."
"Word of advice, chocolate works wonders."
And then he was gone.
Sam pondered the guy's words as he quickly left the aisle before another person walked in on him.
He sprinted to the frozen foods section and grabbed a tub of Jess' favourite ice cream, Oreo ice cream, before bolting to the checkout.
A sleazy looking guy at the check-out counter looked at the items Sam placed on the counter before scanning them in.
"That time of month again?" He asked, his lips curling into a sneer but was silenced by the most terrifying glare Sam could muster up.
The guy faltered and diverted his gaze.
"14.87$ is your total." He grumbled.
Sam paid him silently and then took his bag and walked away with as much dignity as he could find inside of himself.
He felt like every eye was on him as he walked down the street again. It felt like all the eyes could see into the bag he was carrying. Everyone seemed to be judging him and he had no idea why.
In reality, nobody gave his shopping bag a second glance, they were too distracted by the look of complete distress on the man's face as he power walked through the crowds.
When Sam's dorm room finally came into view, he started sprinting, just wanting the ordeal to be over.
Little did he know, he still had a week to go.