The sun shone in the oh-so-blue sky. I continued to walk down Cerulean Avenue with my left arm carrying the brown paper bag of groceries, propping it against my waist, and my free hand swinging by my side. Left foot, right foot. Left foot, right foot. Left foot, right foot. I tried to focus on my feet walking on the sidewalk, taking extra care not to step on the spidery cracks etched in the pavement, but after the twenty-seventh block, she snuck into my thoughts.

I wonder if she is hungry. It's been at least a couple of hours since I've fed her. Hmmm, but then again, she has her own bowl of food now and can eat whenever she wants. I mused about my best friend's dog Pixie I was taking care of her because my best friend Elliot and his family had decided to go to the Canada this summer. Every time they returned from their travels, they always came bearing toys for Pixie, gifts for my family, and souvenirs for me. My extensive key chain collection can attest to that.

I sped up my pace, wanting to get home to the cocker spaniel that wouldn't stay out of my mind as soon as possible. Leftfootrightfootleftfootrightfoot. Not a minute into my sudden change of walking speed did I stumble over nothing blatantly apparent to me. Luckily, I hadn't loosened my death grip on the big brown bag and had caught myself before I could do any further damage to the groceries. Note to self: Place eggs on the bottom of the grocery bag to avoid breakage and stickiness./

I glared at the sidewalk and the seemingly invisible object that had tripped me one last time before heading home with a final huff of exasperation. Speedwalking no longer an option, I resumed my slower – hopefully stumble free – walking pace in the hopes of preventing any future fumbles due to my accident-prone self. According to my parents, I was "naturally clumsy."

I guess Pixie can wait a little longer for her treats. It's not as if she knows, right? Oh my gosh. I need to stop asking myself rhetorical questions.. I swear that one day I'm going to go crazy, but at least I'll still have–

"OOMPH!" The sound of a grunt filled the air as I collided into a body. This time, the groceries escaped my fingertips and went flying.

"OhmygoshI'msosorry!" My apology came out rushed as I scrambled to untangle myself from the other set of limbs. "Are you okay?"

"A bit battered and bruised, but I'll live," came the amused reply. "I'm not so sure about your groceries though," he gestured to the heap of crumpled brown paper oozing egg yolk."I'm Austin, by the way. What's your name?" The ghost of a smile manifested on his lips.

"I'm–

"Ally?" I turned around at the sound of my name.

"Omgosh, you're back!" I squealed, running to meet Elliot and engulfing him in a hug. "How was Canada?"

"Ehh, you know…" he trailed off. I looked up expectantly at him. "It was great," he replied to the ground. A beat passed. "It was great," he repeated, looking at me this time.

"Hey, Ally?" Austin called. He walked up to me, the remains of my groceries in his hands. "You forgot this."

"Oh, wow. Thanks so much!" I beamed, taking them from him. "Sorry about bumping into you earlier." A sheepish expression crossed my face.

"Hey, it's not every day you meet a cute girl this way, right? It was nice meeting you, Ally," he flashed a smile at me and nodded at Elliot before turning around to leave.

"Austin?" I called to his back. He turned around. "See you around!" I waved happily.

He chuckled and waved back.

That was the day I learned that it's okay if eggs are battered and absolutely destroyed sometimes, because you never knew what life will serve you with it. I also learned that Pixie has a sixth sense of omniscience and is not as patient as I thought she would be.