Ludwig was getting a creepy feeling. Someone was trailing him. He was almost absolutely sure that had shaken the guy off, but he soon found out that his stalker was extremely stubborn.
He had first noticed it a few minutes after driving away from work. A Honda Civic with a garish paint job was following his VW, always keeping a far enough distance from him so that he couldn't get a good look at the driver's face.
When he was nearing the exit near his neighborhood, the Civic's driver made what appeared to be a phone call. Oddly enough, a minute later his own phone was ringing. "Hello?" he answered cautiously.
"Ludwig! Ludwig! It's an emergency!" Startled, Ludwig dropped the phone and clumsily picked it up again. "What?! What is it, Feliciano?!" he said, worried.
"It's terrible! Terrible!" Feliciano sounded hysterical. "We've run out of pasta, and Lovino's not around to get any! Please, please could you go to the store and get some?"
Ludwig breathed a sigh of relief. He'd expected a disaster, but with the Vargas brothers you could never tell. "Sure, I'll go and get some pasta. How much do you need?"
"Ah, seven boxes, I think!"
"Okay. I'll bring it up to your apartment later." Sighing, Ludwig put the cell down and made a U-turn.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw the Civic turn to follow him as if it had known what would happen. Feeling a bit more apprehensive now, Ludwig stepped on the gas all the way to the supermarket.
The store's parking lot was surprisingly full. Ludwig had to park a long way away from the entrance. In doing so, he noticed that the Civic was nowhere to be seen.
As he got out of the car and started towards the store, he heard faint footsteps behind him. Turning around, he saw nothing.
Walking a few steps forwards, Ludwig heard louder footsteps and again turned around. Nothing. Shivering slightly, he continued walking towards the store.
This pattern persisted all the way until Ludwig got all the way to the pasta and grains aisle. Taking down a few boxes of Barilla*spaghetti, he had a sudden thought. Why don't I outsmart this stalker? If it's a game he or she wants, then it's game they'll get.
After filling his cart with boxes of pasta, Ludwig started towards the check-out lanes but suddenly veered in a completely different direction. Then, in the middle of the canned goods aisle he turned back and headed towards the fresh vegetables and fruits section. After the fruits section he headed to the dairy aisles, then doubled back to arrive in the canned goods again. Finally he took a big zigzagging path around the bakery, deli meats and household appliances sections, stopping at the pet aisle for a few minutes. Heading towards the check-out, Ludwig was confident that he had lost his pursuer.
Then he heard the footsteps again. Anger and frustration rising, Ludwig started to curse but thought better of it and kept quiet. Maybe if he ignored the footsteps, they would go away.
The footsteps did stop, but another problem started. Turning around, Ludwig saw Alfred Jones, who he'd often seen at work.
"Hey Ludwig!" said the teen cheerfully—actually, too cheerfully. "What a coincidence! It's amazing that you actually do stuff outside of the office—I mean, it's nice to see you outside of the office."
Everything about that kid was suspicious, even the items in his cart. Pasta, two cans of beans, onions, apples, milk, bread, deli meat, light bulbs, and cat food. Ludwig remembered that he'd been through all of the aisles where those items were…
No! Stop it, you're going paranoid. Ludwig shook his head a bit and put on what he hoped was a smile. "It's nice to see you too, Jones."
Alfred looked extremely nervous. "Yeah. So, uh, what are you doing for the New Year?"
The two stood in awkward silence, already knowing what Ludwig was going to say.
"Next," said the cashier rudely, looking rather impatient. Ludwig gathered up the pasta and quickly headed out the door without as much as a goodbye.
As the cashier rang up his items, Alfred took out his phone and called Feliciano. "Mission accomplished," he said triumphantly.
"Wonderful, vee~" Feliciano sounded cheerful. "I think the last guest's arrived, so you can go ahead and came back."
"Sounds like a plan! I'll be there in about fifteen minutes." Alfred closed his phone and picked up the plastic grocery bags. This was going to be the best surprise party ever.
Take a look at the items in Alfred's cart. If you spotted the obvious relationship between the items and the aisles on the first time you read it through, then you get an (imaginary) cookie!
Apparently, the 2012 Honda Civic was one of the most popular cars in America this year, so I gave Alfred a Civic.
- Long-Vuong