A/N- "The OC" is not mine.
Paper Goods
Friday, March 20th
Harbor
"It's here, dude! Last day of school!" Seth squealed as he and Summer caught up to Ryan, "No more school for two weeks!"
"Seth, it's not Spring Break." Ryan responded, "All of the teachers are handing out work, and Dr. Kim already informed parents that Google Classrooms are being created. Not to mention, everything is going to be closed. It's not like we're going to be able to go hang out at The Bait Shop."
"OK, Mr. Negativity. Always raining on my parade." Seth sighed.
"Someone has to pull you back to reality." Ryan shrugged, "Hey Summer, where has Marissa been? I haven't seen her in more than a week."
"Your guess is as good as mine." She rolled her eyes.
"Summer, she's living at your house! How do you not know where she is?" Seth asked.
"Honestly, she's probably with the Surf Nazi." She huffed.
"HI, FRIENDS!" Taylor's voice could be heard from down the hall, "I'm so glad I found you guys."
"Wow, hi, Taylor." Seth blinked, "What is with the stack of papers?"
"Oh, these? I've spent the last week doing research on the best ways to survive a pandemic." She replied, handing them pink sheets of paper, "There is a list of the best sanitizers, symptoms to look for, and my contact info is down at the bottom. I decided to start a YouTube channel to help get us through such a trying time."
"That's great, Taylor." Summer said, looking over the info, "What's with the different colors?"
"Oh that, I wanted to make sure the information was available in different languages. I've got; English, Spanish, Mandarin, Arabic, and Japanese translations available." She said, leafing through the stack of colored pages, "OK, well, I better pass these out before the school empties out!"
"Bye." They waved, watching Taylor weave through a crowd of students.
"It doesn't really surprise me that she put so much effort into a handout." Summer chuckled.
"She means well." Seth shrugged, "Hey Ryan, is that your phone ringing?"
"Oh, yeah. Hold on." He jumped, reaching into his pocket, "It's your mom."
"Hey Ryan, are you still in class?" Kirsten asked.
"No, no… Seth and I were just walking to the car." He replied, "Is everything OK?"
"Yeah, I was just wondering if you guys could make a stop on your way home."
"Of course. What do you need?" He asked, fishing the car keys out of his bag.
"What's up?" Seth murmured, being waved off by Ryan.
"Well, I'm at Target right now, trying to stock up on supplies before it gets crazy, and they have ZERO papers goods." Kirsten responded in a state of shock, "Some of the other shoppers said Wal-Mart might still have some…."
"Yeah, of course. We'll stop at Wal-Mart and see what they have." Ryan answered, "See you at home."
"Wal-Mart? Why is my mom asking us to go to WAL-MART?" Seth had a confused look on his face, "It's like a jungle in there! A jungle where people wear pajama bottoms and slippers to do their shopping."
"She asked us to check to see if they have toilet paper." Ryan said, climbing into the Range Rover, "You'll be fine Seth, I survived shopping at Wal-Mart in Chino for years before your mom started buying me $100 jeans."
"Fine, but I'm sensitizing everything when we get home."
Wal-Mart
"I cannot believe I'm in a Wal-Mart, man," Seth said as they walk through the doors.
"That doesn't sound condescending at all, Seth." Ryan replied, "I can't believe you have never been to a Wal-Mart before."
"Dude, when have you ever seen my mom shop anywhere but Whole Foods and Target?" Seth raised his brow, "Blame her."
"Let's just get the stupid toilet paper and go home," Ryan said, reaching for a cart.
"I guess those 'People of Walmart' memes weren't an exaggeration," Seth said, pointing out a man wearing a Raiders sweatshirt and Mario Slippers.
"That's nothing compared to the Wal-Mart in Chino." Ryan joked.
"Hey, there's the toilet paper aisle." Seth pointed.
"Good luck getting any." An older woman said, passing by, "I heard a worker say they only had one more pallet in the back."
"Thanks. I guess we better hurry." Ryan replied, disappearing into the crowd.
"Hot damn! Look at all these people waiting for TP." Seth said, "It's not like they're going to stop producing toilet paper just because schools and restaurants are closing for two weeks."
"EXCUSE ME! EXCUSE ME!" A Wal-Mart worker raised his voice, "We know everyone wants to buy paper goods before the lockdown; however, we are running low on supplies.
A loud groan reverberated through the crowd, "I've been to three stores today, and no toilet paper." Ryan heard a stranger complain.
"That being said," The worker spoke up again, "They are bringing in two pallets as we speak. Due to the short supply, we are only allowing one ten-roll pack for each customer at this time."
"WHAT! That's so stupid." Seth crossed his arms. How are the four of us going to survive on ten rolls of toilet paper?"
"Hey, it's fine." Ryan whispered, "You buy one pack, and I buy another."
"You know what, Atwood, sometimes I think you're the brain, and I'm the brawn," Seth smirked.
"Seth, you have never been the brawn," Ryan whispered.
Cohen Household
"Mom! Dad! We survived Wal-Mart!" Seth called out as he walked into the kitchen, holding a pack of toilet paper and a bag filled with paper plates.
"You 'survived'?" Kirsten chuckled, taking the bag from Seth.
"Yes, Mother. I survived a trip to Wal-Mart." He said triumphantly.
"And we're very proud of you, son." Sandy teased, "Maybe next time we'll send you to 'The Dollar Tree.'"
"Hey guys, here's the rest." Ryan said, carrying in three other bags, "Did Seth tell you how he survived Wal-Mart?"
"Yes, he's so brave." Sandy shook his head as he emptied out the bags.
"So, what is for dinner tonight at 'Cooking with Kirsten'?" Seth asked, taking a seat at the end of the counter.
"Tonight, I am making a Greek couscous with; olives, feta cheese, sundried tomatoes…." Kirsten stopped when she noticed the look on her son's face, "Seth! You better get used to this because there's going to be a lot more 'Cooking with Kirsten' in the coming weeks."
"Mom, you know I love your cooking, but I also think it's important to support the take-out business as well." He attempted to backtrack.
"Right, well tonight we have couscous, and your father is grilling chicken." She grinned.
"Fine, but you better start including 'Baking with Kirsten' into this whole thing because a man needs a good dessert." He said.
"Chicken's ready. Let's eat!" Sandy announced, carrying a plate full of chicken.
"At least there's chicken," Seth smirked.
"I love you too, Seth." Kirsten chuckled as she took her seat next to him.