The High Guy

Last night around eleven o'clock, my friend Rachel and I went to Wal-Mart so she could pick up a few groceries. We didn't spend long in the store, grabbing the Berry Blue Typhoon Hawaiian Punch, cherry turnovers, and some conditioner Rachel needed. We found the shortest line and set our stuff on the conveyor belt. We were just standing there talking as the cashier rang up the items of the customer in front of us, when all of a sudden some random guy comes up and stands between us in line. For a few seconds all I could do is stare. Then I tried to rationalize it. I thought maybe he was going to grab a pack of gum or something, but no, he just stood there. In fact, he already had a pack of gum in his hand.

Rachel and I managed to make eye contact, and as we did, we both had to fight the urge to burst out laughing. Why was this guy, who was probably in his early twenties just standing there between us leaning against the conveyor belt, not saying a word? After about a minute of standing there not really saying anything, the cashier was done ringing up the groceries of the customer in front of us. Then something unexpected happened. The guy who was standing between Rachel and I quickly reached out, flipped the screen around so he could see the total of the customer's groceries, and then turned it back around. Immediately afterward, he went back to resting against the conveyor belt as if he were satisfied with what he saw. It took less than two seconds for him to make the gesture, but it was so random. Not five seconds before that, he was just standing there motionless.

Then the cashier started to ring up our groceries, and I moved around the guy so I could be by Rachel and grab the bags of groceries. This was the first time I could see the guy's face. His eyes were bloodshot and he had a look of paranoia on his face, like he thought the world was out to get him. Even though he was just resting against the conveyor belt, he looked tense, as if he didn't trust anyone. He was definitely on some hardcore drug. I was trying not to stare, but I was curious as to what he would do next.

Unfortunately before the guy was able to do any other random gestures, the cashier was done ringing up our items, and Rachel had paid. So we grabbed the bags and went on our way. I wish I had stuck around to see the high guy purchase his gum and the conversation that might have occurred between him and the cashier. But since I didn't, it will forever remain a mystery to me, and the events will be left to my imagination.