Amanda and Casey Go Downtown

Amanda walks to Casey's apartment
Next to the high school
And they walk down to the supermarket

They visit Gary the Cashier
Who used to like Casey
Then Amanda, then Casey
And now has a girlfriend
That neither of them like

They stand around his register
And talk to him
Until his manager walks by
So then they buy a pack of gum

'Now we're customers,' Amanda says
'Haha, oh my God' Casey says, realizing she makes no sense at all

They leave the market
And walk down to the next store
In the plaza

Sugar--or as they call it

'The Ugly Clothes Store'

Casey's Mom shops there
And so the owner says hi to her
When they walk in

This is why Casey feels bad
Five minutes later
When Amanda swipes a pair of earrings
From the sales rack
Grabs Casey's arm
And walks the two of them outside

'Those earrings are so gross. I should have taken the blue ones with the little dots'
'Yeah, haha, oh my God, yeah'

They walk to the end of the plaza
Where the parking lot opens up
Onto the main road

Normally they'd head up to Masse Street
Walk to the Quizno's, buy some chips
Talk to Deana who was working until close
And then cut through the high school parking lot
Look through all the windows
To see if anyone was there--they didn't know why
Then go back down Brayton Street
And spend the rest of the night watching tv
At Casey's apartment
While her Mom was working at the restaurant in Mass

But Amanda didn't feel like it

'I don't feel like it. It's so nice out.'
'Um, yeah, but, what could we do? You know?'
'Why don't we walk downtown?'
'From here?'
'Yeah, it's really not that far. Couple miles, and it's all city.'
'Um, kinda far, though, and then we have to walk home.'
'C'mon, Casey, don't be stupid.'
'I'm not being stupid, I just, you know.'
'We'll be back by eleven. Your Mom's never home before one anyway.'

Amanda didn't say anything else
She just started walking

Casey wondered why they didn't tell you in school
That sometimes peer pressure isn't always
Someone pressuring you to make a decision
Sometimes the decision is made
And then it's up to you
To have the courage
To override it

Casey didn't have that courage
So she started walking

It was a city walk
That was for sure
But it was also a walk
Through the worst part of the city
Before you got to downtown

Amanda thought it was hilarious
That they were in such a bad neighborhood

She always found humor
In the situations
That terrified Casey

Casey didn't know if that meant she was uptight
Or Amanda was naive

Sometimes Casey wished something bad would happen to Amanda
Just so she could be right about something for once

As they were walking past a coffee shop
Amanda stopped and said they were going in

'It'll be so cool. We'll be, like, college students.'
'Um, it's getting sort of late.'
'Oh shut up, Casey. It's a Saturday, remember.'
'I know, but--'
'Let's try to act our age for once, okay?'

They went into the coffee shop
And Amanda ordered an espresso

Casey knew she had no clue what that was
She just wanted to sound cool

Casey ordered the cider

'Ugh, Casey, seriously?'
'I like cider.'

It was the first declarative sentence
She'd spoken to Amanda in weeks

They sat for awhile
Then Amanda got bored
So they started walking again

After an hour
Downtown finally came into view
Not quite like the Emerald City
But close, fairly close

Amanda got more and more excited
At the prospect of being in the city
On a Saturday night
But Casey stayed concerned

There wasn't as much of a thrill for Casey
Her mom, Karen, took her downtown all the time
Karen was originally from Boston
And going into the city for her
Was like a dolphin dipping back into the water
It refreshed her

But Amanda's mom never left their town
She probably didn't even know there WAS a mall downtown

'This is going to be so amazing'
'Um, let's just keep an eye on the time.'
'Ugh, fine, Casey. Kill my joy, thanks.'

Downtown were full of people
And despite being able to see the mall
Amanda and Casey couldn't actually figure out
How to GET to the mall

'This is so gay.'
'Um, yeah, maybe we--yeah.'
'Let's see if we can see any hot guys.'
'Amanda, it's nine o'clock.'
'Eleven, Casey. I said we'll start walking back at eleven.'
'No, you said--'
'Oh my God, look at HIM!'

They sat on the sidewalk
Outside a Barnes and Noble
And people watched for half an hour

Two of the guys they were staring at walked over

'Sup?'
'Hey.'
'Yeah.'
'I'm Amanda, this is Casey.'
'Cool. You just hanging out?'
'Sort of, yeah.'
'Cool.'
'Yeah.'

They went on like this for a few minutes
And then the boys asked if they wanted to go somewhere

'Just for a drive or something.'

Casey whispered into Amanda's ear--

'We are NOT going anywhere with--'

But Amanda was already standing up

'Casey can't go. She has to get home or her mommy gets mad. I can go though.'

Casey started to say something
But Amanda hugged her
And said--

'I'll text you tomorrow. I told my mom I was sleeping at you house. Bye.'

There was a threat implied there
Amanda was a master of implication

She walked off with the two boys
And within a minute
They were gone

Casey stood up
Went into the Barnes and Noble
And sat down in the cafe

The thought of walking home by herself
Was daunting to her
And she wasn't sure
Who she could call
That could come and get her
Nobody she knew had a license
Except her Mom

'Excuse me?'

She looked up to see a woman
Somewhere in her forties
Smiling at her

'Honey, are you lost?'
'Um, no, no, I'm okay.'
'Is your Mom here with you?'
'Yeah, uh, well...um.'
'How old are you, sweetie?'
'Thirteen.'
'You really shouldn't be alone downtown on a Saturday night. Is there someone I can call for you?'

Casey meant to say that she'd be fine
That she wasn't a kid
That she was just figuring stuff out
And she'd get home
And Amanda would text tomorrow
And it would fine

But instead she started to cry
She just burst into tears
And didn't know why

She ran out of the store
With the woman calling after her
And out onto the sidewalk

She ran until she was a few blocks away
And already the city was diminishing behind her

Then she had to stop
And catch her breath

She looked back at downtown
The mall still prominent
Still looking at her
Making sure of something

Then she turned around
And started to walk