Ease

Amelia leads me through street after street, and I start feeling tired from walking.

'Are you taking me somewhere far away so that you can kill me?' I ask, panting for breath.

Amelia shoves me. 'Ha, ha, very funny. Also, you need more exercise. We've barely walked half a mile.'

'You know, you could've told me about how far this place was and I would've brought my motorbike.' I say.

'Yeah, but like I said, you need more exercise. Oh, I think that's it!' she points to some blue banner in the distance excitedly.

I straighten up a little, squinting in the direction she's pointing at. 'Cool. Now can you carry me there?'

'That's enough, you sloth. Come on.' She grabs my arm and tugs me towards the shop.

She wasn't kidding when she said it was supposed to be one of the best shops. Stepping onto the clean white tiles, I look around wonderingly. I was expecting a tiny convenience store with a small section for art supplies, not an entire store full of it, even though Amelia had specified it was dedicated to art. The shop surprisingly had a lot of customers, though having just recently opened.

I dart to an aisle filled with oil paints and tools where two teens are bending down to inspect some brushes and tentatively lift up a painting knife. 'Oh my god.' I turn around to look at Amelia. 'This is awesome. I can finally get around to doing those Bob Ross tutorials.'

Amelia grins at me. 'I knew you would like this place.'

'Like' is an understatement. I've always liked going shopping for art supplies, but most of the time I would go to Walmart or someplace similar, someplace where they had only a small section for art. Something about shopping for something I like relaxes me, and as I inhale the clean smell of the shop, I can feel my muscles loosening and my breathing get deeper.

I don't know what items I want exactly, as I never banked on an art shop actually opening. I scratch the back of my neck and look around, reading the signs for different art categories.

'What were you planning on buying?' Amelia asks me.

'I don't know. Just a few oil paints and some canvases. But I kinda want a new sketchbook. And some charcoal sticks. I want everything in this store.' I groan. 'Oil paints are expensive enough, and here I am wanting Copics.'

'I have no idea what a Copic is, but I'm going to pretend like I know.' Amelia says. I roll my eyes at her and put the painting knife back on the shelf, stepping back to take a better look at the items.

'You know what, I'll just get the paint and some canvases and come back some other day for other stuff.'

'Mhm.' Amelia's checking her phone, leaning against a shelf. I shake my head at her and pick out the things I want, then drag Amelia around to look at some other stuff.

'What even is this?' I say, picking up a chisel of some kind. 'Looks like something used for sculpting but this isn't even the sculpting section.'

'I don't know, art is weird.' Amelia glances up from her phone. 'Bruh, your new video just hit a hundred thousand views and it's been like four hours since you uploaded.'

'Wait what?' I straighten up to check Amelia's phone. It is true. 'Huh. That's cool.'

'"Cool"? Seriously? This is epic!' Amelia looks excitedly at me, then rolls her eyes when she sees no reaction on my face. 'Here I am getting excited for your successes.'

'I have you to convey my emotions,' I say, placing the tool back on the shelf. 'Ok, I'm done looking around this place. Wanna pay?'

Amelia shoots me a death glare and I laugh. 'Just kidding! Let's go.'

I pay for my items and we go out of the shop. I can't wait to get home and open these new paints, but Amelia has other plans.

'Where are we going?' I ask, confused, as Amelia starts down a street heading away from our apartments.

'There's a really good café down here.' Amelia says, pointing down the street. 'Let's go have something to drink.'

'Okay.' I start walking alongside her. 'How far is it from here?' I didn't notice it much when I was in the shop, but my feet are starting to ache really badly.

'Just a turn down this street.' Amelia says. I can feel myself itching to sit down on a chair, so I start walking faster. Amelia offers to carry my canvases and paints, but I decline.

'Honestly, I should call in a trainer for you. You clearly haven't exercised in the past, what, six months?'

'One year, actually.' I put in. 'But stop talking about my fitness.'

Amelia shakes her head. I zone off for a while, watching the clouds move and relying on Amelia's guidance for which way to go. Watching the vehicles go whizzing by reminds me that I'm not the only person in this world who might be doubtful and stressed about something and that there are possibly millions of other people who are trying to take tough decisions. The thought comforts me a little, and I look back ahead to pay attention to where we're going.

Amelia takes my arm and turns to push open the door of a shop. I look up at the signboard of the café before entering, even though my brain doesn't really note the name. The café has a nice atmosphere, relaxing and pleasant, much different from where Amelia works. Not many people are there, which eases me up a little bit because I don't really like crowds.

'I wanted to apply for a job in here at first, but there weren't any positions open at the time.' Amelia sighs. We choose a table near a window and I sink down into the soft seat of a chair.

'Ohhh,' I kick off my shoes and massage my feet. 'Oh my god.'

Amelia giggles. 'That sounds so wrong.'

I reach across the table with my free hand to hit her. 'Shut up.'