Trust
By Scooter Milne
A small, unassuming shop
Grittier than most store counters
But appropriately so
The smears of grease and road dust
Common decor here
The burly man behind the counter
Has as many miles as I do
Presumably, more or less
The grease on his hands
Matches the cash register
Here’s when I begin my fight
With an opponent
Who doesn’t know he is
“Do you have this in stock?”
I give him a small paper
With a part number
Scrawled in pink marker
“What model?” he asks
I tell him, the numbers instead of name
“Year?” “Two thousand”
Not that it matters
“Oh yeah,” he smiles,
“Did you need one?”
He doesn’t check
“No, not yet, maybe later”
I’ve just won this battle
And he doesn’t even know
I won’t be here again
Because he spoke to
My boobs, not to me
I can tell, because
I know more than him
Nobody ever needs this part
It’s not in stock
Not anywhere
Telling me he has one
Is a straight-up lie
I know this shop
Isn’t trustworthy
I try elsewhere
Scooter is a first-year student at LCC. She is pursuing an AAOT, and hopes to transfer and work on a BA in writing in the future. In her spare time, she likes to work on fanfiction, and study animation for fun. She is the current President of LCC’s GSA as well as a peer writing tutor.