My first pair of Onitsukas

Although from California, I bought my first pair of Onitsukas in The Big Apple, and didn’t have to worm my way into its heart looking for that pair, since I went online first. I had been checking out one particular store’s website, before flying east to attend an event, and was glad that store has a branch in Manhattan.

I purchased the pair on a drizzly evening, when the store was about to close. I remember walking blocks, like I was on a mission, in a hurry, along 5th Avenue. And I kept checking Google Maps on my Android, to make sure I was heading on the right direction. When I arrived at the store, they didn’t have my size, 10(US). So the manager offered a slightly bigger size.

And did I complain, with the fury of an Occupy Wall Street protestor? I certainly did, in my own way. I took the box the manager handed me, opened it and looked at him, then threw it back to him, before pushing him against the wall behind him. I didn’t say anything, as my fury stormed the place, pushing shoes away from shelves and racks. The manager was sweating at the phone calling for help. He was the only one left in the store now, because the other employee had ran out of the store, frantic, to the street, leaving her screams behind. Then the madman in me pulled out the gun in my backpack a black one, and aimed it to the manager. He was screaming, screaming at the top of his voice, until I pulled the trigger, and saw water spurt on his face.

Yes, all that happened in my mind, in my imagination. When the manager handed me the box, I tried the pair on, and they fit just fine. I didn’t leave the store immediately after getting my receipt. I gave myself the liberty to check out some great-looking sneakers in the store. But soon, I didn’t stay long, and left. Outside, I noticed NYPD cop-cars a block away. The weather was perfect weather for two detectives to look fashionable in trench coats, like the pair in Law & Order. I traced my steps, and had a slice of pizza on 5th Avenue, eating time slowly, as though waiting for someone in my car, back in Los Angeles.