Shoes

• Kristan Lui Lam, Grade 12
• Short Story
• 2013

[Enter Nike A. Gel in a dark cramped place.]
Nike A. Gel:
How long ago it was! The lights shining upon me, making my toe cap glisten like a thousand jewels.
The attention – the folks walking towards me and looking at me closely, admiring me.
$55.95, my price was. Such a huge amount for that time. So what did those salespeople do?
They lowered my price to $35.95! Those goons! A splendid shoe such as I deserved a higher price!
Such a sale brought a man in a magnificent white suit to me.
He looked me over and examined my beauty. Finally, after much consideration, he bought me.
‘What a life I was going to live!’ I thought to myself at the time.
The man’s name was Robert. He paid and took me, placing me into the plastic bag.
I couldn’t see anything but yellow plastic bag for the next hour or so.
Boy, was I glad when he finally took me out of there.
Robert then placed me next to a pile of other shoes.
Such a disgusting place that was! There was dirt on the floor and dirt on the other shoes.
How did I, a splendid shoe, end up in such a place?
I sat there for hours, waiting until my owner finally decided to wear me.
He stuck his foot into my insole. How his foot smelled!
And my goodness, is he not wearing any socks? Preposterous!
Unfortunately, it doesn’t end here. Little did I know that being a shoe was such a hard job.
The man then lifted his foot and began to walk. The pain I felt!
Such pressure he put onto my already sore body. He continued on walking until he got into his car.
From there, he used me to drive and hit the break of the car for about thirty minutes.
Finally, he got out of the car and walked into this gigantic building which was apparently his office building.
On his way, he stepped onto a puddle and a piece of gum.
That rat. Not even considering the situation of his new-bought shoe. A terrible owner he is!
He went into the building and worked for about six hours before going home.
Tiring, it was. He got into the car and drove home. Arriving, he threw me back into the garage.
This went on for countless days until I was finally worn out.
The day finally came where I was so out of shape that I could not even be considered a shoe anymore.
My owner took me out of the garage but this time, he did not put me on.
Instead, he had another pair of shoes on. He carried me for about a block and then chucked me into a dumpster.
So here I am.
I suppose it isn’t such a bad thing, though. It could be worse, you know.
I could be being chopped up or recycled somewhere.