I did everything in my power to try to slow my heartrate, but it felt like it was about to explode out of my chest. I'd managed to steady my breathing and keep my outward appearance calm, but every muscle in my body was tensed, and my heartrate was jacked.
I took one last glimpse at my phone: less than a minute to go.
I was poised like a cobra ready to strike. The poor sap at the door never had a chance. When he hit the button to unlock the sliding doors, all hell broke loose.
2020 had been the year of the pandemic, and Black Friday shopping was no different—or so I'd believed. Many stores had opted to remain closed throughout Thanksgiving Day and open early the following morning. Rather than permit large crowds, some stores had decided to issue online vouchers for products or urge customers to buy their products online and pick them up curbside. For the stores that were still permitting the Black Friday rush, covid restrictions were largely in place: face masks and social distancing. The scene at my local Wal-Mart was different.
What had started as an orderly queue of shoppers abiding by the store's covid policies had turned into a barbarian horde at the gates of the store. The line grew tighter as people tried to keep line-cutters at bay and tempers frayed. By the time the clock struck 5:00am, it was clear covid wasn't going to stop the rush. When the store employee unlocked the door and it began sliding open, a man who looked to be about 20 and had timed his approach perfectly, took a running start from the street and bounded over the people in line, knocking a middle-aged woman over in the process. Instead of filing into the store in an orderly fashion, the gathered mass of people took their cue from him and began pushing into the store. The employee managed to jump back just in time to avoid getting trampled. I heard a cry of, "Stop, you're stepping on her!" as I tore through the entrance, but could only offer my silent thoughts and prayers and hope that whoever was stepping on her had the decency to help her up. I had one thing on my mind as I sprinted towards the electronics section at the back of the store: a Playstation 5.
Sony's release had been a total shitshow. My boyfriend had tried in vain the past couple months to preorder one online every time there was a report that a store had more preorders available. But he came up empty handed every time. No sooner would he have the site loaded up that the preorders sold out. I even tried my hand at it a couple times thinking that double the effort would double our chances. I got close one day by getting as far as getting it into my cart and clicking to confirm the order. But then the website hung waiting to confirm the purchase and ultimately told me the item was out of stock. My boyfriend got depressed about the whole thing, eventually gave up, and resigned himself to getting one sometime in 2021. Me, being the big-mouth girlfriend I was, told him not to worry and that Santa would bring him one for Christmas.
Getting the Playstation 5 proved more difficult than I expected, as I was repeatedly beaten out on the websites by people who set up bots to buy them out as soon as they were listed. As November unfolded, I started hearing rumblings that there would be some Playstation 5s physically in stock on release day, but I came up empty-handed. And then a week later, I heard about another batch being released for Black Friday and was determined to get one.
And so, the day after Thanksgiving, I found myself sprinting through a Wal-Mart with other shoppers like infected zombies from the movie World War Z. I'd had the good sense to wear a hooded-sweatshirt and no coat to maximize my speed.
A roped off area off to the side of the electronics sales desk and a sign saying, "Playstation 5 Line Begins Here" awaited us when we reached the back of the store. The store employees were almost cute in their misguided belief that they could tame this crowd with nothing but a few pieces of plastic rope and a plastic sign. The first man to the line ran through it like a sprinter ripping through the tape at the end of a race. The two hapless souls manning the store's Playstation event tried to step into his way with outstretched arms, but once it was clear he wasn't going to break stride, they stood aside. The man ran straight past them to the small stack of Playstations behind them and snatched one up before fleeing the area with it held above his head like a war trophy.
The employees didn't even try to stop the rest of us as we stampeded over their carefully built plastic queue which now lay trampled on the floor. Watching the crowd descend upon the stack of Playstations was probably like watching a pack of jackals fall upon a carcass.
Somewhere in the mass of arms and legs, I managed to get my hands onto one of the elusive white boxes. As I pressed it against my chest and turned, a hand grabbed a handful of my hair and yanked it back, throwing me off balance. Not wanting to release my prize, I tumbled backwards, going head over heels and smacking the floor with enough force to make me momentarily see stars. The bright store lights above grew dark as faces appeared above me and strangers reached toward me. I clutched the Playstation tighter to my chest as I realized they weren't faces and arms of help, but rather they wanted what I had. I quickly lost control of the box as it was yanked in every direction as the desperate people around me tried to pry it free from me and each other.
"Fucking let go!" was all I managed to scream as the box slipped from my grasp. To add insult to injury, an unseen hand slipped into the mass of people and grabbed a handful of my right breast through my sweatshirt. And then, to add injury to insult, a sharp pain shot through my leg as someone stepped on my thigh. I howled in agony and swatted at the leg attached to the intruding foot until it moved. I slid my body across the floor away from the crowd with my uninjured leg while clutching my aching thigh.
Once I was clear of the carnage, I leaned my head back against a half-empty shelf of Gumy headphones and surveyed the scene. It was like watching a disease-induced apocalypse. People ran to and fro with face masks and a look of derangement in their eyes as if getting their hands on electronics was the difference between life and death.
"Hey, are you alright?" One of the electronics employees was standing next to me with a hand outstretched. He was a gangly kid who looked no older than 19 or 20. Even behind his face mask, it didn't look like he'd had a need to shave a day in his life. I took his hand and got to my feet with his help, but cried out at the pain that shot the length of my left leg when I put weight on it.
The poor kid was looking at me like a beloved pet that he might have to put down. "I'll be fine," I reassured him.
His forehead and cheeks crinkled, and I could tell he was grinning behind his mask. "Sorry about that," he said, gesturing at the remnants of the Playstation chaos. A broken cardboard display of a Playstation 5 was all that remained. If we'd been in a cartoon, a tumbleweed would've rolled by.
"Yeah, well...so much for expecting people to be halfway courteous the day after Thanksgiving," I said as I leaned back against the shelf behind me for support.
"We tried to set up the ropes and—"
"Miles! Get your ass on the desk. We got sales to ring up." A barrel-chested man in an ill-fitting Wal-Mart shirt was glaring at him from the next aisle.
Miles gave a wave of acknowledgement before turning his attention back to me. "Are you gonna be alright?"
Only then did I realize he was still holding my hand. "Yes, I said I'm fine." I pulled my hand free and hobbled my way away from him before stopping in my tracks and rolling my eyes. I turned back to see him still watching me. He raised his arm in an overly enthusiastic wave. "Thanks," I muttered before turning back around and continuing to limp away.
I shut my eyes to block out the disappointment. Truth be told, my pride hurt more than my leg. I'd lost my last good chance to get my boyfriend a Playstation 5 by Christmas. For now, I'd be back to the websites trying to beat out the scalper bots.
When I opened my eyes again, I was staring at an Amazon Echo. I wasn't really in the market for a replacement, but pity-purchasing always cheered me up. The one I had at home was from the previous generation and had been acting oddly lately.
I grabbed the box and hobbled over to the electronics checkout line. For all the chaos that had unfolded a short time prior, the line to checkout was much more orderly even if extremely long. After what felt like an eternity, I reached the front of the line.
"Next, please," a voice called from the far end of the desk. I turned and started in that direction and found Miles waiting for me. His face crinkled up behind his mask again.
"Do you ever stop smiling?" I asked, slightly annoyed at how someone could be so cheery amongst the madness of the store.
This only seemed to make his smile bigger. I rolled my eyes and pushed the Echo across the desk toward him.
"Will that be all today?"
